Bedtime...that magical time of the day.

Let's face it, most parents look forward to the bedtime hour. It's the time of the day when you get to tuck in your children for a good night of rest and mom and dad get some quiet time alone. Putting the kids to bed isn't always so easy though and I think one reason is because of inconsistent bedtimes.

I feel that is better not to adjust bedtime routines for kids according to the time of year or day of the week. I realize it is impossible to keep to a strict bedtime every day of the year, some times you just have to let the kids stay up late. On occasion when appropriate we let our kids stay up late... like when we have visitors or there is a special program we all are participating in, but outside of special occasions we work very hard to keep to the same bedtime year round. Even in the summer time when the days are long and the sun is still up after 8pm, we still put the kids to bed at the same time. What time you choose is up to you but moving the time around for the seasons or for the weekends (aka non-school nights) I feel just goofs up the routine and creates unnecessary challenges.

Kids thrive best on routine, frankly we all do and a well rested child is usually a happy child, making for a happy mom and dad too. 

Ferguson, Missouri

It is another sad time in our county.  The riots and violence resulting from the grand jury decision not to charge officer Wilson with the tragic death of Michael Brown, is senseless to me. How anyone can justify the crimes committed in reaction to this event is ridiculous.  I am sure Michael's family are still grieving but encouraging violence to demand justice for the loss of their son's life is shameful. The whole event took place so fast the officer had to act fast to protect his own life and the citizens of the community. I believe it is old bitterness and angst that is really at the source of all this anger. The people's reaction is only going to add to the wrong thinking that perpetuates this problem of white people believing black citizens are deserving of the profiling as potentially violent criminals.The media coverage is also adding to the problem because of the poor journalism, reporting only what will grab people's attention and not in an unbiased factual way. I am sad for all of us here in America,  how embarrassing and shameful we are as a nation to be so backward behaving in this modern time.