Back to School - SLEEP TIPS (home-school, in-person school, or a mixture of both)
Let me preface this blog post first by saying, WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. There is absolutely NO judgement for what might have gone down sleep-wise these past 5-6 months. It has been so crazy. So whether your children are going to school, staying home and doing homeschool, or doing a mixture of both - you’re a great parent. These decisions are hard to make - especially during a pandemic.
Maybe you think that because I’m a Pediatric Sleep Consultant that I never break the rules with my own son, but let me tell you - these summer months are SO precious and the last thing I wanted to do was to be strapped down to the house by 6:30pm every single evening. So yes, we broke the rules, we’re getting back on track, and so can you!
So no matter what might have happened over these quarantine months, all is forgiven. The mission now is to get your child back on track so that they can get back to sleep at a reasonable hour the day before they head back to school.
My first piece of advice, is to set a bedtime and stick to it.
You might be thinking, “What time should my kids even be going to bed?” Well, I love seeing bedtime anywhere from a 7:00pm-8:30pm range. I also suggest that you keep this early bedtime until your child is close to 12 years old. Shocking - I know.
I remember being 12 and so desperately wanting to stay up “late,” but regretting this decision when my morning alarm sounded…pressing snooze over and over again. I am the oldest of 5 kids, so I definitely got away with later bedtime because my parents were busy doing the other kids’ bedtime routines…thanks mom & dad for my love of late-nights ;)
Back to bedtime - there are 2 reasons why I love earlier bedtime for children.
Kids need at least 10 hours of sleep at night. An extra 1-2 hours on top of that is never a bad thing, but you would have to make those adjustments based on your own observations. Regardless if your toddler needs to be up by 7:00am in order to get ready for school, they should be asleep by 9:00pm at the latest.
You, as a parent, as most likely a spouse, NEED SOME ALONE TIME. You need to exist for a few child-free hours at the end of the night. This break makes everyone a better parent. Time to decompress for the day, meditate, write in your journal, watch that thriller you’ve been waiting to see, each the junk you’ve hid away, or even allow yourself to go to bed early. I swear these hours in the evening are vital to your relationship with your spouse, yourself, your child, and just to recharge your mom-batteries…you know they need it.
Tip number 2 is: Don’t leave it to the last minute. I wrote this a few weeks early so that you’d be able to make some positive sleep changes before the summer is over. I have faith in you!
If your child has been going to bed around 9pm for the majority of the summer, try moving bedtime up by 15 minutes every 4 days until you’re back to their normal bedtime. If this requires a little bit of deception on your part by adjusting the clocks in their room, I give you permission…lol. Sometimes the ends really do justify the means.
Thirdly, I want you to establish a bedtime routine. This is as important for your 6-month-old as it is for your 6-year-old. If you had a good bedtime routine before the covid-craziness happened, then try to re-implement it as much as possible. Having familiarity in the routine will definitely help your child settle back into their schedule quicker and with less of a struggle than trying out something completely new.
BUT, on the other hand, if you had never had a solid bedtime routine before, let me just tell you that a BEDTIME ROUTINE WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE. I swear if our world was overrun by Zombies and I was living in a camp like they do in The Walking Dead, my son would still have a bedtime routine. He (and I) thrives on it. When your child’s body and brain start to associate things like baths, stories, brushing teeth, putting on jammies (all done in the same order & at the same time every night) it cues up their melatonin production, making sleep come easier. I truly can’t stress enough how important a bedtime routine is.
My fourth tip is to use a timer. Of course, toddlers and children are “master stallers” who love to drag fun things like baths and story time on foreverrrrrrr. If you find yourself constantly having to be the “bad guy,” a timer can be your best friend for keeping things on track. As silly as it may sound, it takes the blame off of you and puts it on the timer. Mom can be reasoned with, but the timer doesn’t make exceptions. (This is my favourite timer - great for children to visualize the actual time counting down.)
Tip #5 should be a given, but turn off those dang devices. Along with the slack rules (especially because of quarantine), we also tend to ease up on our screen time rules and allowances surrounding TV, video games, phones, etc. Remember, I am NOT judging you. I have watched my fair share of Ferdinand and Spirit over these last 5 months…BUT when it comes to screens before bed, I want you to enforce a strict rule of no screens at least 1 hour before bedtime. Consider calling it the “power down hour.” (and mama, if you’re having some “falling asleep” issues yourself, try using the power down hour trick.)
Lastly, make sure your child’s room is dark dark dark. Since I live in the Northern region of Alberta, our summer days are EXTRA long, with our winter days being extra short. If your child’s room is lit up at 4am because of the early-rising sun, the chances of them waking to start their day early are very likely. Same thing goes for bedtime. If your child’s room is bright at bedtime, they are going to struggle to fall asleep. I suggest investing in a good set of blackout blinds. I LOVE these blackout blinds - very affordable too. That being said, blacking out your child’s room doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You could even use black garbage bags, tape, and even some tinfoil would do the trick. Whichever way you choose to do it, get that sunlight out of the bedroom. It’s make a huge difference, promise.
One last thing to mention, is that whenever we allow leniency with bedtime, once we try returning to our “normal” it will often be met with some protest. Arguments about why they should be allowed to stay up later are likely to be heard for at least a few days, but potentially the next 10 years, lol. Luckily, you are the parent and you make the rules. Don’t give in to the pressure. The sooner your child accepts the norm (8:00pm bedtime), the easier this whole bedtime thing will be for you and for them.
With all of that said, I hope you were able to get outside and enjoy some of these beautiful summer days. I find summer never lasts long enough. I’m sure most parents are feeling the anxieties of school returning with COVID measures in place. Just know what whichever schooling option you have chosen for your child, good for you. One thing to remember is that no matter what grade your child is heading into, nothing will help them go into the new school year with a better attitude and positive outlook than getting plenty of sleep. They’ll be happier (1), more socially outgoing (2), and ready to learn (3).
Good luck & have a great school year!!
Bailey
1 Jennifer L. Vriend, PhD Fiona D. Davidson, MA Penny V. Corkum, PhD Benjamin Rusak, PhD, FRSC Christine T. Chambers, PhD Elizabeth N. McLaughlin, PhD (2013) Manipulating Sleep Duration Alters Emo- tional Functioning and Cognitive Performance in Children - Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Volume 38, Issue 10, 1 November 2013, Pages 1058–1069, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jst033
2 Mindell J, Lee C, Goh D, Leichman E, Rotella K (2017). Sleep and Social-Emotional Develop- ment in Infants and Toddlers. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 46:2, 236-246, DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2016.1188701
3 Sleep efficiency (but not sleep duration) of healthy school-age children is associated with grades in math and languages - Gruber, Reut et al. Sleep Medicine , Volume 15 , Issue 12 , 1517 - 1525
