A Treasury of Child-Rearing Advice

公益財団法人仙台観光国際協会 Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association.

Material Compilation: Sendai City Ayashi Nursery, Ochiai Nursery, Kumagane Nursery
Material Provision: Nursery Section, Children’s Future Bureau, City of Sendai
Editing and Translation: Sendai International Relations Association

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HOMEAll Ages > Early to Bed, Early to Rise: Daily Routines

All Ages

Early to Bed, Early to Rise: Daily Routines

Daily routines include playing, eating, and sleeping. They are the basis of your child’s health. Why are daily routines so important?

It’s important for daily routines to coincide with your child’s internal clock. Your child should wake up in the morning, play during the day, and sleep at night.

Staying up late causes a misalignment of your child’s daily routines with her internal clock, which in turn leads to a variety of physical and mental disorders. You may think that it’s alright to go to bed late and simply wake up later, but by sleeping in the morning, your child misses the morning sunlight, which is important for rhythms of mind and body. Furthermore, children who go to bed late tend to get less sleep than children who go to bed early.

Sleep is when the mind and body rest, the body secretes hormones necessary to repair itself and grow, and the immune system is strengthened. Make sure your child sleeps well.

What is an internal clock?

There are many rhythms inside the human body. For example, the hormones that control many functions in the body are not secreted continuously over a 24-hour period, but in a regular rhythm. These rhythms are controlled by the internal clock.

The internal clock is set for a 25-hour day, but there are only 24 hours in a day. The one-hour discrepancy is corrected by morning sunlight. Morning sunlight speeds up the operation of the internal clock.

In order to sleep well, your child must have a daily routine of waking up early, getting enough exercise during the day, and eating three meals. Then she will be tired at night and naturally go to sleep early.

Your child should wake up between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. and go to sleep between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m.

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