The top 3 things STOPPING your child from getting to sleep at night revealed

THEY’VE had their bath and their glass of milk and it’s time for bed.

But it’s likely that you child is still kicking up a fuss when it comes to settling down and going to the land of nod.

Now experts have warned that there are three things your kids could be doing before bedtime that is stopping them from drifting off.

A survey of 1,000 parents revealed that a lack of sleep can have a dramatic impact on children’s behaviour.

This in turn affects their ability to study at school and makes them more argumentative at home.

You might think that your child has the best sleep routine there is, but some of the most basic before bed rituals could actually be harming their sleep pattern.

Around 19 per cent of parents quizzed said their little ones had trouble falling to sleep.

But there were three main culprits:

1. 44 per cent of parents blamed their phones
2. 26 per cent blamed video games
3. 21 per cent blamed TV for preventing their children getting to sleep.

For many parents, handing their children a device or letting them watch one more episode of Peppa Pig is a great way for them to wind down.

But the results from Bensons for Beds ahead of Sleep Awareness Week suggest that more screen time isn’t helping our kids fall to sleep.

Sleep expert Dr Sophie Bostock said parents are right to recognise that excessive screen time before bed can delay bedtimes, and have a disruptive impact on sleep quality.

She said: “It’s positive that so many parents recognise that a regular bedtime routine can help their children to fall asleep, and to get good quality sleep.

“Research suggests that replacing screen time with alternative activities such as a bath, reading or having a bedtime story can not only help with sleep, but could also help them to stay alert and concentrate at school the next day.”

Other bedtime challenges mentioned by parents included social media, fear of missing out, an inability to unwind, anxiety and worrying about school.

This lack of sleep, caused by kids being unable to drift off is also having an impact on their behaviour, the survey found.

Around 54 per cent of parents said a lack of sleep left their children struggling to concentrate, with 30 per cent saying a lack of sleep lead to family arguments.

A lack of sleep also hit kids in the classroom with 25 per cent of parents saying it left their children feeling sleepy at school.

In terms of how long kids are sleeping for, the survey found that two thirds of children got between eight and ten hours sleep a night – with 42 per cent of children falling to sleep during the day.

The NHS states that different aged children will need varying hours of snooze.

For babies four to 12 months old, they need 12 to 16 hours, this includes naps.

Toddlers aged one to two-years-old should be getting 11 to 14 hours sleep, including naps.

Children aged three to five years should be getting 10 to 13 hours sleep including naps, with those aged six to 12 years getting 9-12 hours sleep.

For teenagers aged 13 to 18-years-olds, they should be getting 8-10 hours sleep.