Have you ever had your 6 year old start crying for something that was truly unworthy of tears, or had your 11 year old have such an attitude that stuns you, or how about your 4 year old falling asleep on the way home from the grocery store with in seconds of pulling out of the parking lot.We often say, “he’s crying because he’s tired,” or “she didn’t get a good nights sleep, hence the attitude.” What we are really saying is that our precious little child did not get enough sleep last night and there are consequences that come with that. Now, are the consequences just a fussy child or can the consequences escalate in to a focus problem, or into a discipline problem that can seriously affect how our child learns at school or how our child is perceived by their teachers.An incredible amount of studies have come out recently that tell us that kids of all ages are just not getting enough sleep at night. Your hard earned tax paying dollars have commissioned this neat little foundation that studies the effects of kids not getting enough sleep called The National Sleep Foundation. This interesting, yet informed group says that “about 69% of children 10 and under experience some type of sleep problem.” They have even attributed sleep deprivation to attention deficit disorder, children being overweight and have even linked it to some serious illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure.How do you remedy the situation? The obvious answer would be to get them a good night sleep or get them to bed earlier. Easier said than done. Have you tried to get a 6 year old to bed before 8, or tell an 11 year old they need to get off the phone and go to bed to get the sleep they need?Best solution is to get in to a routine of what happens at night and when it happens and try to stick with it. I realize that is hard to do with baseball practice that runs until 9 at night, or a dance review that ends at 11. We all do the best we can but a great way to start off on the right foot is to get them a room that they love, a room where they feel comfortable and they can relax and fall asleep easily.We all know what it is like to go on vacation, yet when you come home there is just something about getting back in to your own bed. The comfort, the familiarity and generally the fact that this one room is your hub. Children need that too. No matter what kind of day they have had, they need one spot in the house that they find very comforting and they find their hub. Where they relax, where they rejuvenate and where they go to sleep.Often times we think we only need the cheapest mattress for our children, or their rooms are given the least amount of thought or attention. And it is not to say that you need to spend a ton of money on their rooms, it is just meant to say that you need to make it something special, to them. A place where they find solace and they find relaxing and where they get a good nights sleep. The more special their room is, the more time they enjoy spending there. Shut the TV off, read a good book, have a good atmosphere and let them settle in to their perfect place to get their good nights sleep.