I have fond memories of my
children excitedly preparing for each new school year. With a brand new pair of
tennis shoes and backpack, they looked forward to the new school year with both
eager anticipation and trepidation.
While buying our children new
school supplies may help tip the scale towards eager anticipation, it's much
more important to help children to prepare for their school year by making sure
they're well rested. Parents can help their children get off to a good start by
readjusting their sleep schedule before school begins.
While the first few weeks of
school are exciting, they are also stressful as your child adjusts to new
experiences, people and classes. Being well rested can help children make the
transition, cutting down on some of the stress and ensuring that they are ready
to face the challenges, to focus and to learn.
During the long summer break
many children have gotten used to sleeping in simply “because it’s vacation.”
Family trips and summer activities often throw off the schedules of even the
most diligent parents. Children may have gotten into the pattern of staying up
late and sleeping late. If this problem isn’t corrected before school starts,
children are likely to struggle as they adjust to an earlier schedule.
Parents can help re-set their
children’s internal clocks and correct this problem so they’re ready for
school. I suggest that for a week before school starts, you move up bedtime by
15-30 minutes. But simply having children go to sleep earlier won’t solve the
problem as long as they are still getting up late. Most importantly, parents
need to consistently wake their children up earlier. To motivate your children
to get out of bed, it often helps if you create a reason for them to have to get
up in the morning. It would be ideal to have them spend time outdoors; the
early morning sunshine helps to reset the internal clock. The first week that
you wake your children up earlier can cause them to be tired and sleep deprived;
however, if you continue to firmly enforce the wake-up time, your child should
begin to naturally fall asleep earlier. By beginning this process a week before
school starts children will have the advantage of being well rested and ready to
learn-starting with the very first day of school.
When children have trouble
getting out of bed on their own in the morning, are grouchy, and/or have
irritable or moody behavior during the day, it’s very likely that they need more
sleep. Insufficient sleep affects mood, immunity and the ability to learn.
Ideally, children should consistently go to bed at the same time every night.
Even on the weekends, bedtime should not vary by more than one hour a night or a
total of two hours for the entire weekend. If it does, you’re setting your
child up for a kind of jet lag when Monday morning rolls around.
In addition, here are some
sleep prep tips that may help with the back to school transition:
● Allow time for a leisurely
bedtime routine
● Have a consistent bedtime.
● Warn your children five to
ten minutes before they need to get ready for bed so they can wrap up what
they’re doing.
● Have quiet activities before
bed. (Limit television, video games and computer time.)
● Avoid caffeinated drinks in
the late afternoon and evening.
● Teach your children
relaxation techniques to help them relax and fall asleep.
About
the Author: Dubbed "The
Dream Maker" by People magazine, Patti Teel
is a former teacher and the author of
The Floppy Sleep Game Book, which gives parents techniques to help their
children relax, deal with stress or fall asleep. Patti holds Dream Academy
workshops at schools, hospitals and libraries across the country where parents
and children learn the playful relaxation techniques from her book and widely
acclaimed children's audio series. Children at the Dream Academy workshops
practice the three R's by resting their bodies, relaxing their minds and
refreshing their spirits. Visit Patti online to subscribe to her free
newsletter at
http://www.pattiteel.com.
