In a segment of the Fox KTVU Morning Show, hosts discuss the importance of re‑establishing healthy sleep habits for children as the back‑to‑school season approaches. They interview Reena Vokoun, founder of PassionFit, who shares evidence‑based recommendations. Vokoun emphasizes that adequate sleep supports attention, memory, and overall physical and mental well‑being, and cites risks of chronic sleep deprivation such as depression, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. She advises families to begin adjusting bedtime schedules two to three weeks before school starts, gradually shifting sleep times rather than making abrupt changes. Specific sleep‑duration guidelines are offered: elementary‑age children (≈8‑12 years) should aim for 9–12 hours per night, while teenagers need 8–10 hours. Practical sleep‑hygiene tips include avoiding screens, sugary foods, and liquids in the hours before bedtime; establishing calming bedtime rituals such as showers, brushing teeth, warm milk, and reading; and limiting nighttime fluid intake to reduce bathroom trips. Vokoun acknowledges the particular challenge of teen screen use and recommends consistent communication about the importance of sleep, using “baby steps” to phase out electronic devices. The conversation concludes with a reminder that these habits benefit both physical health and mental performance, and encourages parents to implement the suggested routines promptly.
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Coming up on Mornings on 2The9, getting ready to head to class. Up next, School Week continues with the things you should be doing now to prepare your kids for a change in their schedule.
Welcome back. According to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, children need enough sleep to help with their attention span, their memory, and overall physical and mental well-being.
Yeah, we do too. And with summer vacation winding down, now's the time to start getting your child to bed early and back on a routine.
For some tips on how to manage this, we're joined by Reena Vokoun, founder of PassionFit. And just last night I was guilty myself of— I wanted to show my daughter some cute video that I took of her on the phone. The problem is that if you start— if you, you know, send them off by looking at these devices, it could disturb their sleep.
Yes, absolutely. You kind of want to avoid screens, sugary foods, liquids, all that kind of distracting stuff a couple of hours before they go to sleep. Oftentimes the kids are hyper, they're overstimulated, they may have to keep getting up to go to the bathroom throughout the night, and that just becomes really disruptive.
So should I do this like a week or two out? Is it 3 weeks out? When do I start that transition?
Yeah, you know, I think a lot— I know my kids are starting school in less than 3 weeks. I know it varies by school, but I would say give yourselves a couple of weeks to get into a new schedule, to get ready for back-to-school season.
Okay, and when it comes to sleeping just in general, I mean I mean, obviously my children sometimes they go to bed a little bit later, you know, obviously in the summertime.
Yeah, of course, yeah, it's light out.
Which I get it too, but what is the adequate amount of sleep, and I'll just use for example an 8-year-old.
Yeah, so an 8-year-old probably will want to get about 9 to 12 hours of sleep. Anywhere in the elementary school age is about 9 to 12, and every kid is a little bit different, so you might want to take their norm into consideration and know that some might need less or more than that, but as long as you're in the range, you'll be okay.
Well, I have to ask you, because I have teenagers now, and I will say I have found that teenagers are very They need to go back into a routine and calm down, and they're more likely to be on these electronics, but it's, it's harder to kind of get them to sleep earlier and on a routine. Recommendations?
It is harder, yeah. The teenagers usually need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep, but yeah, breaking them free from those screens can be difficult. But I would say just, you know, keep articulating to them why it's so important to get back into that schedule so that they'll be better prepared for school, they'll be able to, you know, function better and be more alert. And just little by little, right? It doesn't have to all be overnight. You know, maybe that's why we do it a couple of weeks in advance.
Baby steps.
Baby steps.
When does it start switching over? You know, little kids, they tend to not have too much trouble getting up early, maybe a little bit, but teenagers really do.
Right.
And that, you know, and teenagers like to stay up late.
Yeah.
When does that start changing? 8, 10, 12?
Yeah, I would say so. My boys are 7 and 10, and I'm starting to see it with my 10-year-old where he just wants to go to bed later than his brother. So I do think as they start to get into those teen years, they're wanting to go to sleep later. But these are the years where they're growing, so they actually need more sleep. So that's where it's so important.
It doesn't just benefit them, you know, physically, but, but, but I mean also health-wise. I mean, I guess I should say it is all physical, but mental, but also physical.
Physical and mental, right? It can prevent things like depression, diabetes, heart disease, obesity. These are all risks of not getting enough sleep consistently.
You know what I get all summer? It's like, "I don't need to shower tonight, Dad. I don't need it. It's summertime. I don't need to do it. I was in the pool. I got all this chlorine in me. You know, I can sleep with it." But that's gotta— you gotta shut it down.
You gotta shut it down and maybe start some of those rituals like the showers and bath times and brushing the teeth maybe about an hour before bed because it's so hard to make that transition.
It's interesting you say no, no milk. I understand no juice, juice has sugar. No milk.
Before bed?
Before bed. That gives them energy, you say?
So it's, no, it's more for the younger children, right? Where you just don't want them to be drinking liquids right before they go to bed because then they're gonna have to keep waking up and it's gonna be disruptive to their sleep.
Any other ideas though about maybe some good foods to eat later in the day because they, they do tend to, you know, they're, "I'm hungry!" You know, you don't want them to go to bed hungry.
Gummy bears?
Not gummy bears, I'm thinking.
Yeah, some, you know, lower sugar foods. The milk is probably fine again if it's a few hours before bedtime because milk, especially warm milk, can be very calming for kids. So it's finding things that again that don't have a lot of sugar and that are calming for the body and the mind.
And grab a good book, right? So you start reading, just like I usually read a little bit before I go to bed, just makes my eyes a little tired. Yeah, fall asleep more. So start pulling out the books again.
Exactly. Just like adults, reading really helps to calm and relax your mind. And a lot of kids have summer reading lists, so what a great way to get through those lists. Take 20 minutes before bed and read, and they'll hopefully sleep much better.
Got it. Reena Vokoun, founder of PassionFit. Thanks for coming back.
