The 7 O'Clock Bedtime: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a child healthy, playful, and wise
by Inda Schaenen

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Book Reviews of The 7 O'Clock Bedtime: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a child healthy, playful, and wise

Book Review: Some good ideas, some fluff
Summary: 3 Stars

Summary of The 7 O'Clock Bedtime: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a child healthy, playful, and wise

For most of the book--including a final section full of recipes and tips--Schaenen is wearing her Mom hat. She details the daily mechanics of getting children to bed by 7:00 and talks at length about exceptions. The regime she follows, and recommends to parents, isn't easy: she plans the after-school snack for as close to 3:00 as she can get it, allows after-school play until 4:30, has dinner on the table at 5:00, starts the bathroom routine at 6:00, and settles in for storytime from 6:15 to 6:45. By 7:00, she's saying good night.

Of course many working parents may find her routine impossible. But Shaenen's main point sticks: if mornings are tense, you should be thinking long and hard about what family restructuring is necessary to ensure that your children are getting the rest they need. And, as she points out, the moms and dads who get an hour or two of downtime each evening are happier, saner, better parents. --Richard Farr

Are children hardwired to stay up late, scarfing down cookies and soda and surfing the Internet? No, says Inda Schaenen, who advocates a no-nonsense, nurturing approach that will help you get your kids into bed by 7 o'clock -- and help you make a saner life for yourself.

Most kids today are overscheduled, and consequently they're often wound up and active until late in the evening. But when kids are exhausted, bedtime becomes a struggle and everyone loses.

The solution? Put your kids to bed at 7 o'clock and reap the benefits: