¡Mama Mía! Kindergarten has just begun for my 5 year old and we are having a terrible time School is great—his teacher even said so at Back to School night. It's home life that seems to have taken a turn for the worse, particularly around dinner time. Is this common? What is it and what can we do to fix it?

I can tell you exactly what's happening at the onset of elementary school. Your son is sleep deprived! He is not getting enough sleep to get him through the busy emotional, psychological, physical world that is kindergarten.

If you had any fun at all this summer you weren't exactly enforcing the 7:30 p.m. bedtime. Music in the park, BBQs at the beach, movies in the Village, and all the other super-cool activities that occupied your bright, sunny evenings are going to catch up to you with about three to four weeks of whining and crying during the dinner hour.

The earlier sundown should help you wrestle junior to bed by 8 p.m., but that is still not going to help him thrive and strive during the day at school or at home. Get a consistent bedtime schedule you can follow through the next 180 school days. Don't think of it as holding your breath through the next three seasons, but instead as an investment in your personal well-being. A well-rested child means a well rested mom — much more pleasant for everyone.

The National Sleep Foundation (www.sleepfoundation.org) says, “Children aged five to 12 need 10-11 hours of sleep.” They go on to say “Poor or inadequate sleep can lead to mood swings, behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and cognitive problems that impact on their ability to learn in school.” Marc Weissbluth, M.D. takes this a bit further in his book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by reviewing current research that found “eternalizing problems such as aggression, defiance, non-compliance, oppositional behavior, acting out, and hyperactivity were associated with less sleep.”

Now let's work together on this. If Mr. Sunshine has to be out the door by 8:30 a.m., you've got to get up at least by 7:30 a.m. to allow adequate time to prep and eat that all-important first meal, as well as complete his necessary dressing and grooming. At this point I would like to offer huge accolades to any school that employs a uniform policy and to any boy who favors a buzz cut. According to the authorities, that means lights out and eyes closed by roughly 7:30 p.m., which translates to finished with dinner and beginning the bedtime routine of bath, jammies, and books by about 6:30 p.m. Ouch! Talk about an early end to a wonderful day. Let's be honest; how wonderful is your day if your kindergartner is melting down at every turn and not successful at school?

Thank goodness the first year of public school begins at 9 a.m. and not the vampire-like high school hours. If you cherish your sanity, instill your new bedtime now and get those routines going. For his sake and yours: Good night.

— If you have a parenting puzzler for Mama Mia at the KidZone Museum in Truckee e-mail info@kidzonemuseum.org or call 587-KIDS.