Parents struggle to enforce consistent bedtimes when children resist sleep and don't understand why sleep matters

Parents of school-age children face nightly battles over bedtime, with kids refusing to sleep or staying up late despite needing 8-10 hours for healthy development. Current solutions (bedtime charts, threats, negotiations) fail because children lack intrinsic motivation and don't grasp the concrete consequences of sleep deprivation. Parents feel exhausted and guilty, unable to find age-appropriate ways to make sleep feel important rather than punitive.