Sleep Well, Play Well, Learn Well

Most experts agree that children between 5 and 12 need about 10 hours, even 11 hours of sleep per night – children under 5 should be aiming for 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night as well as a nap or at the very least some quality rest time during the day.

As much as we tend to realise that the body needs sleep to physically rejuvenate us it also helps children to grow and assists the immune system. Our brains also rely on sleep to function properly – researchers often say that they believe the brain uses sleep to sort through information, solve problems, organise your thoughts and generally restore itself. It is safe to say that fulfilling the sleep and rest quota each day for children is imperative to their overall ability to function, both physically and mentally. It’s not surprising that children who don’t get enough sleep or rest time can be irritable and struggle to concentrate and perhaps feel clumsy.

Educators should remember that the National Quality Standards Quality Area 2, Element 2.1.2 specifically refers to centres making sure that “each child’s comfort is provided for and there are appropriate opportunities to meet each child’s need for sleep, rest and relaxation, which in turn directly supports Element 2.1 as a whole – promoting the health of the children. (See below from NQS Quality Areas).

The amount of sleep different children require is, as with adults, an individual thing. There should, however, still be an emphasis on ensuring that children are sleeping enough, resting enough and that these are quality sleeps and rests to maximise what your child/ren can get out of every day.

We all know that sometimes it can be a challenge to get children to sleep, but there are ways that you can make it easier for children:

-Keep up a regular routine where children can come to understand that rest or sleep time is approaching. Routine can help children mentally and physically prepare;
-Try some relaxation exercises or reading a book in the lead up;
-Make sure children get ample fresh air and physical activity;
-Ensure children are comfortable and not hungry, thirsty etc before they settle down to rest/sleep.

It is so important to remember that even if children are sleeping well overnight, a day nap is necessary right up until about the age of 3. While some 4 and 5-year old children may still take a short nap during the day, many don’t, but they should be having periods of rest and relaxation to maintain those high energy levels all day long.

You can find more information and tips about children and naps from the Victorian government website Better Health here: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Sleep_children_and_naps?open

If you’d like to read more about different types of sleep and sleep across different ages, you may like to visit: http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/children-and-sleep.

Don’t forget to look at your own sleep patterns too – even adults can improve the way we function in our daily lives simply from ensuring we get a decent amount of sleep and that it’s quality sleep and rest. After all, you need all the energy you can muster to keep up with the kids!

Sustainability Practices & Beyond…

Earlier this month World Environment Day took place, with its major goal to increase awareness of environmental issues and encourage sustainability across the globe. World Environment Day lands on June 5 every year and is a United Nations initiative that has been embraced by many people in various countries and sees them get inspired to take positive environmental action.

With the environment in mind, we want to highlight how sustainability practices not only help the world become a better place for all, but can assist you in improving your NQS Rating.

ACECQA’s most recent newsletter takes a look at a wonderful, lush service in Toowoomba, Queensland and the incredible work they have done including the introduction of a worm farm at their centre. Of course, many other services have less space and their surrounding area may not be as nature-rich, but there are always ways to improve the space you are working with. To have a read of ACECQA’s newsletter about sustainability, click here.

Standard 3.3 of the National Quality Standard states:

‘The service takes an active role in caring for its environment and contributes to a sustainable future.’ 

According to ACECQA, Quality Area 3 – Physical Environment and Standard 3.3 as mentioned above, are areas that often prove to be challenging for centres, with a Working Towards NQS Rating the most likely result across over 5,500 assessed centres.

Bonkers Beat is very proud to have achieved an Exceeding NQS Rating for this area, which was the highest rating achievable at the time.  This is why we want to share our sustainability practices with you!

Bonkers Beat Aspendale was recently filmed for a training video about incorporating sustainability into services, and you can watch the video to enjoy a brief tour of the space that we have created: ‘Environmental Sustainability Program at Bonkers Beat Music Kinder Aspendsale’

We believe that we can all contribute to a sustainable future, and you may even find some of our ideas could work at your home!

Unfortunately, we can only share a short, edited version of the video as they are specifically being used for training, but we always welcome visitors to our centre, so if you’d like to come along and see more of Bonkers Beat for yourself, get in touch to arrange a visit!

Many thanks to Child Care Centres Association of Victoria for running a very valuable General Members Meeting last night in Melbourne and inviting Mary Jeavons from ‘Jeavons Landscape Architects’.  Mary presented a fantastic session on the planning and design of outdoor spaces in children’s services. To support our previous discussion, she highlighted the importance of outdoor play and influence of the natural environment on children’s overall development.

Not only are our sustainability practices working towards a better world, we are able to offer a hands-on teaching experience for children to learn how to care for the environment – and this is surely the ultimate way of looking out for the future!

The Merits of Meditation

Anxiety and mild depression are becoming increasingly prominent in adults as time goes by, and even more concerning is the rise of anxiety and depression in children and teens.

Anxiety has even been referred to as the disease of the 21st century and there are many things that could be attributed to the increasing number of children and teens suffering with it, such as the shift from intrinsic goals towards extrinsic goals – this is where we see people focussing on other people’s judgements as opposed to developing a meaningful internal philosophy. Of course not all children who display symptoms of anxiety are anxious, some children are just ‘worriers’ but regardless of the extent of this unease, there are ways to make children – as well as teens and adults – feel more in control and confident to face the day.

Worried, anxious, depressed or none of these things, the merits of meditation and breathing exercises are proven and there is plenty to gain from them. From better sleep to an increased ability to fight disease, improved social skills and enhanced performance at school – the benefits of meditation are countless.

On a spiritual level, meditation enables children (and others!) to connect with their inner selves and create a positive relationship between mind and body – a relationship that can last a lifetime and assist the healthy development of self-esteem and a happier outlook on life in general.

To begin the very basics of meditation, try setting aside 10 minutes to sit with your child/children in a quiet, calm place. Indoors, outdoors – it doesn’t matter, but find a happy spot that offers a peaceful retreat from the busy day. While sitting cross-legged on a mat or cushion, ask your children to rest their hands comfortably in their lap and close their eyes. You can instruct children to breathe in deeply through the nose and listen out for the sound of their heart. Exhale and send any bad feelings and stress out of the body with the breath. Children may also like to put their hands on their mid-section and focus on feeling the breath going in and out of their bodies.

Keep in mind that kids might move around and leave their eyes open but this is fine – talk about their meditation experience afterwards and find out how they feel before and after. It’s always good to make sure you pick a time when children are calm and relaxed to embark on meditation, rather than when they are very excitable or perhaps cranky. Music or low light can also help children when attempting meditation.

As always, we are interested to hear your experiences with meditation and children – share with us on Facebook or here on the blog.

Remember, 10 minutes of deep breathing and meditation each day is all it takes for your child (and you) to feel happier, more relaxed and in control of your destiny.

Useful links:

http://eocinstitute.org/meditation/meditation-and-children-the-benefits-of-an-early-start/

http://www.the-guided-meditation-site.com/benefits-of-meditation-for-kids.html

http://www.project-meditation.org/mt/meditation_for_children.html

http://dailyheal.com/meditation-news/9-reasons-why-meditation-should-be-allowed-in-public-schools/

Get Back to Nature

We often complain that weekends aren’t long enough so when a long weekend comes along, it’s worth making the most of it especially if means extra time with children.

This weekend is the Queen’s birthday long weekend, June 7 – 9. As it arrives just as winter begins to set in why not take the opportunity to get close to nature before we are all cooped up inside in front of the heater.

There is so much research that shows that our children are having less contact with the natural world than ever before, and it is not surprising that this is impacting their health and development. The best-selling book ‘Last Child in the Woods’ talks about several compelling links between many of the problems our children are facing today and their lack of direct exposure to nature.

As our world requires a focus on sustainability and taking care of our natural environment, what better way to encourage a passion for the natural world than to show children the beauty in it.

Here are some ideas that you can incorporate into your long weekend with your family, or even for educators to consider for their centres:

-Planting. Get out into the garden and plant flowers, trees, vegetables or herbs. What a fantastic life skill for anyone to have, not to mention the garden will look great.

-Walks. Walking is good for us all and there are many proven health benefits from walking in natural open spaces. Try walking tracks, bushland or even the beach, but if walking isn’t for you then maybe a bike ride.

-Collecting rocks, shells, leaves, branches. This could do you a favour if your yard needs a tidy up, or you could head out and do some exploring. Children’s faces will light up as they find all sorts of natural objects and experience the unique textures and colours of each. You may even like to use them to create a work of art.

Not only are these actives fun and full of health benefits, but they are low cost if not free as well. What an easy and relaxing way to bond with children over their discovery of elements within the world we all share this coming long weekend, or in fact any time.

Below you’ll find some handy links to help you find inspiration and ideas for keeping children entertained, enlightened and close to nature.

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