Getting A Good Night's Sleep:
Kids Corner

Aired on Superstation WGN
Saturday, January 22 and March 5, 2005
Show 203

There's nothing better than seeing your child curled up in bed, dreaming the night away. Unfortunately, many kids today just aren't getting enough sleep. According to a study at Stanford University, teens are the worst offenders. They should be getting one to two hours more sleep per night, than when they were nine or ten years old. But actually, they're getting one to two hours less. They're up late at night with friends. They're doing homework. They're watching television. It's a big problem. Lack of sleep in teens has been connected to everything from poor grades to drug and alcohol use. That's why it's so important to teach your children to get a good nights' sleep. So how do you know if your children are getting enough sleep? Typically, if they can fall asleep within 15 to 30 minutes, if they wake up easily in the morning and if they're awake and alert all day. As for good sleeping habits, those are something you need to teach your children at a very young age. Thirty-seven percent of school-aged kids experience significant sleep problems. Here are a few tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Get your kids in a regular routine and make going to bed enjoyable. Make sure there's a quiet period before bed. Read stories and spend some time one on one. Begin to turn down the lights a half hour before bedtime. Be sure your child is comfortable, check the room temperature. Limit the amount of TV they watch, television especially right before bedtime, can lead to sleeping problems. And if your kids have TVs in their rooms, get them out. School-aged children need between nine and twelve hours of sleep a night. If they get it, they'll do better in school, be less aggressive, and it won't be such a chore to drag them out of bed in the morning.  That thought alone ought to help you sleep better too!