ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- The beginning of the new school year means getting back on schedule after a summer without alarm clocks.
Dr. Luis Ortiz is a sleep specialist with Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. He acknowledges that typical bedtime schedules "evaporate" in the summer. He says ideally, parents should be gradually putting children back on schedule before the first day of class. Ortiz says to get your child back on track, count backwards from " wake up" time and remember that kids need nine or more hours of sleep. Make sure that teens shut down their phones at bedtime if not before.
Psychologist Jennifer Katzenstein with Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital says it's important to give older children a system, such as a calendar, and then give them autonomy as well as responsibility. "Not being on top of them about it... (or) 'nagging' them about it, and then also making sure that we are allowing them to experience the logical consequence if that doesn't get done."
Listen to tips from Dr. Luis Ortiz and Jennifer Katzenstein PhD of Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital below.
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