Why sleep is so important for kids & parents!

This last week I started to realize that right about 7pm every, Cinderella turns into a pumpkin.  It is  the craziest thing, because I have always been a night owl and now I get cranky & tired every evening.  Hubby and I have been intentional about the girls being in bed at about 7:30-8ish pm every night, however, the summer is a different story.  Sunset is around 8:30ish and it gets dark more like 9pm so, my angels are going to bed later and later, and as the summer progresses and the later it gets, my angels are not so angelic. 

All of us know that kids need a lot of sleep, according to the www.sleepfoundation.org it is recommended that kids sleep:

Toddlers 1-2 years  11 to 14 hours

Preschoolers 3-5 years 10 to 13 hours

School-aged Children 6-13 years 9 to 11 hours

Teenagers 14-17 years 8 to 10 hours

But what about us parents?  Yes we need 7-9 hours.  Well this parent is not getting enough of those hours in and I am realizing that I can start reacting like a little kid once 7pm comes around. I feel like I am throwing a tantrum just like my kids.  One of the things that I am intentionally doing as I pursue being a better parent, is to notice what are the things that trigger me to get upset with my kids.  My goal is to teach them and discipline out of love and not frustration or desperation.  So, I have come to the conclusion that I am no longer a night owl, and that I need my sleep, to be a sleeping beauty mother and not a Cinderella that is left with a pumpkin and not her carriage.

What are the things that trigger you to throw a tantrum to your kids?  (Yes, as adults we do it, i.e, when we loose it with them, and yell, nag or nitpick at everything).

Let us try to remove the triggers and be loving, happy, rested parents.  This is why my blog is my every day today, simple living-happy life. 

Having said that, good night!