DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a fairly strict parent about schoolwork and social life, but I haven’t been so strict about bedtime. My daughter is now 15 years old, and she hardly ever goes to sleep before 11 p.m. The problem is that she has to wake up at 6 a.m. She is not getting enough sleep.
I have been trying to reinforce earlier sleeping hours, but I feel like it’s too late. On the weekends, she sleeps like 10 hours, but I still think she should go to bed earlier on school nights. How can I get her to do that? -- Teenage Bedtime
DEAR TEENAGE BEDTIME: It can be challenging to get a teenager to follow directions, even when they are part of the daily routine. Imposing bedtime on a teen can be a huge challenge, but it is not insurmountable. Use logic and boundaries to support your decision. Tell your daughter why you want her to go to sleep earlier -- her health and her mental well-being. Offer her incentives for the earlier bedtime, like if she goes to sleep earlier, studies longer and does better in her classes, she gets a reward. Pick something she values.
Then, to enforce the new bedtime, take away electronic devices and turn off the lights at whatever time you want your daughter to go to sleep. Make sure that there are no electronics in her room that could prove to be a distraction. You will likely need to go to sleep at the same time in order to keep your home quiet and so that your daughter knows that you mean business.
(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)