Does your child take a nap?
In our family, napping used to be a very "hot" thing, because after the child was 3 years old, he never took a nap at home. It wasn't until something happened that I started to properly understand the problem of my child taking a nap.
Sister Xu is my former leader, and she has a strong sense of dedication. When the child was 3 years old, Sister Xu's mother was not in good health, and she herself had to go on a business trip for a period of time, so she sent the child back to her hometown and handed it over to her mother-in-law.
I haven't seen him for 2 months, and the child has grown a lot taller and his body is very strong. Sister Xu was very pleasantly surprised, and heard her mother-in-law say that the child took a nap every day in her hometown, so she also asked the child to take a nap after returning home.
In order to let the child take a nap, Sister Xu fights wits and courage with the child every day, and her heart is broken. But as the months passed, the child's height did not grow.
Why does the height of the grandmother with the baby soar, but the mother with the baby does not grow taller? Is there a problem with your own parenting style, or is there a problem with the child's development?
Sister Xu hurriedly took the child to the hospital for examination. After a series of examinations and inquiries, the doctor gave the answer: the child's height did not grow, which had a lot to do with napping.
01.
Seeing this, many parents wonder, doesn't it mean that children grow in sleep?
At first, I also had this doubt, but it wasn't until Sister Xu told me the doctor's explanation that I realized that not all naps can make children grow.
Take Sister Xu's children as an example, they are also naps, and grandma and mother are completely different.
⭐ At grandma's house
The child goes back to the countryside to live with his grandmother, and his work and rest are very regular. I usually get up at 6:30 in the morning, eat and drink enough, and go out for a walk with my grandfather. There is a small amusement park in the village, and many children play there every day, and Sister Xu's children will run and jump with the children every day and play until noon before returning home.
After playing all morning, the child is already very tired, and after eating and drinking, and after a little digestion, he will take a nap with his grandparents. I get up in the afternoon, eat some fruit, drink some milk, and go out with my grandfather. Every day is very happy and fulfilling.
Sister Xu said that in her hometown, the children's work and rest are really regular, and they can ensure 12 hours of quality sleep almost every day (go to bed at 8:30 p.m. and get up at 6:30 a.m.; go to bed at 12:30 p.m. and get up at 14:30 p.m.).
⭐ At Mom's house
It's different at my mother's house.
Sister Xu is busy with work during the day and can only accompany the children at noon and evening; the child's grandmother is not in good health and is reluctant to go out; although the grandfather likes to go out for a walk, he is impatient to take the child.
Therefore, the task of taking care of the children is basically on the grandmother, and the children watch TV and play with building blocks at home with the grandmother almost every day, and rarely go out.
Because Sister Xu is used to going to bed late, the child sleeps late at night, and often doesn't get up until 90 o'clock in the morning. In the morning, I usually watch TV and eat snacks at home with my grandmother, and I will be pushed down to sleep by the tired Sister Xu just after eating at noon.
Children are often not sleepy, but they have to sleep, so they can only cry and lie in bed and pretend to sleep. Sometimes I accidentally fall asleep, and the time is already very late, and I often don't get up until four or five o'clock in the evening. Then continue to eat, watch TV, play indoors, and sleep......
Although the child's sleep time may reach 11-12 hours a day, it is far less high-quality than in the grandmother's house, which is not only not conducive to the child's growth, but also affects the child's health.
Moreover, height gain is not only related to sleep, but also to diet, exercise and mood.
In the mother's house, the child sleeps irregularly, eats irregularly, is trapped at home every day, lacks exercise, is in a bad mood, and naturally cannot grow tall.
At grandma's house, children will not only have quality sleep, but also have enough exercise, a good mood and a healthy diet, and will naturally grow taller and stronger.
Therefore, about the matter of napping, parents must correctly understand and take it seriously!
02.
The "Learning and Development Guide for Children Aged 3-6" proposes to ensure that children sleep 11-12 hours a day, of which naps should generally reach about 2 hours.
A moderate amount of napping is not only good for enhancing children's early memory, but also promotes children to grow taller and stronger.
However, there are individual differences in children's development, and napping is no different. Some need a nap, some don't need a nap, and parents should not generalize and force their children.
How to determine whether a child needs a nap? Parents can judge based on these manifestations.
1. I can't sleep for 20 minutes >
There is research data that shows that preschoolers fall asleep in about 16-19 minutes.
Parents can encourage their children to rest in bed for at least 20 minutes, continue to sleep if they are asleep, and do not force them to fall asleep if they can't.
Rest does not mean that you have to fall asleep, and if your child really can't sleep, you can get a good rest by lying in bed for 20 minutes.
PS: Most children like the company of their families, and it is best for parents to lie in bed with their children, chatting, telling stories, or sleeping with their eyes closed.
2. Sleep up to 12 hours at night
Research data show that there is a negative association between midday sleep and evening sleep.
That is, children aged 3-6 years, the more they sleep during the day, the less they sleep at night.
Scientists believe that too much napping will reduce children's need and urge to sleep at night, thereby reducing the quality of sleep at night and affecting the brain's cognitive ability.
In other words, if your child sleeps very well at night, can go to bed early and ensure 11-12 hours of sleep, which is enough to meet their sleep needs and developmental needs, there is no need to take a nap.
Taking too much nap will affect the quality of sleep at night, affect the secretion of growth hormone, and then affect the child's height development and intellectual development.
3. It's also very refreshing not to take a nap
Some experts say that daytime sleep is related to the maturity of children's brain nerves. When the nerves of the brain mature, sleep changes from biphasic sleep to uniphasic sleep.
In other words, children can no longer have to take naps every day, just like adults.
We don't need to force children to have naps. If your child is not taking a nap in the afternoon, he is also energetic, has good concentration, is able to study/play seriously, and does not cry, there is no need to force him to take a nap.
But we can use this to adjust his sleep time at night, and try to let the child lie in bed before 9 o'clock and fall asleep.
Do you understand all of the above?
Quality sleep can indeed promote growth hormone secretion, make children grow taller, and improve children's memory. But like diet and exercise, sleep also needs to be grasped to a degree, don't overdo it!
Especially for napping, when they reach a certain age and development, children can take a nap in the summer, take a nap when they are tired, and make up for sleep during the day with insomnia at night...... Instead of having to take a nap every day, you have to sleep if you are not sleepy.