One very cold and chilly morning, I was heading for a 5 am medical appointment at a hospital a few miles away from my house.
Before I joined the busy Thika Super Highway, I thought about the past few weeks and especially about how my choice of early hospital appointments was eating into my cherished sleep.
I had selected these times to be attended to for many reasons but most importantly to be able to still attend to work-related duties with minimal interruptions.
There was this boda-boda on high speed with a tiny little child clad in uniform, a hood on their head and a heavy backpack hanging loosely on their back.
I saw a group of children as young as four years shivering in that wee hour as they waited at bus stops for their school buses to pick them up and surprisingly most were unaccompanied.
More children were walking hand in hand along the roadsides to school and most worryingly unaccompanied.
At this juncture, several thoughts flashed to my mind: How can the earliest passengers in city-bound matatus and buses be the youngest and most vulnerable population?
If a child is on the road or catching a bus at 5 am, when did they wake up?
Did they sleep early enough to wake up this early? Who is preparing these little ones or is it the duty of the house helps too? Did they have something to eat this early?
Other questions were was there anyone to make them some warm milk, a piece of toast and to encourage them to eat the early meal or was it hurriedly shoved into their backpacks to be eaten at their peril?
Don’t our children need adequate sleep? Are there no policies that advise us and who are the custodians of these laws and regulations?
Of course, it is you and I!
I, therefore, challenge all of us to speak up and act to save our future - our children.
According to an article dated June 9, 2020, studies have shown that children who regularly get an adequate amount of sleep have improved attention, behaviour, learning, memory and overall wholesome mental and physical health.
Establishing a healthy sleep pattern in early life is very important for child development.
Adequate sleep also plays a critical role in learning, memory, emotional regulation and related brain structure development.
Furthermore, as Dr Seuss sums it all up; a person is a person no matter how small.
Our children are a heritage from the Lord. Let's be considerate and take care of them.
Inclusive Educator and a Disability Practitioner at Kenyatta University
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
