You Want to Do What?: Instant answers to your parenting dilemmas. Karen Sullivan

can impair memory and inhibit creativity, making it difficult for sleep deprived students to learn. Teens struggle to learn to deal with stress and control emotion – sleep deprivation makes it even more difficult. Irritability, lack of self-confidence and mood swings are often common in teens, but sleep deprivation makes it worse. Depression can result from chronic sleep deprivation. Not enough sleep can endanger their immune system and make them more susceptible to serious illnesses, and interestingly, it is a precursor to obesity. Judgement can also be impaired, and given that many teens are for the first time making their own decisions, and driving cars and bikes on the roads, this can pose a serious safety risk. Adolescents are involved in some 55 per cent of all traffic accidents, and most appear to happen when they are on their own, at night. Experts believe that drowsiness and inadequate sleep are at the root of the problem.

      What can you do?

      

Keep an eye on your child’s activity levels. If he’s playing sports every day after school, practising an instrument, has a part-time job or takes part in too many clubs, you may need to encourage him to drop something. Stick to a reasonable schedule that allows time for homework, fun and adequate rest.

      

Make sure your adolescent is part of the family routine – eating regularly, enjoying some free time and going to bed at an appropriate time. If his bedtime is running later and later, strike up a deal and let him choose a more appropriate bedtime.

      

Keep an eye on his diet. If he’s drinking coffee or a lot of cola in the evenings, his sleep will be disrupted and he’ll find it difficult to get to sleep.

      

Intense studying or computer games before bed can be stimulating.

      

Avoid arguing with your adolescent just before bedtime, which can make him feel stressed, under pressure and less able to sleep.

      

Keep the television and the lights off when sleeping, and open the blinds as soon as the morning alarm goes. This can help to create a more acceptable sleep/wake cycle.

      

Don’t discourage weekend lie-ins, but limit them to no more than two or three hours later than the usual wakening time, or the body clock will be disrupted.

      When should we agree to stop the pre-bed bathing?

      Let’s face it, most adolescents are too tired or behind schedule to jump into the shower in the morning, so a night-time bath isn’t just a luxury but a necessity. Moreover, kids who are highly pressured by school work and various activities will do well to bathe at the end of the day. Various studies into stress show that night-time bathing encourages restful sleep and relaxes the body (a too-hot bath or shower has the opposite effect), and has the psychological effect of ‘washing away’ the day’s problems. Kids who have always had an evening bath before bed will probably continue this as part of their normal routine; encourage it where you can and implement it if not. If you have a reluctant bather, give your child choices in their personal care products to get them interested.

      When should I stop reading a bedtime story?

      Once kids can read on their own, the bedtime story is resoundingly dropped. So, by around eight or nine years old, kids no longer enjoy a bedtime read with parents. Is this too young? Several experts believe so. Reading together, whether you take turns reading a chapter, letting your child read to you, or giving them a treat by reading to them, should ideally continue until age twelve or even later. In fact, one study found that children who are read to into their teens not only develop a greater love of books and solo reading habits, but they do better at A-level. Obviously an older teen will think you are mad if you suggest a bedtime story, but there’s no reason why you can’t spend time reading together, perhaps reading aloud an interesting snippet from a magazine or newspaper, or commenting on a nice use of words. One study found that some 92 per cent of children enjoy reading books for fun, but their reading time takes a steep dive after age eight. It can be no surprise to find that this is the average age at which kids stop being read to.

      Interestingly, too, if you make a bedtime story part of your child’s sleep-time routine, he is more likely to continue reading to himself at bedtime.

Bicycles

      When can a child ride his bike to school?

      There is plenty of research and many statistics relating to this question, and all seem to advise caution. One Norwegian study found that bicycle-related injuries occurring during travel to or from school are a significant contributor to the total incidence of bicycle-related injuries. Boys tend to be affected more than girls, but this is understandable given that more boys than girls choose to ride bicycles to school or elsewhere. This study concentrated on ten- to fifteen-year-olds, and, in fact, several parenting surveys indicate that parents would not consider their children old enough to bicycle to school before this age. And the statistics appear worse as kids get older. According to the AA, one in five fatal or serious injury among thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds happens to teenage boys on bikes. It claims that teenagers are safer on foot than younger children, but not on wheels.

      So what do you do?

      Getting children interested in cycling at an early age is a great way to encourage exercise. Many children receive cycle training around age ten or eleven, and it is recommended that they do not cycle on roads before they are trained. Children between the ages of eleven and fifteen are most vulnerable on the roads, yet only one-third of children receive cycle training, usually at an earlier age. It is important that all young people, whatever their age, know the basics of road safety and have some proper training before cycling on the roads.

      Are there any training programmes?

      The Department for Transport and Cycling England are currently investing about £5 million a year on encouraging children to cycle to school. The aim is that within three years, 50 per cent of all school children will be able to receive cycle training. The funding is being spent on cycle training in schools, cycle trainers, off-road routes to school and cycle-training schemes run by the Cycle Touring Club (CTC) with its ‘Bike It’ programme and by British Cycling with its ‘Go Ride’ scheme.

      The National Standard for Cycle Training three-level programme provides the skills required to cycle safely on and off-road:

      

Level 1 for ages seven to eight: Beginners and basic cycling skills are held off-road and teach children how to control, balance and manoeuvre.

      

Level 2 for ages nine to ten: Introduction to on-road cycling is held on quieter roads in groups. Children learn where to position themselves when riding on the road, how to observe traffic, signal, turn and manoeuvre safely and a basic understanding of the highway code.

      

Level 3 for ages eleven to twelve: Advanced cycling is held on busier roads to teach skills required for making longer journeys and to develop strategies to deal with all types of road conditions, such as roundabouts, traffic lights and multi-lane roads.

      This sounds like a sensible plan. Before your child embarks on a bicycle trip to school, you would be well advised to ensure that he has some cycling training under his belt. And make sure he has a lock for his bike!

      For more information, ring the National Cycle Training