Transitioning From Sleepy Summer Days To School Routines
In some areas school is already back in full swing. However, in my area the kids aren’t slated to return to the classroom until the end of August (and for some really lucky kiddos not until the beginning of September!).
I’m not sure how summer has played out with your family but for us it has consisted of too many ice cream cones, late nights around the campfire, and many lazy mornings spent sleeping in and cozying up in our jammies.
And trust me, I am NOT complaining! But this isn’t going to be acceptable for much longer.
So if you’re in the same boat as me and are starting to think about how you’re going to manage to drag your child out of bed to get ready for school… make sure to read the information below!
Ideally, you will start to make changes to your childs sleep schedule a week prior to the first day, but if you’re already past that window then don’t panic. Read through the 3 important steps below and get started as soon as possible!
STEP 1: SLEEP SCHEDULE
If your childs current sleep schedule is more than 1 hour off:
Starting one week prior (or as much as possible), begin shifting their schedule 30 minutes earlier.
This is for both bedtime AND morning wake time.
Continue this shift every 2-3 days until your child is back on their school friendly sleep schedule.
If your childs current sleep schedule is less than 1 hour off:
Starting one week prior (or as much as possible), begin shifting their schedule 15 minutes earlier.
Again, this is for both bedtime AND morning wake time.
Continue this shift every 2-3 days until your child is back on their school friendly sleep schedule.
STEP 2: LIMIT SCREENS
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I am the perfect parent who had activities planned for every day of the summer. Nope, not I. Which means that screen time has increased (let’s just put that parenting judgement away, shall we?).
But when school is in session we have some pretty strict screen time rules in our house so it’s important to put those screens away and bring back the books.
Fact: blue lights emitted by screens (tv, video games, iPads, iPhones, etc.)
actually inhibits the production of melatonin in your body.
So instead of being primed for sleep, the brain is telling the body that it’s time to wake up!
And this goes for adults too…
Which means that limiting screen usage is not only beneficial for learning, but for sleep as well! Providing our children with the ideal environment where they have the ability to produce melatonin (the sleepy hormone) and allow their brains time to decompress before sleep will provide our children the opportunity to have a restful and restorative sleep.
The best course of action is to limit screen time at least one hour prior to bedtime.
Instead of allowing your child to wind down with a tv show, try swapping it out for a couple extra
minutes of quiet reading (or looking at pictures for the younger kiddos).
Tip: ask your child to find 1-2 books that they want to read for bedtime and then spend
15 minutes quietly looking through them before you join them and read it to them.
STEP 3: ADJUST BEDTIME
The beginning of the school year is tough for our littles.
The excitement will last for a couple of days, but there is a high chance that your child will get worn out.
And if this happens it is best to provide them with more opportunity to rest and recoup.
This means getting them into bed earlier than normal.
The typical bedtime for a preschool or elementary aged child may be anywhere between 7-8pm.
And on those days when they seem extra tired they may need to crawl into bed even half hour earlier.
Fact: the earlier part of the evening provides the most restorative sleep.
So in order to make up for any extra tiredness or any missed sleep, it is best to go to bed
earlier rather than sleeping in in the morning.
P.S. All of the steps listed here can be used for children just going into preschool, all the way up to those
graduating from high school and heading off to University!
My biggest tip is not to lose focus on the importance of sleep throughout school.
The more we sleep, the better we function: physically, mentally, cognitively, emotionally, and the list goes on!
