The Sleep Lady of Annapolis, also known as Kim West, often e-mails thoughts about getting kids to sleep in her newsletter. I thought her strategies for helping kids with their summer sleep would make for a good Monday Consult as we head into the final days of school.

I've condensed her ideas into a few quick tips:

--Getting off schedule can be inevitable when you're traveling. The key is to minimize disruptions and return to the routine as soon as you can. 

-- If you've been working hard to eliminate a child's "sleep crutch," such as being rocked to sleep or nursing to sleep, trying not to fall back on that, even if there are other changes to the sleep routine. You can soothe and comfort more than usual; just don't go back to the crutch.

--Remind kids of the sleep rules even when they're being bent. You might say: "You are sleeping in the same bed as Mommy and Daddy while we are at the lake, but as soon as we get home you and Teddy Bear will be back in your princess bed and Mommy and Daddy will be back in our bed. But we'll come and check on you every night."

--When you return home, consider keeping activities especially light for a day or two to leave plenty of time for rest, and for returning to the usual sleep schedule.

--Be prepared to have to do a little more "sleep coaching" (a method West outlines in her book, Good Night, Sleep Tight.) But the coaching should go faster than it did the first time, because you'll be reinforcing a learned skill.

(2005 photo of Kim West by Sun photographer Andre Chung)