Juggling all of the schedules and extra curricular activities for my three kids is a full time job beyond running the dance studio.  Along with keeping up with laundry,  hoping I am getting them enough nutrition for their activities, and trying to help them with homework between dance classes,  this week I was hit with a new MOTHER GUILT!  Are My kids getting enough sleep?

Ellyna who is 13 dances 20 hours a week,  Derek my 11 year old dances 10 and my 6 year old also dances 10 hours per week.  The two older kids have classes right till 9 PM  on Monday nights.  I didn’t think of this as a problem …. however somehow I forgot to factor in the equation that the 6 year old will be with me.  Mother Guilt ensue LOL

Owning the studio enables my kids to dance a great deal however speaking to other Moms in the lobby this week I am not alone in this concern.

The studio tries to put all of it’s Mini and Junior classes from 5pm to 7pm but sometimes this can just not be accommodated.

So I got right on the research.  According to Web MD here are your school aged sleep guidelines

3-6 Years Old: 10 – 12 hours per day

Children at this age typically go to bed between 7 and 9 p.m. and wake up around 6 and 8 a.m., just as they did when they were younger. At 3, most children are still napping, while at 5, most are not. Naps gradually become shorter as well. New sleep problems do not usually develop after 3 years of age.

7-12 Years Old: 10 – 11 hours per day

At these ages, with social, school, and family activities, bedtimes gradually become later and later, with most 12-years-old’s going to bed at about 9 p.m. There is still a wide range of bedtimes, from 7:30 to 10 p.m., as well as total sleep times, from 9 to 12 hours, although the average is only about 9 hours.

12-18 Years Old: 8 – 9 hours per day

Sleep needs remain just as vital to health and well-being for teenagers as when they were younger. It turns out that many teenagers actually may need more sleep than in previous years. Now, however, social pressures conspire against getting the proper amount and quality of sleep.

So with the guideline averaging 11 hours for my youngest  getting her to bed one night a week at 9:30 as she normally wakes around 7:30 is not the worst thing in the world.  I think for us the decision comes to balance.  Tuesday night my kids have no activities so that is an early night. My husband and I also formulated a plan to  be sure to get the youngest home early on Thursday night, because Friday tends to be a late night at the studio.

One thing that did surprise me in my reading is that teenagers only require 8-9 hours of sleep.  I know a lot of Moms with teens asleep at noon.  Okay Mom’s your equipped with knowledge –  wake them up and get them going on the Laundry. LOL

I love the Mom and Dad advice and conversations that go on in our lobby while our kids work hard in class!

Thanks for being a part of the Move with Grace Community.  As one Lobby Mom said to me –  Don’t wear Guilt.  It’s not a pretty colour!

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