This past weekend was very busy.  We travelled 3 states for a wedding, a boat show, and an air show.  Today, the weather is cloudy and cool.  Last night, the kids stayed up until 10 to watch Wipe Out--what's funnier than watching people fall and crash in alarming ways, over and over again, right?  Anyway, all of this adds up to the fact that it is now 10:16 am, and the kids are still asleep!

Frankly, I would love to go jump in bed with one of them, snuggle up, and nap for awhile, but alas, I am the responsible adult working so that we can have a roof over our heads.  Yes, that is whining you hear!

What this all is leading to is that kids have different sleep needs as the grow.  Infants and young children need a lot of sleep.  However, once kids move past first or second grade, their sleep needs drop down to 9 or 10 hours a night.  When they move into puberty, and especially once they hit their teens and they are growing non-stop, you can expect your teen to want to sleep what might seem like a ridiculous amount of time.

With a new school year rapidly approaching, it's a good idea to make sure everyone starts working their way back to the school year sleep schedule if it differs from what you were doing this summer.  Younger kids should be getting to bed between 8 pm and 9pm, if they get up around 6 - 7 am.  Elementary aged kids need 9 - 10 hours of sleep, and teens surprisingly need between 9 and 11 hours. 

Have the kids start going to bed and getting up 15 - 30 minutes earlier each week until they are at their normal school bed and rising times.

Making sure teens get enough sleep can be a real challenge, especially if they have a lot of social or extracurricular activities.  But here are a couple of points to keep in mind:

• An overtired teen is a grumpy one with difficulty focusing.  Those mood swings and irritibility you're seeing?  It may be puberty, but could also be a sign they're not getting enough sleep.  And kids need enough sleep to focus and stay attentive in class.
• If your tween or teen is busy, make sure that homework and sleep come before extracurriculars.  Bedtime should be no later than 10pm on school nights, and preferably closer to 9.
• Don't allow your teen to stay up hours later on weekends than they do on weeknights.  We all need a regular sleep schedule to perform well and fight illness, so staying up late on the weekend should be an exception for a special occasion, not the rule.