The fact that daytime sleep is important for children from birth to 6-7 years old has even ceased to be talked about. And in vain. Many parents began to forget about it. And it seems that the baby did not sleep during the day, and nothing has changed. Better to go to bed in the evening. This delusion of parents is so harmful to children that it is difficult to even imagine.
More recently, the University of Colorado has taken up the problem of children's daytime sleep. The results amazed everyone. Regular missed naps in preschoolers lead to irreversible emotional disturbances. In adulthood, these kids will experience problems with emotional expression and independence.
The lack of daytime sleep threatens the child with an increase in the level of anxiety, the fading of curiosity and a positive attitude towards the world. There is a lifelong risk of chronic bad moods. This is how pessimists grow up.
If parents fail to put the child to sleep during the day, they break his emotional sphere. Daytime sleep is the only way to get enough sleep for all the daily hours required for the normal functioning of the child's body. A baby who has not slept enough has problems in socialization in the children's group, he cannot properly respond to the situation, this leads to tantrums and nervous breakdowns.
In the studies, children were not compared with each other, but each child who slept regularly during the day was compared with himself, deprived of daytime sleep for a certain period. Children who were awake during the day lost to themselves in all possible indicators. They put together puzzles more slowly, got irritated faster, and reacted more sharply to acute situations. Children's faces were filmed and analyzed for such emotions as: joy, sadness, annoyance, interest, anger, shame, disgust. So, children who sleep during the day showed a result that is 34% higher than those who are not sleeping for all positive emotions. And 39% lower on negative ones.
Scientists note that most often the loss of daytime sleep occurs at the age of 2 or 3 years for the reason that the parents lose control over the child and cannot put him to sleep. It is at this age that the strategies of emotional behavior, experiences, and the laying of deep feelings are formed in children.
Thus, the goal of parents up to 2 years of age is to instill in a child a love for daytime sleep, an attitude towards it as a good. The main way is a clear and constantly observed regime. And, of course, your own example and a positive attitude towards daytime sleep. If you lose your daytime sleep, the best option is to return it. This will require much more inner strength and patience. Try early wakes, literature examples, peer examples. Sometimes it is easier to do this in a new environment, for example, when you move or at your grandmother's. Where the child does not have the experience of a "sleepless day".
