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Text Box: NEWS ALERT: Daylight Saving Time Starts on April 3Text Box:   How can I get my night owl to bed earlier? (continued from page 2) If your child doesn't already have a bedtime routine, establish one. Choose a time close to the hour that she goes to sleep now. Bedtime should be relaxed, a way for the body to slow down and prepare to sleep. A bath, a story, some quiet time with you -- these will all become signals for her that the day has ended. Once you have the routine down, move it up a few minutes every evening until she's going to bed at a reasonable hour and waking easily in the morning. An adolescent is likely to give you more grief about bedtime. At this stage, a child's life is more complex, with more demands on her time: homework, a social life, after-school activities, perhaps a part-time job. She also wants to exert her independence -- and bedtime is one area where she can do that. What's more, some sleep researchers believe that a teen's sleep schedule shifts later naturally, so there may be a biological reason for staying up late. Unfortunately, teenagers still have to get up for school. While you can't change her biological tendencies, you can help her get some sleep. If she's not tired at night, insist that she still get ready for bed at a regular time. Suggest she read a book rather than chat online or watch TV. Wake her at the same time every morning -- even on Saturdays and Sundays -- so that she's more likely to be sleepy at night. Also, make sure your child avoids caffeine late in the day, since it can interfere with sleep.   If my child doesn't get enough sleep during the week, can she catch up on the weekend? Research shows that many adolescents are racking up a 2-hour deficit every weeknight. That means 10 extra hours of sleep are needed by each weekend, which leaves very little time for other activities. Even if your child can catch up by sleeping in, it's not a good idea. If she sleeps late on Saturday and Sunday, she's probably not going to be tired Sunday evening, so she'll start the week off on the wrong foot.

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