You've Got the Supplies, Now It's Time to Get Your Back to School Sleep

Last night, I sat on the dock overlooking Narragansett Bay watching my son fish for skip jacks.  It was almost 9pm.  By the time he got back to the house where we are staying in Rhode Island, showered, brushed teeth, read his Indiana Jones book (he's obsessed, he even knows Harrison Ford's birthday), it was almost 10pm.  He went to sleep happily and slept through until 8:30am.

Sounds pretty perfect right?  Well there's a small problem.  Unless Dobbs Ferry Schools change their schedule, my rising third grader will have already eaten breakfast, walked to the bus, and played his cello, learned a little spanish and will probably be starting math by 8:30am in just two weeks.

I know a lot of you are in the same boat.  We are on summer 'time' with our children.  We stay up late and sleep in (well at least some of them do).  Somehow in the next few weeks we need to not only buy school supplies, lunch boxes and new sneakers but we also need to bring our children back to the time zone of school.

I probably spend a little too much time thinking about this, but alas it is a professional hazard.  I am a children's sleep coach and consultant working in Westchester, Rockland, New York City, and beyond.  My company is named Sleepy On Hudson because I started it with the goal of helping Rivertown families with family sleep.  I think a lot about how babies sleep, how toddlers fight sleep, and how school age kids can get more sleep.  So with the goal of getting my son back on schedule, I have put a plan together that will hopefully get your sleepers ready for school too.

Week One: Bump bedtime back 10 minutes each night and wake your child up 5 to 10 minutes earlier each day.  Cut screen time down at night slowly but surely with the goal of having your sleeper be screen free ideally one hour before bedtime.  

Week Two: This is your week to practice and smooth out two key facets of good school sleep: a predictable, soothing bedtime routine and schedule and an established bedtime.  If your goal for a school year bedtime is 8:30pm, then you should say goodnight at that time and let your child do her final unwinding in her room with mellow lights, ideally reading or listening to a book on tape (how old am I?).  You should encourage them to turn their light off entirely 15 to 20 minutes after this initial good night.  Wake your child up within 30 minutes of his official school week wake up.

The night before school is will be bumpy; it always is.  However if you have a good foundation set a few weeks in advance, you and your child will be far better prepared for the first days of school.