Children, as we know, are our future and whatever happens to them in their early years can have long-lasting and, sometimes, devastating effects on them. Take a few steps forward and you soon realize that whatever happens to them, happens to us as a society since we will pay one way or another. The "payment" may come in taxes to support correctional facilities, mental health treatment centers or hospital emergency room visits.

Surveying the often-turmoil-filled world of children today, we can see many instances where our "world" or culture, ingrained in us in decades past, doesn't fit too well in this all-out, full-on, media-intense world. The internet is still a fairly uncomfortable mystery to many of our citizens who either don't have access or feel it's too complicated for them to master. For others, it's a means of keeping the kids busy or of helping them with their homework. Neither of these is objectionable.

Didn't parents use TV when you were a youngster to help manage the daily activities in the home, especially if mom had no help and was in the home alone? Books have been written about the dangers of too much TV for kids and I can recall it being called "the plug-in drug." The point is that excess may be the culprit, not the medium.

Too much stimulation and too little access to quiet time may do more damage than anyone realizes. The brain is a wonderful, evolving organ during these formative years which we now know last until the age of 21. Born with an excess of tiny projections and connections, it is carefully sculpted by the environment, both in the home and via education, to become our guiding star of life. The mysteries of the forming brain are still being explored and we will keep learning as the researchers keep making new discoveries.

Recently, an unknown feature in the brain was found, the glymphatic system. Once again, it pointed out how there is still so much to learn. What was it? A "drainage" system which the brain uses to rid itself, during sleep mostly, of the detritus of the day.

Besides cleaning out the brain's dumpsters, it may also aid in our immune system's workings. In fact, as it cleans itself, the brain also squeezes and appears to reduce in size much like a sponge does as we wring the water out of it. During sleep, the researchers propose, is the only time this happens, making sleep that much more important. For children, sleep must be seen as vital for this system to work efficiently.

Healthcare professionals and mental health clinicians know that if we want healthy children, both in body and mind, we need to consider several things in a child's development. They include:

1. Limiting times of emotional stress since stress raises the body's levels of a hormone, cortisol, that can be injurious to brain development.

2. Providing quiet time to calm down children's behavior and reinforce their ability to self-modify when stressed.

3. Allowing access to stimulating video-game activities to specific times and setting rules for both the times and the number of hours on the computer to play these games.

4. Helping children to develop stronger communication skills and allowing them the opportunity to understand actions and consequences in a world that makes sense. The "because I said so" isn't the way to go. Neither is rewarding a child for everything they do.

5. Making bedtime mandatory and ensuring that sufficient time to sleep quietly is planned in the home routine. Their sleeping area needs to be dark, quiet and free of distractions. Computers or other devices may not be used in bed.

6. Developing a sense of personal responsibility for their property as well as that of others.

7. Knowing that you are a dependable advocate for them in times of stress. Any variance from this can result in strongly reinforcing behavioral problems. Children need support and guidance, but they also need protection and to know they will be safe because you're there for them.

Follow the rules time? Every rule must be carefully measured to see how it fits into the situation. Rigidity can be a problem. Negotiation must be considered.

More on the wonders of sleep can be obtained in my book: SLEEP; Everyone needs it and so do you.