Many parents "put their child to bed far too early":
Bad news for parents - toddlers are better at choosing their own bedtimes than adults, according to a new study.
U.S. scientists have found the main reason that toddlers are unable to sleep is because they often go to bed too early before their body clock is ready.
While an early bedtime might mean a break for parents, children lie awake for hours and end up associating bedtime with ‘arousal’ rather than sleep, the researchers warned.
Yeah, let's dispatch that "early to bed, early to rise" crap. It took me well into adulthood to discover my body-clock rhythms dictated I stay up late, somewhere in the 4 to 5 a.m. range, and sleep till around noon. Of course, the need to work a 40-hour week usually make that impossible. A job is just as efficient as your mother in making you go to bed early.
Now that I think about it, I wonder how much our overly scheduled lives are the result of arbitrary rules like this? ("Go to bed right now, because I said so!") To just do what you want to when you want to instead of trying to keep a set schedule is one of the most satisfying things in life. And one of the hardest to pull off.
