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Mornings don’t have to be a battle if you follow these expert-backed tips for helping kids adjust to their new routine.
Key Takeaways
- Over the summer, kids might not have had to stick to a rigorous morning routine, but that all changes during the school year.
- For older kids who have trouble adjusting to the demands on the school year, plenty of time to wind down after school and a predictable morning routine are key.
- Making sure screen-time is kept a minimum and addressing any issues with either academic or social anxiety will also help your older kid get rest they need to take on the school day.
Let’s face it: back-to-school season can feel like a slog. Some of this exhaustion can attributed to the transition to the busyness of school days, homework, and extracurricular activities. But the switch from an anything goes summer sleep schedule to a morning routine that requires waking up at what feels like the crack of dawn to get to school on time doesn’t help matters, either. This transition is especially hard on older kids.
“It can be exceptionally challenging for kids to adjust to a school schedule after summer break,” says Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, pediatrician and author of My-One-of-a-Kind Body. “Late nights and no routine for months during the summer can mean that getting up early and going to bed at a regular time feels almost impossible for at least a few weeks.”
Thankfully, there are some concrete steps you can take to make this transition a little easier for all involved.
Why Sleep Matters So Much for School-Age Kids
First, it’s important to recognize how vital sleep is for kids—yes, even the older ones who claim they want to stay up late. Even though they may seem able to function from the outside, getting adequate sleep is essential for their long-term physical and mental health.
“Getting your child on a good sleep schedule as the new school year begins is critical,” Dr. Casares says. “They need sleep for optimal focus and cognition, aka learning, for emotional regulation, and for social skill development, which all help with starting the school year off right.”
Research has linked poor sleep to:
- Deficits in memory
- Poor academic performance
- Behavioral problems
- Problems focusing and paying attention
- Health problems like glucose metabolism impairment and unhealthy weight gain
How To Create a Successful Morning Routine
In order to confront the challenge of earlier wake-ups during the school year, the first step is to create a morning routine. A morning routine makes what happens after your child rouses themselves from bed predictable, and therefore each task becomes easier and easier to accomplish as they head out the door each morning.
That’s why, as much as possible, experts recommend sticking to the same routine each morning, including the same wake-up time. Help your child stick to a consistent wake up time by preparing them as much as possible the night before, advises Amy Dykstra, MEd, registered psychologist and clinic owner at Bluebird Psychology.
“For example, you can have your child pick out their school clothes, help them pack their lunch, and get their backpack ready the night before,” she recommends. “For some kids, creating a visual schedule can help guide them in the morning and ensure that they get through each step of the routine.”
And while they might fight it at first, it’s also important to keep these same morning wake-up times on weekends, whenever possible.
“Try to have your child go to sleep and wake up on the weekends at the same time they do on school days,” Dr. Casares recommends. “That way, your child’s body clock stays consistent and it’s easier to wake up and go to sleep on-time.”
The Evening Wind-Down Routine Matters, Too
On the flip side, having a solid evening wind-down routine is also important because its sets your child up for success the next day. Many children need at least an hour to leave the stresses of their day behind and get ready to unwind for sleep, so that’s right around when the bed time routine should start.
Between extracurriculars, homework, and social obligations, it can be a challenge for kids to relax, release stress, and quiet down their buzzing minds. But getting adequate sleep is the secret sauce to being able to wake up refreshed in the morning, and they can’t do that if they’re up all night stressing out or staring at their phones, so parents should try to take an active role in how their kids not just start, but end their days, too.
Dr. Casares shares her tips for helping your child go to sleep at a reasonable time each night.
- When possible, try not to schedule activities that extend too late into the evening.
- Create a sleep hygiene routine your kids follow nightly that includes specific times to change into their pajamas and brush their teeth.
- You can customize your child’s routine to their sensibilities, but options might include warm baths or showers, drinking warm tea, listening to relaxing music, or reading.
- Importantly, keep screens out of your child’s room at bedtime; screens before bed can disrupt your child’s ability to fall asleep.
- Shut down screen time at least one hour before bed.
More Tips for Helping Your Child Adjust to the New School Year
Adjusting to a school-day schedule—and sticking to it—goes beyond the wake-up routine and evening wind-down rituals. Here are some more expert-driven tips for healthy sleep practices during the school year.
Address back-to-school anxiety
Anxiety can make it difficult for kids to sleep, and back-to-school time can be rampant with that, whether your kids are worried their social lives or academics.
Dykstra says that addressing these fears and worries head-on can help improve your kid’s sleep. “Try to alleviate some of the first-day worries by doing a trial run ahead of time to your child’s school so that they can be reacquainted with what the journey looks like, see their school, and maybe even play in the playground,” she recommends. “Connect with some of their friends who maybe they haven’t seen since the end of the last school year.”
Finally, consider planning a special and fun activity to do at the end of the first day or week of school to highlight what your kid accomplished by successfully returning to school.
Create checklists
Some kids need a more concrete method when it comes to planning new routines. Dr. Casares recommends working with your kids to create checklists for your morning and evening routines that lay out exactly what they need to get done at both times of the day in simple and clear terms.
“Create either a visual checklist (with pictures) or a written checklist your child can mark off once they’ve accomplished each step in the routine,” she describes. “Many of the smart, countertop family calendars have this feature, but you can also create a checklist with pen and paper.”
Keep a gratitude journal
Research has linked gratitude journaling to decreased stress—and both kids and adults know that stress can make sleep harder to come by. Gratitude journaling is a powerful tool to add to you, and your older child’s, wind-down routine.
“Nighttime tends to be when all the worried thoughts start swirling in our minds, so it can also be helpful to practice gratitude journaling or even talking about the things your child is grateful for once they get into bed,” Dykstra recommends. “This can help shift the focus from worried thoughts to thoughts that are more productive and provoke less anxiety.”
Set realistic expectations
Above all, it’s important to have realistic expectations of how the transition back to school will go. Don’t expect your kid to get the hang of it on day one, and don’t force them to execute their routine perfectly every morning, without any fuss or pushback.
“It often takes several weeks for kids to fall into the rhythm of the school year and to adjust to their new sleep schedules,” Dr. Casares says. Keeping things in perspective and not putting too much pressure on your child (or yourself) can make this transition easier.
Be consistent
Good sleep habits don’t just matter when school starts back up. These are habits you need to embrace throughout the school year. “As the school year progresses, it can be tempting to let up on routines, but routines provide the structure kids need to be successful,” Dr. Casares emphasizes.
You can come back to some of the sleep tips outlined here as the school year moves forward and good habits falter. And try to even implement them the best you can during the summer, so there the following school year is even less of a difficult adjustment.
Overcoming Sleep Challenges
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, sleep issues continue past the first weeks of the school year. Every kid is different, and some kids just have more trouble than others adjusting to back-to-school sleep schedules.
Having a little more patience and empathy for a kid who is struggling may be all it takes to get on the same page. “With time, many sleep difficulties will pass,” Dykstra says.
Still, if you’ve remained consistent with your routine and your child is still struggling, it makes sense to connect your health care provider—they may have adjustments or accommodations in mind you haven’t considered yet. “You can also work with a child psychologist who can provide suggestions and offer guidance on creating better sleep routines,” Dykstra advises.
Read the original article on Parents
