Saudi Gazette report

With the beginning of the new school year, parents usually have a hard time trying to get their children to sleep early.

Education experts who spoke with Al-Riyadh newspaper said many parents should be aware of certain social aspects that can help children, especially, teenagers to show more respect toward school timings. By doing so, they can save their children the pressure they face in the first week of school as many of them have spent a long vacation and have gotten used to sleeping late and now they have to adapt to the new situation.

Abdulaziz Al-Harbi, an education expert, said most, if not all, teachers suffer in the first week of the new school year as the majority of students come to school with signs of insomnia.

“Students go to bed late, sleep a few hours and then have to get up for school. By the time they enter the classroom, they are very tired and not ready for absorbing anything. Their performance is clearly affected and this, in itself, makes teachers face difficulty in running the classroom,” Al-Harbi explained.

Al-Harbi believes that smart phones and video games can have a negative influence on the student’s performance and called upon parents to prevent children from using such devices few hours before bedtime.

Parents should not let their sons and daughters go out in the evening and compel them to go to bed early and explain to them the health benefits of doing this.

Manal M., another education expert, said teenage boys and girls tend to stay up late hours during the school vacation. It becomes difficult for them to get up early and go to school in the morning after the vacation.

“In fact, most parents let their children stay up late during the vacation and are not strict about proper sleeping times. It is a common habit, which is difficult to change because everyone has gotten accustomed to this. But that does not mean we should go to bed late. On the contrary, we should encourage children not to disrupt sleep during the vacation and explain to them the health benefits of getting proper sleep,” she said.

Sarah Al-Hudail called upon parents to reduce the time their children spend watching TV, surfing the Internet, or playing video games. This is the best time to help children get serious about school.

“Families should encourage and reward children for going to bed early and going to school on time. Children usually need their family’s support to help them adjust and adapt to the school environment in the first week of the school year,” she said.