EVERY parent wants their children to get the best start in life, with nutritious meals and plenty of sleep.
One teacher has caused outrage after revealing just how much sleep your little one should be getting based on their age – it’s not just the kids that are raging about the new bedtime routine.
If you have little ones, you’ll know how much of a struggle it is to get them into bed sometimes – especially in the summer months when the sun is out.
One teacher has sparked intense debate after their pamphlet on the perfect bedtime recently resurfaced online.
Uploaded by Stacy Karlsen, an educator from Wilson Elementary School, it’s sparked intense debate with it’s strict guidelines – insisting that the average seven-year-old should be in bed by 8:15pm.
Ten year-olds don’t have it any easier, with them heading for bed around 8:30pm with a 6:30am wake up call (ouch).
After sharing the now-viral post on Facebook, she told Fox6Now: “To me, it was a shock [that the post was shared so much]. I didn’t make it up. I found it coming across my personal page and I thought, ‘Wow, this is super helpful’.”
In fact, the educator was a little taken aback and was shocked by how many people viewed her post.
“It’s taken this school by storm — and more so, because barely 200 kids attend here and this chart suggesting what time your child should go to bed has been shared on Facebook more than 300,000 times,” explained the teacher.
Having originally been uploaded to the school’s Facebook page, it has now been shared over 340,000 with plenty of parents commenting on it.
Some admitted that they’d found the post useful, with one mum feeling ‘justified about how she organised her kids’ bedtimes.
“I have four kids — and I catch a lot of flack for their bedtimes,” she wrote.
The busy mum added: “I started out setting their bedtime years ago based on how much sleep they need… Glad to see this chart justify the exact times we have already set.”
Whilst no one can deny the importance of a good night’s sleep, many parents weren’t convinced by the sleep schedule.
“This isn’t the military and if I was to send my kids to bed at 7 at night they would be up at 4 a.m. No thank you,” complained one dad.
He also argued that the schedule would limit the time he could spend with his little ones.
“Plus I would never get to spend time with them after school,” he wrote.
Another added: “I’m sorry, but this chart is absurd. Who puts their kid to bed at 6:45?”
A third wrote: “Wouldn’t it be nice if all children all people fell under a ‘chart’. I’m just old enough and seasoned enough to know that this is crazy!!!”
Others also stated that such early bed times were impossible with so many extra curricular activities.
“These times are REALLY hard to do when some children have extra curricular activities and are not getting home until about 8 pm to eat, shower and finish any homework,” complained one mum.
If you are wondering what your kid’s sleep schedule should look like, be aware that it can vary depending on their routine, the time of year and whether they’ve napped.
According to the experts at Great Ormond Street hospital, kids between 12 months and four year old need between 12 to 16 hours of sleep – including naps through the day.
Meanwhile, children over the age of six should aim to get 9-12 hours shut eye per night.
Like adults, teens can get by with slightly less and should get between 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
Sadly, we can’t guarantee this will help them get out of bed any faster.
