Summer can be hard on sleep. More daylight means more melatonin suppression, and a late sunset is essentially telling a child's body: not yet. Add in heat, changing schedules, and lost routines, and it's no surprise you might be seeing families who are struggling. The tantrums and meltdowns showing up in your office can often just signal tired kids.

Help families to understand that sleep needs don't change in summer. School-age kids do best with 9–12 hours, and toddlers with 11–14. Consistently falling short is linked to attention problems, emotional dysregulation, and increased health risks.

In your visits, try this:

• Ask about bedtime and what makes it hard: "What time is your child actually falling asleep?" opens the door without assumptions.
• Talk about light: Explain how evening light delays the brain's sleep signal. Darkening the room at bedtime — with a towel under the door, a blanket over a curtain rod, or blackout shades — can help. 
• Encourage any wind-down routine families can manage: Remind families that a  few consistent steps before bed (for example, book, bath, snuggle) help signal to the body that sleep is coming.
• Emphasize that consistent beats inconsistent: A summer bedtime that's 30–45 minutes later than during the school year is totally reasonable. The goal is finding something families can actually stick to.