Description: Nearly all the experts agree: Americans do not get enough sleep. And children suffer most of all -- with learning difficulties, short attention spans, compromised health -- and, last but not least, extreme crankiness. This no-nonsense guide helps ensure that children get the sleep they really need -- up to 12 hours a night for a 4-year-old and 11 hours for a 7-year-old. With refreshing honesty, authority, and empathy, Inda Schaenen shows that it's not only possible to set a firm and early bedtime, it's a necessity.

Many parents think their kids will fall behind if they're not involved in constant planned activities. But Schaenen contends that they fall behind when they are constantly overtired. Her program gives an entirely new rhythm to family life -- one that takes the emphasis off of life at a breakneck speed, and even allows parents a little free time in the evening.

Schaenen sets out the reasons for adopting an early schedule, suggests an hour-by-hour flow chart of a typical day, and shows how to cope with unavoidable exceptions to the schedule. In addition she offers household strategies, recipes, and lists of sources that offer practical and theoretical support. Best of all, she helps parents stop feeling guilty about putting their kids to bed early -- and shows them how restoring a sense of order to their chaotic lives benefits every member of the family.

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