I count myself within that 70 per cent.

Our kids are so happy and excited to be awake, to live and breathe and do stuff, that when it comes to getting them ready for bed, they become agitated, argumentative, and hostile. They fight the idea of having to go to bed at night, and when I asked my son why, he told me that he thought sleep was boring.

It may be boring lad, but without it, your "Lego-building, bike-riding Nintendo-playing days" would soon suffer.

Also, he doesn't understand that his parents need a bit of "mum and dad" time. I would estimate that by the time the kids in our house are asleep, we average about half an hour a night of quality time together. Sometimes less.

The washing up needs doing, the house needs tidying, the dog needs walking, the kids need to be got ready for bed, and by the time all this has been achieved, it's usually about 9pm.

So when I saw on the internet that last week was national Ready for Bed Week, designed to help struggling parents get better routines, I dived in headfirst for some ideas.

You can download a wall chart that helps parents record and acknowledge good work and behaviour when it comes to cleaning teeth, tidying toys, settling down in good time, and of course, staying in bed till it's time to get up! (On Sunday, my boy got up at 5am, to watch the X Factor results show that he had Sky Plussed.) This wall chart is a seriously good idea, easy to use, and something kids really buy into.

And as well as reaping copious rewards such as easier evenings, more "me time"for us parents, there was another plus point. For every 100 unique downloads of the chart before the end of November, Worlds Apart will fund a bed for a child who needs it.

International charity Sleeping Children Around the World (www.scaw.org) was set up to provide beds for children in under-developed countries not fortunate enough to have a comfy place to sleep.

Although many of the tips on the website were basic common sense, I still found them useful:

• Try to build up a routine that leads to bedtime across an hour, to include bath time, quiet play and story time.


• Make tidying the kids' toys part of the routine.


• Switch off the telly at least half an hour before putting them to bed.


• Avoid fizzy drinks with the tea time meal.