Excerpt taken from Putting Family First; Successful Strategies for Reclaiming Family Life in a Hurry-Up World by William Doherty and Barbara Z Carlson.

Researchers are beginning to document what many of us are seeing: bedtime rituals are now in decline. Kids nowadays are less apt to have regular times to go to bed, and without this structure, it is difficult to have bedtime rituals. Instead, children are staying up – watching television, exchanging instant messages, playing video games, or doing homework – until they decide they are ready for bed. A lot of young children fall asleep somewhere in the house and are carried to bed by a parent. At that point, a bedtime ritual involving talking storytelling, or reading is not in the cards.

Even federal health officials are becoming worried. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is starting a campaign to encourage better sleep habits among children. Too many children, the Institute says, do not get enough sleep, and the result is problems such as difficulties with schoolwork and relationships with friends and family.