The "Ohhhh, Nice to Meet You Again, Sleep" Phase: Ages 7 to 12

As they get older, kids get better at sleeping well. (Or so I'm told.) At this age, it's mostly a matter of maintaining the bedtime routine and practicing good "sleep hygiene." Maintain the bedtime routine. The routine will likely change when your kid gets older and he's able to put himself to bed, but the basics of going from active to quieter activities, and unplugging from video games and TV still apply. Limit after-school activities. Extra-curricular activities are important, but too many of them coupled with lots of homework can push the bedtime later and later. Kids this age still need about 10-11 hours of sleep a day, although the average is only about 9 hours. Don't let weekends throw you off. Sleeping in on the weekends doesn't help anyone catch up on sleep and can, instead, throw off our internal clocks. A policy of staying up late "because it's the weekend" could jeopardize your child's sleep the following week, so try to avoid that if you can.