Get the Kids in Bed: 6 Tips to Stop Sleeping in with a School Sleep Schedule

get kids on a sleep scheduleI don’t know about the rest of you, but at my house, bed time becomes slightly more flexible in the summer months. Then as a new school year begins we see a rise in early-morning zombie children. While I’ll applaud those parents that actually manage to keep their kids on a school sleep schedule all year long, for the rest of us that first week is often a battle to get kids to go to sleep, stay asleep, and then wake up all at the right times. The question then becomes: is there an easier way to deal with kids that won’t go to sleep for back-to-school? Maybe, I do have a tip or few that might help.

Start early.

Ideally, you should start trying to regain that school sleep schedule before school actually starts. If you slowly move bedtime back to an earlier hour and give wake-up calls earlier as well, the transition goes much smoother– less whining, less grumpy, more sanity. I’ve found shifting an hour each week works well. This also gives you an idea how soon you should start. Simply count how many hours you need to adjust bed time for school, and that’s the number of weeks lead you need.

Know how much sleep your child needs.

Not all kids need the same amount of sleep. If you’re trying to make your child sleep for too long, of course he or she will wake up earlier than necessary and then likely feel tired before bed time and nap– which messes everything up. Here are the average sleep requirements for school-aged children compliments of the National Sleep Foundation:

how much sleep kids need

Also consider your child’s typical sleep habits previously in the summer if they were unregulated. Between the two, you should get a good idea of where to set bed times and wake-up times.

Be consistent.

Next, don’t allow a drastically different weekend sleep routine. While many parents let their kids stay up a bit later on the weekends, try to avoid all-nighters followed by mid-day snooze fests– unless there is a super awesome Doctor Who marathon or something, I mean who could deny a child that joy? A good rule of thumb is not to allow more than 4 hours bed time variance on the weekends.

Prepare your kids for sleep.

There are a few things that can make falling asleep harder on children, including:

-caffeine
-large meals
-snacks high in carbs or sugar
-high-energy activities

…pretty much all the stuff most kids love to sneak. Be sure that your daily schedule sets dinner time well before bed time, avoid desserts too close to bed time, and end the day in a relaxing, calm way. Younger kids really benefit from a routine of sorts as well. Keep it simple. Something like, we brush our teeth, read a book, go to bed. Elaborate routines of any kind are generally an epic fail because they are harder to keep up on. Letting your kiddo have some input on what your bed time routine consists of can also help encourage them to stick to it.

Use the light.

The brain relies on light to gauge when to go to bed and when to wake up, use that to your advantage. Start lowering light levels close to bedtime, eliminate as much light at bed time, and then provide bright light in the morning. On the dark side, black out curtains and low-light lamps or dim-able bulbs are a great start. For the sunshine, switch out your overhead lighting to daylight bulbs (this is also great for plants and beating the winter-time blues) and open those curtains up before your child wakes. Placing your child’s bed in a spot where when curtains are open, light lands on the bed (but not necessarily in their face) is also recommended.

Go to bed yourself.

You certainly don’t have to actually go to sleep, you can just hide in your room with a bottle of wine and your cookie stash if you want, but if there are people about the house being active, your child is less likely to go to sleep. Younger kids in particular worry they are missing something after they go to bed. It can be helpful to retreat to your room with the door shut, so it’s “bed time” for everyone, until your child falls asleep. This is less important of, of course, in older kids.

Have any tips on getting kids on a sleep schedule we missed? Something work well at your house? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

You might also find these helpful tips for achieving an easier wake-up call helpful.

6 Tips to Help Kids Wake Up in the Morning

Who knows who decided stuff like school and work needed to start so freakin’ early, but the do. This means no matter how you’ve chosen to educate your kids, chances are you have to wake them up in the morning. The stereotypical vision of a parent with pots and pans being ignored by a blanket covered kid is not so far from the truth—a squirt gun works well too but brings on some screaming. The truth of this stereotype is many kids are indeed pretty hard to pry from slumber land.

If your child is one of the many, here’s a few ideas that might be a little less fun than a squirt gun, but are also quieter.

tips to help kids wake up

Get them on a decent sleep schedule.

If your kids aren’t getting sufficient sleep, it’s pretty logical they aren’t going to want to wake up in the morning. The single most helpful thing you can do to avoid wake-up battles, is to get your kids to bed on time with a decent sleep schedule. I have some tips on just how to do that you can read as well.

Hide the alarm.

Don’t have your child’s alarm right next to the bed where they can just slam it off and go back to snoozing. Put their alarm across the room, under the bed– anywhere out of reach. Bonus points if you change the location of said alarm every night. They even make alarms that will run away from your kids these days. This eliminates snooze buttons, breaking alarms, and redirects the I-don’t-want-to-be-up grumpiness to the alarm and off of you.

Breakfast in bed.

While not all parents have time to make a steaming pile of fruit-laced waffles every morning, having some sort of food ready when your child wakes up can really help them wake up, especially if its accompanied by a c ice-cold drink. High-carb options such as juice give kids some extra, well, juice in the form of a quick blood sugar rise and resulting energy boost, but milk, water– any drink will do. Just make it cold. If your kid can just wake up and kind of sit around when they first wake up they’ll stay groggy and grumpy longer. Eating unlike showers or getting dressed is often something children want to do, so it doesn’t create one more battle, it just gets a morning necessity out of the way earlier.

Play with the heat.

Some kids seem to wake up better if the house is nice and toasty, because there’s nothing appealing about a freezing house. While others find a cold house invigorating—even if it’s against their will. Experiment with different morning temperature levels and you may find one works better than the other. A programmable thermostat can be a great way to crank the heat down while everyone is warm and cozy in bed, then turn it up or keep it down in the morning hands free. These can also help reduce your utility bills.

Turn up the lights.

Light helps the brain signal sleep and wake times. High light, especially sunlight, as a result helps kids wake up in the morning (though directly in their eyes is usually a bad play). Opt for sunlight bulbs in your home, open curtains in the morning, and consider moving your child’s bed to a position where light from said open curtains hits their bed.

Make it worth it.

Finally, you need to find some sort of incentive for your kids to get up in a timely manner. For my kids, it’s the first one up and ready gets first seat pick in the car and  hot-water usage in the shower. For your family, you might consider adding it to your chore list or behavior chart, if you have one, which offers some reward for completion. If not, find some natural enticement like the one I mentioned above that you can just point out to your child. Your goal either way is to make getting up more appealing than sleeping.

How do you get your kids up in the morning?

How to Get Baby to Sleep Through the Night

how to get a baby to sleep through the night

Every baby is different. Some sleep through the night from the start making their parents very lucky, and others won’t sleep more than an hour or two at a time until they’re far older. There is no way to force a baby to sleep through the night and trying will only make your sleepless experience far more stressful, but there are some ways you can help your baby sleep better.

The problem…

The average newborn sleeps on average sixteen amazing hours a day, and the average newborn’s parents still end up sleep deprived. This is because babies are not born with the ability to tell night from day. On top of this, your baby also has a tiny stomach to match that tiny body, which causes them to need to eat far more frequently than an adult. The combined effect of these two facts is that few young babies can sleep more than three to four hours at once let alone sleep through the night.

The solution…

This simple step-by-step how guide on how to get a baby to sleep through the night will share with you  methods to end the madness, and hopefully help you get some much needed sleep.

Establishing routine:

Before your baby’s body even knows what sleep schedule is, you can help him/her develop one by establishing routine. Remember to be flexible as newborn scheduling is difficult. Simply try to get a loose schedule started. Once your baby is around three months he/she will begin to naturally develop a sleep schedule and sleep for longer and longer stretches of time, so for now just work on keeping naps, feedings and bed time around the same time each day.

An example of a Night Time Routine:

Start with something to burn energy a few hours before beginning your actual bed time routine. For example, in infants, use tummy time or in older babies just engage them in active play. Your aim is to wear them out.

Follow this by bed time rituals such as a warm bath, getting jammies on, brushing teeth, etc. the things that should be done before bed in accordance with age.

Finally, introduce a comforting cool-down activity– read a book, sing a lullaby, breast feed. Whatever it is you find particularly calms down and comforts your baby.

Once your baby has completed your night time routine, he/she should be calm and in their own bed unless you have chosen to co-sleep. To help your baby know night time is for sleeping and day time is for being awake, you should keep your baby’s room or sleeping area dark. Avoid engaging your baby once you have put him/her down to bed.

How to actually put a baby to sleep is a manner of debate. You as a parent will need to find which way works best for you. Two of the most commonly used methods will be covered here.

Cry-It Out or Self Sooth Method:

This method is done as follows:
Place your baby in his/her bed/crib while still awake.
Say good-night, give hugs and kisses etc. and leave the room.
If your baby cries allow him/her to do so for 3 minutes.
Return and offer comfort, but don’t pick your baby up then leave again.
Let your baby cry 5 more minutes then return again.
Continue this process extending the time you wait before returning 2-5 minutes each time.

The idea is eventually your child will go to sleep and learn to self-soothe falling asleep without assistance.

The No-Cry Method or Parent Soothed:

This method has no real structure. You can offer any form of soothing to get your baby to sleep. This includes nursing, feeding, rocking, co-sleeping, singing, etc. The idea is that your child will form positive sleep associations and want to sleep.

The final step is to get your baby to sleep though the night. There are many things parents claim help babies sleep sounder and longer. Some of these things may work for you others may not.

 

Swaddling:

Swaddling has actually been proven to help most infants sleep longer. It’s a method of wrapping your baby in cloth or blankets that simulates the womb. I do have a full guide on how to swaddle here on Life with Gremlins. Note, however, some infants become so upset at being restrained they won’t calm down to go to sleep.

 

A full belly:

Many parents swear by a bit of infant cereal added to a bottle before bed to help keep your baby full longer. (Keep in mind cereal should not be given before four months of age.) Formula is also known to keep a baby full longer than breast milk. Either way, a good long feeding of nice warm milk will help your baby relax, fall asleep, and possibly sleep longer. This method has not been proven.

 

A good environment:

Another method to help babies sleep through the night is to make their room as much like the womb as possible. Keep the room dark and warm, but not hot. Consider playing white noise or soothing repetitive music. You can also leave an item of yours behind if you’re not co-sleeping, like a breast pad or night shirt to help your baby feel comfortable.

 

Make your baby as comfortable as possible:

Make any adjustments for comfort that may be necessary. Clean  nose buggers, change diapers, give any medicines, for example, for teething, and make sure  night clothes are soft and breathable.

Over all getting a baby to sleep through the night is no different than keeping yourself sleeping through the night, once their body is capable of doing so. Just offer routine, comfort, and opportunity.