Why do we need to think about back to school and sleep?

Often, in the summer, the schedule is a little different. Naps may be more irregular and bedtimes and wakeup times may be later. The overall routine can be different too. Oftentimes summer camps start a little bit later than school or daycare typically start.

Also, school and daycare can be tiring for our kids. It may be their first time in this kind of setting, and they will be learning so, so much! Adjusting to the expectations of different adults and navigating peer relationships can be a lot of work. We may find that our children are more tired at the end of the day at the beginning of the school year.

For some of our kids, the school schedule may mean that they will have to stop napping or change when nap is happening. These are all things to take into consideration for our children’s sleep when they are starting school. Fortunately, these are all also things that we can help our children prepare for.

So, how can you help your child prepare their sleep for back to school?

Think about how much sleep your child needs

If your child naps and is going into preschool, you’ll want to find out if they have naps there. If not, starting to prepare for this may be helpful. You can gradually cap your child’s nap so that you are waking them up and the nap slowly gets shorter. Along with this, it can make sense for bedtime to be moved earlier. This way your child is still able to get the total amount of sleep that they need, even if it is in a different way.

Depending on what time your child is done with their school day, you could offer them a later nap. Just keep in mind that this can impact bedtime, especially if the nap is much later. Most kids will need and awake window of about 5-6 hours after their nap before they will be ready for bed.

On the weekends or days your child doesn’t have school, you can continue to offer a nap. Our kids can adapt to the fact that the schedule can be different at home versus at school, so that is an option if you want to do that.

Consider wake up time

Knowing what time school or childcare starts is helpful so you can figure out what time everyone needs to wake up at. Over the summer, at our house we wake up whenever our bodies do naturally. With school starting though, this won’t always work so I know what time we need to be up by. 

If you need to be up earlier for the school year, you can start by gradually waking everyone up a little earlier. Depending on how much time you have, you can do this over the course of a few days or over the course of a few weeks.

When you are waking up earlier, generally that will mean we will want to shift bedtime earlier too. Other things within the daily routine may have to shift to help adjust to the school schedule.

Get back to the bedtime routine

If you have gotten away from having a regular, consistent bedtime routine over the summer, then now is time to get back to it! I am a fan of bedtime routines for so many reasons. One piece that I have talked about is that bedtime routines can be a time for connection with our children. I feel this is especially helpful and important when our kids have been at school or daycare for the day. It might be the first time our kids have separated from us for this long of a time or it could be the first time having that separation again after the summer break.

You can also think about the overall evening routine leading up to the bedtime routine. Maybe that’s going to include picking out clothes for the next day, packing lunches, or getting backpacks ready. Thinking about these things in advance can be helpful for when the time to start school comes.

Try an okay to wake clock

Okay to wake clocks can be a great tool. If you haven’t already been using one with your child, back to school can be a good time to introduce one. In this situation, it is going to be similar to an alarm clock. When the light changes color for the morning, it is time to get up. It can also be helpful with getting your kids into bed when it is time.

What if we didn’t prepare our child’s sleep for back to school?

You can make adjustments to sleep as back to school is happening if needed. We aren’t always able to prepare in advance, and that is okay. Sometimes, we may not realize just how the schedule is going to change or how our child will be impacted and that is out of our control. So, you can always implement any of these strategies discussed at any time. Just because school has already started, doesn’t mean it is too late or impossible to make changes.

Also, this is all going to depend on your child and your family’s schedule, sleep needs, and temperaments. Maybe nothing needed to be changed in preparation for starting school or daycare. Maybe you thought the schedule was all set, but then your child is totally exhausted and it turns out they need an even earlier bedtime than expected. You can make these adjustments as needed. 

Is your child starting daycare for the first time? Make sure to check out this post filled with tips to help with sleep and the transition to daycare!

If you need help figuring these things out or fine tuning things, remember that I am always available to support you.