AROUND 15% of parents in the south west have kept their children off school due to overtiredness, according to a new survey. 

With the warm weather and exhausted children on the brink of the summer holidays, the poll also showed 70% of parents in the region admitted that their child needs more sleep than they get, with 7% of children even reportedly falling asleep in class.

The new sleep study, commissioned by leading online parenting resource Families Online, surveyed parents in the south west with school-aged children up to 12 and looked at the main issues associated with sleep deprivation in younger children.

A total of 46% of the parents surveyed said that on average their child appears tired a few times a week, while a further 21% said their child suffers with tiredness every day after school and 15% of parents even admitted they have kept their child home from school because they were too tired to go in.

Children suffer from sleep deprivation for several reasons and parents in the south west have revealed the top barriers that stop their little ones from drifting off at night, ahead of the summer holidays:  


Dr Kalpesh Dixit, consultant paediatrician at Pall Mall Medical, said: "Sleep allows a child’s brain to develop behaviours, memory and social skills and a normal sleep pattern is important for physical and mental health.
"When a child isn’t getting enough shut-eye it can impact negatively on their development however, as a paediatrician, I’ve spoken to a number of parents for whom bedtime has become an everyday battle. A disrupted sleep pattern, night terrors and sleep walking are typically linked to developmental phases, such as puberty or social and emotional upheavals in the family. In some less common cases, it could be the result of an underlying medical condition like ADHD, autism or narcolepsy - if you have any concerns, you should consult your paediatrician or GP.”

  1. Lighter and warmer evenings stopping kids from getting to sleep (26%)
  2. The impact of long school days (18%) 
  3. Waking up too early in the morning before school (17%)
  4. Playing outside/or after school activities (9%)
  5. Late nights at the weekend (7%)
  6. Bad dreams and broken sleep (11%)
  7. Playing on devices or watching TV before bedtime (6%)
  8. Sharing a bedroom with siblings and being kept awake was an issue for some children (5%)
  9. Having dinner too late (1%)

Dr Kalpesh Dixit, consultant paediatrician at Pall Mall Medical, said: "Sleep allows a child’s brain to develop behaviours, memory and social skills and a normal sleep pattern is important for physical and mental health.

"When a child isn’t getting enough shut-eye it can impact negatively on their development however, as a paediatrician, I’ve spoken to a number of parents for whom bedtime has become an everyday battle.

"A disrupted sleep pattern, night terrors and sleep walking are typically linked to developmental phases, such as puberty or social and emotional upheavals in the family.

"In some less common cases, it could be the result of an underlying medical condition like ADHD, autism or narcolepsy - if you have any concerns, you should consult your paediatrician or GP."

The new sleep study comes just ahead of the school summer holidays, where bedtime routines for children become notoriously less rigid.  

Sarah Ockwell-Smith, author of The Gentle Sleep Book and founder of Gentle Sleep Training believes that expectations top the list as the cause of most sleep problems in childhood.

"Parents are commonly worried that their children are not getting enough sleep, so they try to encourage an earlier bedtime, however in many cases, this bedtime can be at the biological odds of what the child needs," she said.

"If your child naturally needs less sleep, trying to make them take the higher end of average amount of hours of sleep is going to end in disaster."

Dr Kalpesh Dixit added: "Insomnia in children isn’t uncommon, but the good news is that it can usually be remedied with some simple lifestyle changes."

Dr Dixit's tips to help sleep are:

  1. Avoid: stimulants like caffeine, foods with a high-sugar content and electronic devices. 
  2. Implement: a regimented sleep schedule in the lead up to bedtime, small things like a relaxing bath and storytime will encourage good sleeping habits. 
  3. Be calm: when enforcing bedtimes, children will pick up on your frustrations so make sure to use positive reinforcements and comforting techniques rather than shouting. 
  4. Communicate: ask your child about their school and home life, if they are worried or stressed about something talk through this with them. 
  5. Reward: by praising children and introducing a sleep chart we can encourage them to think of sleep in a positive way.