Home Behavior Affecting School
A Critical Part of Your Child's Education
There is something affecting your child’s education that we, as educators, have very little control over here at school. This home behavior can impair overall functioning, cause fatigue, lead to poorer health and weaker immune system functioning, mimic or exacerbate ADHD-symptoms (e.g., struggling to calm down, concentrate, and listen to directions), increased emotional lability, lead to daily cognitive deficits and problem-solving ability, increase risk of accidental injury, and lead to increased risk of developing anxiety and depression later in life. Pretty scary, huh? And this is all occurring at home.
Yes, these are all real, and associated with poor sleep patterns and hygiene. Yes, sleep. In the commotion between extracurricular activities, video games, iPads, getting dinner on the table, and spending some time completing homework, we often talk about not getting enough of it, as it is one of the first things to ‘go out the window,’ for your child (and maybe you too), in the busy lives that we all live.
Based on the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, children 3- to 5-years of age should sleep 10- to 13-hours, children 6- to 12- years of age should sleep 9- to 12-hours, and teenagers 13- to 18-years of age should sleep 8- to 10-hours. However, when discussing sleep hygiene with my students this year, most reported far less sleep, on average, each night.
There are a few simple questions that you can ask to see if your child is getting sufficient sleep:
- Does my child need to be woken by me (or an alarm), rather than wake up on their own, each morning?
- Does my child struggle for more than 15 minutes to get going each morning?
- Is my child sleeping several more hours per night on weekends or when on vacation?
- Does my child fall asleep during sedentary activities, such as sitting in class, reading, or watching television?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, it is likely that your child is not getting a sufficient amount of sleep each night. While children and adolescents with sleep disorders may require professional treatment, there are actionable steps that parents can take to improve their children’s sleep hygiene:
· Limit ‘screen time’ and other bright lights about 1.5- to 2-hours before bed. Bright lights (with some evidence of the increased ‘blue light’ of tablets and computers) affect the natural (circadian) rhythm.
· For children that resist going to bed at night, create a healthy bedtime routine of three to five quiet activities, that all flow towards the bedroom (e.g., family room to bathroom to bedroom). Keep the same order each night.
· For children that frequently get out of bed (e.g., for an additional ‘hug,’ water, or some other activity) provide a limited number of bed passes (e.g., three passes) each night. The child is permitted to use the passes for their chosen brief activity, but are not allowed to leave their beds once all passes are used. Provide rewards and incentives for any remaining passes that are not used each morning.
· For teenagers and adolescents with a delayed circadian rhythm (e.g., staying up at night later and sleeping later into the morning), utilize a gentle phase advance where they gradually shift their bedtimes earlier in 15-minute increments.
· Keep a sleep diary to monitor when a child falls asleep at night, wakes in the morning, and any other instance of sleeping throughout the day.
About the Author
Dr. Jay Tarnoff
School Psychologist, PhD, NCSP, ABPP
Dr. Tarnoff is a licensed psychologist who specializes in child, adolescent, and adult psychoeducational, psychological, and clinical neuropsychological evaluations. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology in the American Academy of School Psychology (ABPP), a Pennsylvania (#PS017545) and Delaware (#B1-0011408) Licensed Psychologist, a Pennsylvania Certified School Psychologist, a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP), and a member of The National Register of Health Service Psychologists.
Dr. Tarnoff received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Psychology with the Biological Science Option, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Human Development and Family Studies with the Children, Youth, and Families Option, a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Religious Studies from The Pennsylvania State University in 2006, a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in School Psychology from Temple University in 2007, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in School Psychology from Temple University in 2010. While working towards his doctorate, Dr. Tarnoff interned at Wordsworth Academy - Approved Private School, in Fort Washington, PA, where Dr. Tarnoff provided weekly individual and group counseling sessions to a full caseload of students with a variety of psychiatric diagnoses, as well as psychoeducational evaluations to students. Following the completion of his doctorate, Dr. Tarnoff became one of Wordsworth Academy’s (now Fairwold Academy) school psychologists. In 2011, Dr. Tarnoff took a full-time psychologist position at The School District of Haverford Township, where he worked until the end of the 2015-2016 academic year. Dr. Tarnoff left his position as a school psychologist at the district-level in order to pursue full-time private practice. Dr. Tarnoff has opened up a tutoring service, Polaris Educational, LLC, with his wife, Laura. Dr. Tarnoff sought a re-specialization in neuropsychology and completed the coursework in clinical neuropsychology at Widener University in May 2017. He has worked as a school psychologist at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit completing Early Intervention evaluations. He completed an additional Master of Science Education (M.S.Ed.) in School Leadership with Principal Certification from The University of Pennsylvania in July 2021. Following completion of the School Leadership degree, Dr. Tarnoff worked as an Assistant Director of Educational Services at The Melmark School in Pennsylvania, and as the Educational Psychologist at Melmark New England.
Dr. Tarnoff accepted a position as the School Psychologist at Woodlynde School in April 2023, where he currently works. Additionally, in April 2024, Dr. Tarnoff accepted a full-time faculty position at Immaculata University in the Doctor of Clinical Psychology program.,
In addition to his private practice, Dr. Tarnoff has worked as a contract psychologist completing evaluations for Autism Spectrum Disorder at The Center for Autism and SPIN, Inc. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Temple University, where he supervised the training of graduate level school psychologists at the Temple University Psychoeducational Clinic, an adjunct faculty member at Immaculata University where he taught statistics, and an adjunct faculty member at The Pennsylvania State University where he taught adolescent development.