Sleep is not just for beauty...

Would you like to see your child attitude improve? How about your child's grades, could they use improvement too? How about time management skills, would you like to see those improve as well? All of these are affected by your child's sleep pattern. It is extremely important that he or she get at least eight hours of sleep during their adolescent years of development.

Be sure that you are providing your child an environment that is conducive to good sleep. Sending your child off to sleep while you watch television blaring in the next room or entertain guests only makes it more difficult for him or her to get sleep. It's important that you provide an environment that is cool, dark, and quiet without any distractions such as television, IPods, cell phones, or computers. In addition, be consistent with the time that you put your children to sleep.  Establish a pattern that will enable a minimum of eight hours of sleep and allow for time in the morning to exercise (more about these benefits in my next blog!) and eat a good breakfast without rushing. A warm bath also goes a long way to help create restful mood.

Just before your child goes to sleep is the best time to help build confidence and encourage your child by discussing his or her previous accomplishments and goals. This is also the best time to plant the ‘seeds of greatness” in his or her subconscious mind or give them that pep-talk that you have been trying to give them. Whatever you say, keep it positive!  This is not the time to berate or be negative! You want them to go to sleep with god feelings regardless of the circumstances of the day.

Don't look back on your life and wish that you had spent more time with your child at this time of the day. They call these adolescent years ‘formative years’ for a reason; this is perhaps the best time of the day to help form your child's life! So the next time you're tempted to rush your child off to bed while you watch your favorite TV show or entertain with friends or family, take the time to excuse yourself and spend a few minutes, nothing more, to have some downtime with the people who mean the most us, our children.