Last night, a school night, my 11yearold son's baseball team played a game that lasted until 9：30. By the time we got home and he had a quick dinner and shower, it was 10：30—an hour and a half later than a child who gets up at 6：30 should be going to bed. We love baseball. My son is having fun, getting exercise, and learning patience, teamwork and sports spirit. But the truth is that the game also influences his sleep.
As parents, we want good things for our children. We want them to be healthy both in body and in mind. To this end, we look for ways to help our kids grow and develop. We help them with their homework. We sign them up for dance, soccer and baseball. We encourage our kids to take honors courses (培优课程) or to have afterschool jobs. And we praise them for hardearned success and achievements.
We want to give our children activities and responsibilities (责任) to make their lives colorful. However, the irony is that all of these activities and responsibilities could be badly influencing their health and taking happiness away. Activities, responsibilities, and goals are good. But if we want our kids to realize their full physical, learning and social ability, sleep is important. We have to start taking sleep seriously.
Parents make bedtime routines and carry out (执行) strict rules about nighttime. But in fact, these measures (措施) aren't enough because getting our kids enough sleep isn't just about carrying out stricter bedtime. It actually requires more than that. In order to ensure our kids get the sleep they need, both parents and schools should make an effort.
