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When kids in the house don’t get sleep often no one gets good sleep, and this can be common.A national poll from the University of Michigans C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital showed 25% of children are having anxious thoughts before bedtime.Dr. Kristina Sowar, a University of New Mexico professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, said there are many reasons why many kids are anxious before bedtime.Anxiety is not an uncommon experience for people at night. I think as adults we can identify with that sometimes, but for children too, Sowar said. The range of what kind of thoughts kids might be having probably varies a bit by age. But often, we know that the nighttime transition and sometimes separation from parents or the dark can be a bit of a vulnerable point for kids. They may worry about things that feel scary to them like monsters, or other things that they might worry about have a little bit more of a fantasy vibe to it.These worrisome thoughts can evolve as children grow up. But, certainly also as kids get older, you know, and as that time of day rolls around where they’re not as distracted by other activities, sometimes the anxiety about social things, about school, about other life experiences can definitely be more prominent at night. The poll also found that 40 percent of parents say their kids end up in their bed in the middle of the night. Sowar said this could be because of cultural differences in terms of how the experience is framed for kids in terms of having their own room or sleeping in their own room. The other piece is that there may be a shift of parenting strategies when in prior generations there was more rigidity around this is your room and this is where you’re going to stay,’ Sowar said. We might see more now where some parents have a more permissive or just kind of flexible approach of kids coming in if needed.Parenting style has also changed over time, also having an effect on the number of kids allowed to sleep in their parents room at night.There seems to be an evolution of parents wanting to adopt a bit more of a conscientious and sensitive parenting approach, and thinking about how their child attunes best and things like how their child’s emotion regulation happens that maybe we didn’t talk as much about in prior years, Sowar said. It is something that may be more on people’s mind and also is kind of being shared with a social media platform.If your child does have a tough time going to bed because of anxious thoughts, Sowar said it is important to have a consistent bedtime routine.A lot of parents do like to include a bit of checking in with the kiddo, telling stories or sometimes even being able to just share, like, Hey, I really enjoyed this activity with you today, or ways that can positively frame the end of the day with our kiddo,” Sowar said.Reading books, asking questions, and following the same pattern are good additions to those routines. She also said it’s important to remind kids that these thoughts are normal and that many people experience what they are going through.However, if the anxiety becomes so excessive it has a big impact on their sleep, it’s best to reach out for professional help.