It is so important that eating often follows the sleep pattern. Day-care providers and teachers see this all the time. More children are going to school with what seem to be developmental delays. More are distracted, aggressive and infantile, have problems learning and playing and fail to thrive because they are sleep-deprived. Day cares and schools should have family information records or profiles with questions designed to help understand children's habits.
Teachers can keep track of who sleeps and who is a deprived child.
In more cases than not, children with problems are going to bed long after 8 p.m. They sleep with lights and TVs on or with Mom and Dad. The have to be awakened in the morning, and often they spend hours awake at night. Good habits, too, start in infancy. Sleep makes everyone feel good.