Your four year old has just thrown a wobbly in the supermarket. Your unsolicited audience are either commiserating or criticizing your performance as a parent…

“Why doesn’t she do something….”

“I would never allow my child to behave like that in public”

“That child needs a hiding or therapy…”

So are you a BAD parent or did you birth a BAD kid ?

Neither.

Odds are your little one is sleep deprived. This is the finding of a group of researchers from the University of Virginia.

Pinpointing bad behaviour

Using a standard child behaviour questionnaire, parents were asked to rate how well, or badly, their four year old behaved.

The study was particularly interested in assessing “externalizing” behaviour, which is a nice word for describing behaviour problems that EVERYONE can see. (The kinds of behaviours that put people off having kids in the first place).

It includes…

• Anger
• Aggression
• Impulsivity
• Tantrums
• Overactivity
• Annoying behaviours

i.e. the horrific display that just happened in aisle three, when you refused to buy your child a sweet.

Alongside this information on overall behaviour, parents were also asked about their bedtime ritual(s), on weekdays.

9000 moms and dads completed the survey.

Sleeping in the suburbs

The team found most four year olds were climbing into bed at 8:39 pm and “rising and shining” at 7.13 am. So the average kid was getting 10½ hours a night.

But………… there were exceptions.

Eleven percent of kids, were getting by on less 9¾ hours a night.

And you guessed it………………. these were the kids that were EXTERNALIZING.

Sleep deprived

Yes, even a four year old can be sleep deprived and just like you, a shortage of sleep produces CRANKY behaviour.

Duh ! It seems so obvious.

Sleep deprived does not always cause chronic tiredness, it often causes BAD BEHAVIOUR.

Getting a good night’s sleep

Here are a few tips to help your 4 year old get a good night’s sleep

Watch the night lights

• Avoid the bedtime blues by synchronizing those clocks
• Only red light nights can protect kids from the boogeyman

Lay off the caffeine. I know your 4 year old is not drinking coffee, but fizzy cold drinks are laced with the stuff and little bodies can’t handle the load.

Sleep the missing ingredient

Before you or your kid, seeks any kind of therapy for BAD BEHAVIOUR – try to get a good night’s sleep.

Sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity and helps little brains develop optimally. So it is imperative kids get a good night sleep. Which if you’re 4, means 11 hours. This is actually more than the average kid was getting in this study, but it is the official guideline of the American Paediatric Association.

Further reading

Small kids need UNCOOL mothers who RULE with an iron fist	Bright sparks go to bed at the same time every night	Early to bed is the secret to raising a skinny child

Being a Mom is a huge responsibility and knowing how to protect and optimize your family’s health is challenging. Get tips and strategies from the world of science and help your little ones have Better Body Chemistry so they grow up healthy and avoid the lifestyle diseases.

I have put together a series of TIPS to help Moms create Better Body Chemistry…