Sweet Dreamzzz in store for Southfield Early Childhood students

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Jan. 28, 2016 - PRLog -- The teachers and parents of Bussey Center for Early Childhood Education can now send their children to nap or to bed with sweet dreams. Local nonprofit, Sweet Dreamzzz, Inc., visited Bussey Center to speak with the parents and the center’s administrators on why getting on a good night’s rest is important, particularly at such a young age. Sweet Dreamzzz™ Director of Sleep Programs, Ann Raftery, explained how proper sleep is essential for learning and cognitive development, as well as for physical growth. She advised the parents that preschool is the peak time for sleep issues.

Sherri Jones, the Family Community Partnership Manager at Bussey Center, saw a need to bring Sweet Dreamzzz in based on parent feedback.

“We had trainings left in our budget,” Jones said. “We surveyed the parents and they said they had a difficult time getting their kids to sleep. It was the perfect fit.”

The Sweet Dreamzzz Parent Sleep Education Workshop™ aims to educate parents on the importance of sleep, the number of hours of sleep required based on age and gives parents a bedtime routine to follow at home. The organization has found that positive results are greater when the parents are involved and educated.

“I’m hoping for a turnaround in behavior,” Jones said. “Sweet Dreamzzz talked today about misdiagnoses of ADHD in sleep deprived children. Parents and teachers want to medicate the children for ADHD symptoms, but I want to see if proper sleep will help and solve the problems first.”

Bussey parent, Joy, has four children of all different ages, and she is going to take the information provided by Sweet Dreamzzz to heart and change bedtime around at her house.

According to Joy, the two most important takeaways from the program were the timing of a consistent bedtime routine at night and the number of hours of sleep needed based on her kids’ ages.

At the Parent Sleep Education Workshop, Sweet Dreamzzz provides parents with healthy sleep and eating tips, research articles, a Sweet Dreamzzz bedtime routine magnet and bedtime routine charts and stickers.

Founded in 1998, Sweet Dreamzzz™, Inc. is a nonprofit organization committed to improving children’s health, well-being and academic performance by providing sleep education and bedtime essentials to economically disadvantaged students and their families. Based in Farmington Hills, Mich., Sweet Dreamzzz educates children and families about the benefits of healthy sleep habits and establishing a healthy bedtime routine using its Early Childhood Sleep Education Program™, the Parent Sleep Education Workshop™ and the R.E.M. (Rest. Educate. Motivate.) Sleep Program. Since its founding, Sweet Dreamzzz has served more than 48,000 children and families. For more information on how you can help by volunteering or organizing collections for Sweet Dreamzzz, or to find out about getting one of the sleep programs at your school, call the office at 248-478-3242 or visit www.SweetDreamzzz.org.