People I work with can tell you: I’m a night owl. I’ve received a few chuckles at the time of day my e-mails are sent.
Is there anything wrong with staying up late and sleeping in a little?

I don’t think so, but a new study says that people who stay up late have a darker outlook than those who get up early in the morning.
The Brazilian study, lead by Dr. Maria Paz Loayza Hidalgo, was published in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.
According to the research, night owls were nearly three times as likely as early birds to experience symptoms of severe depression. …read more

Let’s talk about the idea of family bed sharing. Is it a means to forming strong family bonds or a way to ensure that kids will never sleep in their own beds without a struggle?
In our house, the rule of thumb is that once the kids are weaned to a bottle, they are expected to sleep in their own rooms. The parent’s bed is only for the parents. This, in part, is due to the fact that my husband has serious back problems and cannot bear to sleep in compromising positions. We also share the belief that our bed is the place where we …read more

 My kids have a clear cut bedtime routine. They know our expectations and rarely fight us on matters of sleeping arrangements. There is one thing, however, that I allow them to have a say in… the use of a night light. About half of my kids are afraid of the dark. I see no problem with allowing a night light in the room, as long as it is safe and doesn’t lead to messing around. My husband disagrees with me on this matter. He thinks that I am giving them the okay to have an irrational fear. He believes that the lights …read more

There is an urban legend, ’round these parts, of a family whose children relish the nightly ritual that is their bedtime routine. When the clock strikes half past seven, they scamper to the restroom to commence with their nightly oral hygien routine.
 
After their teeth are squeaky clean, they scramble to pick out an outfit for the upcoming day. The children’s father usually helps them select one that fits and matches, which is no small feat! While they look, they talk about the day and their goals for the week.

After clothing is selected, reading time begins. Everyone grabs a book and heads …read more