NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION 2002: AUDIO NEWS RELEASE TRANSCRIPT

With the excitement of the holiday season, it may be harder than ever to get your kids to bed each night. But not getting enough sleep can affect your child's mood, coordination and ability to focus at school, work, and other activities. Dr. Carl Hunt is a pediatrician and the Director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research.

"Parents need to wake up to the fact that children need healthy sleep on a regular basis – at least nine hours of sleep on a consistent basis in order to be fully rested."

About 70-million adults and children have sleep-related problems according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and in kids symptoms related to inadequate sleep may be mistake for hyper-activity or behavior problems. So, what can parents do this holiday season and year-round? Experts say establish a consistent bedtime, plan a little down-time for kids to relax before getting into bed, avoid drinks with caffeine and say "no" to watching TV in bed. This is Theresa Bruce reporting.