Despite claims that this generation of children have less time for play, a recent study by Case Western Reserve University finds that today's children are more imaginative than those born twenty or so years before. How has imaginative play changed over the past two decades, and should we embrace it?

Since the 1980's, the amount of time children have to engage in play has decreased significantly. In schools, the time allotted for recess has decreased, while out of school children are engaged in activities or technological activities (television, video games and the internet).

Surprisingly, a collection of studies from the period 1985-2008 shows that the level of imagination demonstrated by 6-10 year old's during sessions of "pretend play" has increased, as has the level of "comfort".

These results were evaluated by Sandra Russ and Jessica Dillon who conclude that "more recently, children were more imaginative in their play". Participants of these fourteen studies were met with individually and given two neutral puppets and three blocks with which they could play with however they liked.

"It is encouraging that these cognitive and affective processes in play have remained the same or improved, given the decline in unstructured time for children" explains the research. But what should we make of these results in light of the decrease in time for unstructured play over the past two decades?

What do you think?

Sleep is an essential aspect of children's healthy growth and development. Unfortunately it is not a skill we learn naturally: as parents we must ensure we teach our children how to experience good sleep habits from an early age to ensure their peak mental and physical development.

The main benefit of sleep for children is the release of the growth hormone which encourages normal bodily growth and development. Additionally there are psychological benefits: concentration is aided by the processing of the day's events and skills learned by the developing child and emotional well-being is assisted by the detoxifying nature of a good night's rest.

Lack of sleep is evidenced to have a negative effect on our physical and mental health - most notably among children and young adults - from lack of concentration to depression, decreased immunity and loss of creative intent. Late-night videogames, social media and peer influence are factors which place pressure on our sleep times, so it's important to know how much sleep our children should be getting at their various stages of life.

How much sleep is normal?

Of course it must be understood that some children naturally require more or less sleep than others, but here are some guidelines for the amount of sleep children of various ages should be aiming for:

Toddlers aged around three require roughly 12 hours of sleep a day. It may be difficult for such young children to fall or stay asleep at this young age, particularly when concerned about separation from mum or dad. This can be eased by establishing good sleep routines (see below) or by cuddling a favourite toy or blanket for reassurance.

Young children aged between four and six tend to need between 10 1/2 and 11 1/2 hours sleep each night. At this stage of development almost all children experience some difficulty sleeping, with problems ranging from bed-wetting to night terrors and fear of the dark. Again, a good bedtime routine should be maintained to minimise problems. Offer support and reassurance without over-dramatising the problem: you are your child's greatest role model, so if they see you are not overly anxious they will learn to be calmer about the situation.

Between the ages of six and ten children require around 10 hours of sleep a night. Reassuringly there should be fewer sleep issues at this age with sleep more akin to that of an adult and far reduced frequency of nightmares.

Tweens and teenagers need between 8 and 9 hours of sleep, though many get fewer hours of rest than this. It is vital to stress the importance of a good night's sleep in ways they may understand and observe. Try explaining that sleep promotes healthier skin (fewer zits to worry about) and aids concentration so they may do better in school which are persuasions more likely to make a teenager listen than their perception of an over-zealous parent!

Establishing (and maintaining) good sleep routines

Ideally we should begin establishing sleep routines from infancy and maintain such routines throughout childhood and beyond.

Try to keep routines quiet and peaceful after your evening meal, with some quiet play time and a bath followed by storytime for younger children or reading/peaceful television programmes for older children before bed.

Keep to the same time for bed each night whenever possible, and try to wake at roughly the same time each morning which "trains" the body to expect sleep and wakefulness to occur at these times. This is particularly important on school nights, though older children who have an established routine can be treated to a slightly later bedtime at weekends or school holidays.

With all the hormonal changes which occur during puberty, you may find your teenager would benefit from a little more sleep at certain points of development (particularly teenage boys!). Rather than nag your wilful teenager to go to bed earlier when they are grumpy or listless, allow them a little lie-in at weekends if it's possible, or encourage a short nap/quiet time during the day to promote restfulness and ensure their concentration levels do not dwindle.

Further resources about children and sleep habits

A complete overview of healthy sleep habits and sleep problems would require a tome the size of an encyclopaedia, so if you have concerns about your child's sleep here are some useful sites offering further advice on the subject:

• The Sleep Council
• Children's Sleep (Live Well, NHS Choices)
• Sleeping Well (the Royal College of Psychaitrists)

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We've long known the beneficial properties of music for babies. Lullabies or classical music have been used by parents the world over to soothe their babies and help them drift off to sleep, not to mention the benefits of bonding with your infant while singing your favourite songs!

Recent studies have also shown that music can be used as therapy for premature babies to help soothe them and increase the sucking reflex which helped them gain weight. Live music and the sound of a parent singing to the beat of a lullaby was proven to have the biggest impact.

But can music help babies become smarter?

A study by researchers at McMaster university has shown that musical training in infancy has beneficial effects, even before children can walk or talk! The findings show that one-year-old babies who participated in interactive music lessons with their parents showed improved skills in communication, smile more frequently and displayed more sophisticated brain responses to music.

Previous studies have proven the effect for older children (such as the link between learning to play an instrument and increased mathematical ability), but this was the first of its kind to research the benefits of musical training in infancy.

For six months, babies and their parents participated in one of two types of musical instruction. One class involved interactive music making with both parents and babies participating in the activities; learning nursery rhymes, lullabies and songs with actions. The other group was more passive, with infants playing at toy stations while Baby Einstein (classical music) CDs were played in the background.

Researchers learned that babies of the interactive music group displayed a greater appreciation of music than those in the passive group:

Babies who participated in the interactive music classes with their parents showed earlier sensitivity to the pitch structure in music. Specifically, they preferred to listen to a version of a piano piece that stayed in key, versus a version that included out-of-key notes. Infants who participated in the passive listening classes did not show the same preferences. Even their brains responded to music differently. Infants from the interactive music classes showed larger and/or earlier brain responses to musical tones.

- Laurel Trainor, director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind.

Babies from the interactive classes showed better early communication skills, like pointing at objects that are out of reach, or waving goodbye. Socially, these babies also smiled more, were easier to soothe, and showed less distress when things were unfamiliar or didn’t go their way.