BU DHABI // Parents allowing their children to stay up until all hours do not realise the damage it may be having on their development, child health experts say.
Sleep deprivation in the young can harm learning ability, memory and even the child's growth, they say. It also leads to greater risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Most experts agree a child needs at least eight hours a night – an amount all too many in the UAE are not getting.
"Maybe it's just habit or the family education here," said Dr Maha Darwich, a paediatrician at Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Centre in Dubai. "For many families it doesn't matter what time the child goes to bed.
"Whether it's tradition, I don't know. I find this in so many families here, of lots of nationalities.
"We should educate the parents on this point and educate the children in schools."
Lack of sleep can affect the growth of children between the ages of 1 and 4, and in those aged 7 to 12, it can lead to an increased rate of obesity when they are teenagers, Dr Darwich said.
"We have to train our children to get enough sleep because it will affect the whole future of the child," she said.
Sleep deprivation can also lead to longer recuperation from illness, said Dr Sadeer Samara, medical director of XY Clinics in Dubai.
"A child who does not sleep well tends to be less focused, irritable and takes longer to recover if he or she becomes sick," Dr Samara said.
"The amount of sleep and intensity changes somewhat, depending on the age of the child, but the necessity of getting at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep does not."
Dr Khaldoun Mozahem, a sleep specialist at the American Centre for Psychiatry and Neurology in Abu Dhabi, said growth hormones were mainly secreted at night, which was a time for the body to regenerate and repair.
"There is evidence that the data we obtain during the day and all the sensations we receive during the day, through vision and hearing – all this information will be reorganised when we are asleep," Dr Mozahem said.
Parents needed to be educated about the problem, said Dr Bassel Shaaban, a paediatrician at Abu Dhabi's Al Noor Hospital.
"In the region in general it's quite common, especially with modern life, when there is a lot of entertainment and activities that children can do up to a late time," Dr Shaaban said. "The lack of knowledge from the parents makes the problem even worse.
"When I see some western children, they have more control of it. Most of the time I can see that the parents have the ability and the knowledge to know that this child needs some protocols for sleep, he needs some certain rules for sleep.
"In other communities, they leave the child to decide himself or herself."
School-age children should have between nine and 12 hours sleep at night, Dr Shaaban advised.
He warned that a tired or lazy child can also become an obese child.
Dr Deepti Chaturvedi, a specialist paediatrician at the capital's Burjeel Hospital, agreed that educating parents and children was key.
"The concept of early sleep is not present here in the UAE," Dr Chaturvedi said. "I think they don't realise it's important for kids to sleep and have an adequate amount of sleep because everybody has to go to school the next day.
"More important is to keep the regular pattern so that the kid understands the body, understands the rhythm, the sleep-awake cycle is there and it should start from as early as possible."
She said studies had shown an increased rate of ADHD in children who did not have enough sleep.
It can also have an effect on memory and concentration, resulting in mood swings and behavioural problems.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
RESULTS
1.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
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2pm Handicap (TB) Dh 84,000 (D) 1,400m
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2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Sadeedd, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
3pm Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,950m
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3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4pm Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Bladesmith, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh 68,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
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Torque: 370Nm
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Company%20Profile
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