As a pediatrician, I know how critical sleep is to a child. As a parent, I know you know this too. There is nothing like a toddler who missed her nap or a teenager who has only been getting six hours of sleep a night. But along with irritability and temper tantrums, sleep deprivation in children can have serious effects on their physical and mental well-being. Consider the studies cited in this report:

• “Short sleep duration (less than 10 hours per night by maternal report) and nocturnal awakenings (more than three times per night) in toddlers were associated with the development of behavioral and emotional problems at age 5.”

• “Sleep problems at age 4 have been found to predict a greater incidence of behavioral and emotional problems emerging by mid-adolescence.”

• “A large cross-sectional study of adolescents identified associations between short sleep duration and emotional problems, peer conflict, and suicidal ideation.”

 
Sleep is important for babies, toddlers, children, and adolescents. And what is one of the biggest modern-day culprits inhibiting our sleep?

Screens.

Our phones, tablets, laptops, and televisions are detrimental to our sleep and sleep for our kids. According to the National Sleep Foundation, children who spend a lot of…