If your children are constantly tired in the mornings, they're not alone. It has been revealed that over three quarters of British children feel constantly 'shattered'.
A study by The Travelodge has revealed that nearly half of our kids don't have regular bedtimes which sleep experts have called out as being 'extremely detrimental' to their long-term health and happiness.
The hotel chain studied 1,500 eight to 15 year olds and found just 56% would get an average of eight hours of sleep a night – which is far less than how much sleep children need.
With three out of 10 parents admitting that they allowed their children to stay up later as a reward, child psychologist and family life specialist Dr Pat Spungin said she was 'alarmed' by the findings.
And it wasn't just the lack of sleep that children were getting which was raised, the study also showed that little ones were not taught why they needed a good night's sleep and how a lack of it could affect their mind and body the next day.
Struggling with bedtime? Here's an easy guide to getting your kids to sleep!
It looks like our kids are well used to finding ways to avoid their dreaded bedtime too. Apparently more than half of the children surveyed would strike up conversations with their parents just before they were due to go to sleep in a bid to stay up later. And some even went to the extremes of offering to do the washing up!
The Mirror reported that Dr Spungin said: 'Parents should be concerned about the effects of sleep deprivation on their children, as lack of sleep has a negative effect on a child's mood, concentration and attention.
'Research also shows that children who are sleep deprived do less well academically, show more problem behaviour and have lower levels of social skills.
'Scientific evidence shows that adequate night-time sleep is just as important as healthy eating and regular exercise for children to develop.
'With lack of sleep linked to poor academic performance, behavioural problems including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obesity, these research findings are alarming.'
