Joining the Sleep First Association

There is no such thing as the "Sleep First Association."
I just made it up myself (lol).

After all, my parenting style has always been "sleep first."

Actually, the reason I started writing on note was to keep a sleep log, and my first article was also about sleep (lol).

I have decided to make "Sleep First" my motto for choosing various things from now on!

The Disease of Highly Educated Parents

Dr. Naoko Narita appeared on my favorite PIVOT Education Skill Set.

She is the author of the book "The Disease of Highly Educated Parents." Although I knew the book existed, I only glanced at it on Amazon, thinking, "Well, I'm not highly educated..."

However, as I watched the video, I felt that some parts applied to me, so I decided to read the book.

The part that resonated with me the most, making me think, "Oh, that's so true," was parents getting ahead of themselves and rushing into excessive early education from the time their children are babies.

Out of curiosity, I also went to a trial session for a baby class with a friend, where they showed flashcards to infants and taught them kanji (which they obviously couldn't remember).
Some of the friends I met at the elementary school entrance exam prep school were doing Kumon for reading, writing, and arithmetic alongside the prep school, and doing multiplication tables with Solo Touch...
There were even children who had almost zero days without extracurricular lessons as preschoolers.

As the actual exam date approached, everyone would take a break from all their extracurricular lessons and fill their schedules with private tutoring sessions at the prep school, and what everyone kept saying at that time was, "I'm so anxious thinking the big day is almost here."

As parents, we wish for our children's happiness. We do things thinking it's for the best.
I feel this is a risk that anyone can fall into, not just highly educated parents.

The Key to Passing Medical School Entrance Exams Without Cram School is "Sleep"

I only realized this after searching for other books by Dr. Narita, but I had actually bought and read many of Dr. Narita's books.
I read them at different times, so I hadn't noticed! 💦

Dr. Narita has written so many books emphasizing the importance of sleep.
As for what kind of person she is:

Dr. Narita herself maintained a lifestyle of "going to bed at 8 PM" since she was a child, and she passed the medical school entrance exam on her first try without ever attending cram school.

Beyond the obvious fact that getting plenty of sleep increases efficiency, it seems that the most important thing in child-rearing is to properly understand the 'order in which the brain develops.'

The brain has a specific order of development

The role of sleep is important for adults, but it is said to be extremely crucial for children's development.
The brain takes about 18 years to develop, and the order in which it develops is strictly fixed.

Actually, more than the book, the video I introduced first passionately emphasized the importance of nurturing the 'physical brain,' so I really want you to watch it.

If you compare it to a house, the physical brain in (1) is like the first floor; if this is shaky, no matter how much knowledge you cram in or how many cram schools you attend, you won't be able to absorb it!!

Falling asleep smoothly at 8 PM and waking up refreshed when the sun rises!
Building this kind of body is the parent's most important task.

Making lifestyle rhythm the criteria for choices

The reason I, who have always advocated for prioritizing sleep, am writing this article at this particular time is because I had some doubts about child-rearing.

That is, I was wavering about whether to introduce video games,

and I was wavering about extracurricular activities.

Our family's current lifestyle rhythm (after returning home) looks like this.

To build a body that can fall asleep smoothly at 8 PM, it is said that it is important to bathe 1-2 hours before bedtime, or even before dinner.

Usually, that rhythm is mostly established, but since my second son (middle year of kindergarten) attends a preschool class on fixed weekdays, on those days he just takes a quick shower after dinner and we rush into bedtime.

I have been somewhat concerned about this 'rush'.

Also, I have recently been considering whether my eldest son should change his swimming lessons from Saturday to a weekday and have him go alone by school bus.

However, regarding this as well, if he attends on a weekday, he won't get home until after 7:00 PM.

At this rate, things are just too hectic until bedtime💦

As for swimming, there is a possibility that "the body gets tired and falls asleep instantly," but I feel that a lifestyle where they don't get home until after 7:00 PM while still in the first grade is quite tough.

In any case,I have decided to set "getting a good night's sleep" as the top priority and choose a better method based on that.

With that said, I am unilaterally launching the "Sleep First Association" all by myself and will work hard on brain development.

Thank you for reading until the end.
Do you all have a top priority in raising your children?
Please let me know if you'd like(^^)/

Wishing you a wonderful day today as well☆彡