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

~ (Author) "Nancy Birkenmeier is a nurse with the Unity Sleep Medicine and Research Center at St. Luke's Hospital in St. Louis..." (more)
Key Phrases: handheld blender, early bedtime, New York, Amy Wolfson, Exceptional Nights (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You think parents don't get enough sleep? Inda Schaenen argues persuasively in this slim yet thought-provoking book that parents who have to wake their kids up every morning can't be the only ones suffering from sleep deprivation. She points to substantial pediatric evidence that sleep deprivation is a serious problem for children, with consequences ranging from grumpiness to (according to some experts) the exacerbation or even creation of disorders such as ADHD. And she insists that none of the activities consuming evening time are as important to a child as adequate rest.

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

Product Description

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:

Your kids get the rest they need to grow and learn.

You set a daily pace that allows kids to be kids.

You get a much-needed break in the evenings.

The whole family thrives under less stress.

In this revolutionary book, Inda Schaenen helps you restructure your children's daily schedules from dawn till dusk, suggesting dozens of lifestyle changes that will reduce crankiness, improve school performance, and give you back control of your life. You'll learn why your kids need a 7 o'clock bedtime and, most important, how to make it happen. The book includes a detailed timetable; advice for dealing with vacations, school breaks, travel, And illness; and quick and healthful recipes. And Schaenen's wise, reassuring tone will inspire you to make this important and beneficial change.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1 edition (May 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060988894
• ISBN-13: 978-0060988890
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318,709 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read for Every Parent...., July 8, 2002

By	Susan Trexel "almond_cakes" (Near the great state of Idaho) - See all my reviews

...even if you never actually set up your life around a 7 o'clock bedtime. This book was loaned to me by a friend, and I enjoyed reading it. It is easy to get through, not heavy and burdensome, yet gives a lot of good food for thought in child rearing. Actually, if you are an informed parent, a lot here is stuff you probably already know, like TV is bad for children, children need a diet with less sugar and salt, children need to have time to BE children instead of rushed from this lesson to that club...you get the picture. Yet even though I have read this all before (I am a stay at home mom of a 19 yr. old, a 10 yr. old, and a 4 yr. old) over the 19 years of my parenting career, I feel every time I read it, I NEED to hear it again, because as a parent it is easy to drift from the ideals we want for our children.
I recommend all parents read this book. We need to be aware of how our culture and society today is very negative against childhood and so much that we accept as normal is NOT good for children. It takes effort to order our lives so that our children can enjoy their childhoods as children, not as mini teenagers or mini adults.
I can't say I totally agree with the 7 o'clock bedtime concept. I do think she is right in that children need much more sleep than we realize or give them. I do think this works well with babies, toddlers, with children up to the age of 7 or so. However it will not work for all people, especially those who have one or more parents who do not work the usual 9 to 5 hours. I think you could still have your children go to bed at 8 or even 9 and still benefit, especially if your children can get up later in the morning, or if they take a good nap in the day.
The author speaks of the importance of routine in the life of a child, and this is VERY important, no matter what bedtime you exactly use. Routine has a calming effect on children, and they feel safe and secure in routine.
I enjoyed the suble humor of this author; she wrote honestly and not like she was the super perfect mom none of us can ever be. I cheer her for being so honest as to admitting that at times she has served cold cereal for dinner! I have done that on rare occassions! I like her emphasis on simplicity as well.
At the back of this book, the author has a very good list of other parenting books to read. Some were ones I have read; I think anyone reading this book would do well to go on and read others in her list. Parenting takes much effort on our part, and we need to be informed. We can't trust society or the fact that "everyone's doing it" as a model to follow for our parenting. You owe it to your children's well being to read this book and others.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book!, July 25, 2001

By A Customer

Ever since I read this book I have found myself recommending it to all my friends. Those friends who I have lent my copy to read have since gone out and bought their own.

I liked the principle enourmously and her gentle approach to it. I found the book to written differently than most parenting books with their air of authority and lofty advice. This book gets down to the nitty gritty. The style of writing was more like an old friend writing a letter to you, sharing what worked for her. Sometimes the writing would wander off the subject a bit, but it was that personal aspect that appealed to me when I read it.

Ah ha! But what was it about you may ask. It is about how to get kids into bed by 7 o'clock (you probably geussed this much already) and explores the practical way of scheduling the early evening to accomplish this. It also covers the benefits of the early bedtime and tailoring the schedule to fit different situations, i.e. vacations and sleep overs. The people who will most benefit from this book are people with school age children or children who have to be somewhere at a certain time in the morning. However, I have a toddler and I have started slowly implenting the earlier bedtime with a view of 'starting as we mean to go on'. As an attachment parent, I liked her references to nursing and as part of a tv free family I especially liked her views that tv is overstimulating.

I would put this book in with my top ten parenting books.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensible Advice, September 13, 2001

By	"jaguirre4" (houston texas) - See all my reviews

I have a personal library of parent/children help books with over 100 different titles and categories. Adding this book to my collection created a new section in my collection.
The idea of 7'o clock bedtime may be unrealistic to working parents or stay-at-home parents, but Schaenen offers many alternative schedules for various lifestyles. But her basic tennent of the importance of sleep in a child's life should not be overlooked. Many children in our neighborhood are up past 10 pm on a school night watching television and their parents wonder why they are so wired. Too much stimulation counters the natural rythyms of a child's brain. After reading this book, we instituted an 8'oclock bedtime for our 2 1/2 year old, cancelled TV completely, and have exprienced more personal time together than ever before. We decided 8 'oclock because our child wakes always at 8 am, so 12 hours is sufficient for his age group.
This book should be a "wake up" call to many parents who seem to have lost the upperhand on children and schedules. It really can change face of your family.
Thanks Inda!