By Lori Powell, MSW, LCSW – April 22, 2025 –

Each year on the first few days of school, students appear to be excited and ready to begin their school day. However, later in the week or sometimes even that day, students begin discussing how they feel tired or hungry. Then, suddenly they are angry and upset. Sometimes they are not sure what they need or want. The child just knows that something does not feel right. 

This is the perfect time for the Youth First Mental Health Professional, social worker or counselor in the building to discuss emotions and positive coping skills. After the child is calm, the Youth First Mental Health Professional is able to ask multiple important questions, such as how many hours of sleep the child got last night, whether they ate breakfast this morning, and whether the family has a consistent schedule.

When students do not get enough sleep, they have difficulty learning and regulating their emotions at school. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that children ages 6-12 years of age get between 9-12 hours of sleep on a daily basis. Teens ages 13-18 should sleep 8-10 hours per day. 

For example, if the child has to be at school at 8:30 am and the child is 7 years old, he or she should go to bed between 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm, depending on the individual child’s sleep needs. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Children who get enough sleep have a healthier immune system and better school performance, behavior, memory, and mental health.”

According to CDC Healthy Schools, eating a nutritious breakfast helps enhance cognitive ability, school attendance, and mood improvement. Children might eat 4-5 meals daily due to the smaller size of their stomachs and their higher metabolisms. Including children in meal planning, eating meals as a family, and having open discussions regarding the importance of a meal schedule will help children understand the importance and participate in the plan. If you have any questions regarding nutrition, please contact your child’s pediatrician, nutritionist, or dietician for recommendations about children and teen nutrition.

It is important that parents involve their children in establishing a consistent routine. The schedule needs to be clear and easy to understand. Children feel empowered and motivated to participate in a new routine when they are able to make suggestions and ask questions about the schedule. The schedule needs to be in an accessible location, such as on the refrigerator.

According to Dr. Laura Markham, “Structure and routines teach kids how to constructively control themselves and their environments.” Children thrive from structure and like to know what is happening at different times of the day. They want to know what time they are eating meals, what time they go to bed, and the time they wake up in the mornings.

Establishing consistent routines can help enhance the child’s mental health and well-being, increase the child’s desire to complete assigned tasks, teach time management and responsibility, and build better connections and communication between the parent and the child.