Newswise — Summer vacation's over. Are your kids back on their sleep schedule?
Probably not. But there's hope. Dr. John Herman, a pediatric sleep expert at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, says most parents then make a common mistake: They tell the child to go to bed earlier in order to get up early the next morning.
"Some kids may go right to sleep," he says, "but most will lie there staring at the ceiling."
Don't send the child to bed earlier, Herman says; just "have him or her get up earlier. They'll come home that first day a little tired, but most will be ready for bed earlier the next night." The routine may take several days to a week, he says, but it's effective.
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