School will be starting up again soon, and there is a lot that has to be done to make sure that children are ready to begin. From meeting teachers to purchasing the necessities, this is a very busy time for children and their parents. On top of this, parents are aware that schedules will be changing soon.
It is very important to have a schedule in place before school begins, especially where young children are concerned. Creating a schedule will help your family to ease into the new school year more easily, placing less stress on the family unit. When children are on a schedule before school begins, they are less likely to fall asleep in class, feel stressed, and get sick at the beginning of the school year.
How can you create a schedule for your family? Here are some tips to get you started:
- The amount of sleep that a child needs depends upon his/her age. You will want to match your childs age with the number of hours that you expect them to sleep. Try to keep in mind that bedtime schedules do not count as sleep time, and neither does the time that it takes your child to fall asleep. If it takes your child 20 minutes to go to sleep, then you will want to consider putting him/her to bed 20 minutes earlier.
- Bedtime schedules help children to stay on track with bedtime. While they are doing their routine, they know that it is near bedtime. This helps bedtime to be less stressful for them. An example of a good bedtime routine is: Snack and talk with you, bath time, brush teeth, you braid your daughters hair for ease of care the next morning, a story and sleep.
- Keep the house fairly quiet during bedtime, but some noise is okay. You should be able to talk normally and hear the television or radio. Children should be able to sleep through normal noise levels.
- Wake your children up happily in the morning. Go in, sit on the bed and make morning wake-up time a happy, even silly, ocassion.
By establishing this schedule at least two weeks before school begins, your children will know what is expected when. They will be getting plenty of sleep, and will be less stressed when school starts.
NOTE: It is important for children to start their new morning schedules at the same time that they begin their sleep schedules.
For more info:
WebMD Feature Article: Good, Sound Sleep for Your Child by Michael J, Breus, PhD
WebMD Feature Article: How Much Sleep do Children Need? by Michael J, Breus, PhD
If you have any ideas for future articles, please contact me at thehsmomof2@aol.com.
Comments