Do you have difficulty getting your child to sleep at night, or at naptime? Do you find yourself tending to your child in the middle of the night several times a week or even nightly? Do you know how many hours of sleep within a 24-hour cycle your child needs for healthy brain development? Do you know how sleep — or the lack thereof — affects brain development?
A workshop for parents of children of all ages will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, to discuss the science of sleep and provide useful tools to help families get the rest they need.
Santa Barbara Montessori School will host the Sleep & Bedtime Workshop for Parents for those interested in knowing more about how to help their children achieve a healthy night’s sleep.
The hourlong presentation from family therapist Laura Flores Shaw, in the school’s Alumni Hall, will be followed by a discussion intent upon helping families better understand the importance of sleep and its relationship to healthy brain development.
Shaw’s presentation will feature neuroscience discoveries regarding children’s developmental stages, and the relationship to sleep and overall development.
“Laura’s workshop addresses a concern that seems to apply to most families,” said Jim Fitzpatrick, Santa Barbara Montessori School’s head of school. “We’ve had so many parents checking in with us, several with comments like, ‘I can’t wait to hear what she has to say.’
“It’s great to have the opportunity to provide this workshop to the community. This is the second in a series of events we’ve presented at the school, the first, earlier in the school year, was the Santa Barbara premiere of the documentary film Race to Nowhere. Laura’s workshop isn’t likely to be as controversial, and will likely be useful to families with young children.“
Underwriting of the workshop has eliminated the cost of tickets to attend the workshop, but the school has asked those interested in attending to reserve a seat by calling 805.685.7600.
— Jim Fitzpatrick is the head of school for Santa Barbara Montessori School.