I have not been sleeping very well recently as there is so much going on in my mind. Dropping off is not a problem but I find it difficult go back to sleep when I wake in the night. I have started getting up and working or writing down my thoughts so that at least my head is clear and that is time well spent in my mind.

However I suffer during the day. Despite being tired I am focused and able to function but I tend to eat more – more sugar and need countless cups of tea to pull me though. Not healthy! I am also human and a parent with feelings so can on occasion be grumpy. As parents though we just get on with it – we were made to handle sleep deprivation I think.

Children, however, are not. Lack of sleep can have an impact on their concentration, behaviour and their school work. As their energy levels are lower sleep-deprived children can be irritable and behave badly. Children can also complain that they are hungry when they are tired and eat a lot more. All in all not good.

Children need sleep to recharge their energy, rest their brain from absorbing new information and relax. They need to be away from all stimulants including technology so they can rest their bodies and be still.

Sleep must be a good thing.

How much sleep is your child getting?

Children get anger in my experience ‘quite a lot’ mainly through frustration and also not getting their own way. They are not great at managing their anger and therefore need some help with controlling and channelling it. Being angry shows passion and determination as well as being a natural response when we need to defend ourselves or warn others not to take advantage of us.

Anger needs to be managed in a safe way so that other people do not get emotionally and physically hurt. I have 5 ways of how children can manage their anger.

• Get them to own their emotions and their actions – they have responsibility for their anger but let them know it is okay to feel angry
• Recognise it physiologically so they know what is going to happen next and then take alternative action.
• Get them to verbalise it so the person they are with knows they are angry and can help them deal with it.
• Could they walk away and do something physical i.e take it out of something else or could they walk away and do something relaxing to calm down.
• Help them learn how to deal with confrontation.

How do you help your child with their anger? What do you advise them to do?

No two children are the same and whilst we love the uniqueness of our child being absorbed in ‘science’ for instance your child may worry that they are not the same as other children and aren’t fitting in with their peers. They don’t want to be unpopular and they don’t want to stop doing what they love. How can they fit in, carry on being who they are and keep their passion for the ‘stuff’ that makes them who they are. Here's some tips:

Written by Naomi Richards also known as The Kids Coach www.thekidscoach.org.uk Naomi does one to one coaching and runs workshops for cihldren on a variety of topics.

Travelling is necessary but it can be boring and stressful. Children become tired, hungry and find it difficult to keep themselves amused. You can help them by planning ahead and making sure you have everything they could possibly need.

Naomi Richards is also known as The Kids Coach www.thekidscoach.org.uk. She works one to one with children and run holiday workshops for childrne on a variety of topics.

1.      Express positive feelings to your child.

For more information on help with child related issues visit www.thekidscoach.org.uk Naomi is The Kids Coach and works one to one with children and runs a series of workshops for them during the holidays on a variety of topics.