There’s a Monster Under the Bed!
“Please, don’t turn the light off, there’s a monster under my bed.” My niece yells as I try to turn the light off in her room. I was baby sitting again last week, and unlike the most babysitting days, my niece decided to go to bed early (may be the Minecraft made her too tired). She never lets anybody leave her in the dark and this has been going on since she was 1.5 years old.
“He comes out only in the dark.” She explains to me in a concerned tone. She is too young to understand that the creaking noises are made by the 12-year-old rotting bed, not an invisible monster. In this article I have decided to shed a light on the importance of sleeping in the dark. I know it can be hard to make kids understand this, but you will have to find a way to get your kids to sleep in the dark. I usually turn off the light once she reaches her REM stage.
Let it be Dark Darkest
Research shows that most of the growth occurs in the dark. When we sleep in complete darkness, our body secretes crucial hormones that aid in both physical and cognitive development. Darkness is crucial for both adults and kids, which is why it is recommended that you let your kids sleep in complete darkness.
But what if my child doesn’t want the light off or the door closed? I experience the same thing with my niece, but like I mentioned above, I turn the lights out after she goes to sleep. You can figure out a way to get them to sleep in the dark.
Why is the dark important anyway?
As mentioned above, researchers have associated sleeping in the dark with a lot of cognitive and physical developments that are impossible to garner otherwise. Your child can use all his energy with a commercial playground equipment and unleash his adventure ogre on the playground to get his body fit, but if he’s not sleeping well, he will lack the hormonal balance that is crucial to keep different body functions balanced.
Research suggests that children who sleep in the dark enjoy a slightly more rapid growth than the children who sleep with a blue glow of tablet or smart phones. Today, it has become extremely common for children to sleep with their tablets. And, unfortunately, parents ignore these kind of things. If you are one of those parents who allow their kids to sleep with a blue glow, then maybe you should start to reconsider your and your child’s lifestyle. So, you see it is quite important that the children sleep in the dark. Yes, it means that the minion night lamp has got to go (unfortunately).
The monsters under the bed leave once the children reach high school, but until then you are going to have to deal with the monsters.
Do you follow a technique to get your kid to sleep in the dark? Share your opinion with us through our comment section below.