What you can say:
Start with curiosity, not correction. Try asking:
“Hey, I saw you were up late. Was it hard to wind down last night?”
What you can do together:
- Pick a wind-down time based on recommended hours of sleep for their age, and then try it for three nights this week.
- If it works, pick a reward. Younger kids may love stickers or choosing breakfast cereal. Tweens and teens may prefer something like having a say in the routine or planning part of the weekend.
Try this:
- Charge phones outside the bedroom.
- Suggest they use a sleep cue, like a warm shower or bath or washing their face, to signal to the brain it’s time to start winding down.
- They could switch tech to an audiobook or calming playlist 30 minutes before bedtime.
If this keeps happening:
It’s okay. Habits take time. Try asking:
- “What’s making it hard to shut down at night?”
- “Is there a small change we can try this week?”
