I was very nervous when my oldest started school. I guess I wasn’t ready for him to be that grown up yet, but he loves it… for now. Even though he enjoys the actual school day, one aspect of the academic year that has been known to add an occasional outburst in our house involves bedtime after a long vacation.
School seems to have a long weekend or a week or two off about every month or so, and I admit that I’m a little lax on bedtimes and routines during these times. I know, I should never deviate from the routine, but when his favorite show isn’t on until 10 p.m., I don’t mind if he stays up to watch when he doesn’t have school.
What this does is set me up the inevitable battle at bedtime when school starts again. It happens every time, and you would think I would have learned by now, but I never had much of a bedtime growing up, and I turned out pretty good I think.
The main issue is that for about a week, he doesn’t want to go to bed at his regular bedtime. He wants to stay up later, and he will stall and do whatever he can to prolong his waking time. So, here are a few tips that I have for the lenient parent trying to get their child back on the school routine. This is great for the end of summer break, as well.
1. Don’t change the routine. Obvious, isn’t it? When vacation comes, just keep it just like it was during the school year. Sure, you and I both know you aren’t going to do this, but I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention it.
2. DVR it. My son loves to watch a show on Nick Jr. called “The Upside Down Show.” It’s Australian and has a lot of imagination play, which I am a HUGE fan of. Unfortunately, it’s only on at 10 p.m., which is too late for him to be up with school. So each night, I DVR the episode, and he watches it right before bedtime the day after. He gets his show and I get him in bed at a reasonable time.
3. Ease into it. Summer is, by far, the most difficult for getting back into the routine. There is so much going on, from sports to vacations, that everyone’s internal clocks end up getting out of whack. About two weeks before school begins, start easing back into the routine. Start with getting the nighttime routine back, but ending it later than normal. Keep easing back a half hour or so every day or two until he’s going to bed at his regular time.
It’s imperative that children receive enough sleep, because they need it to learn and be active in school. I can’t stress the importance of getting back onto a school schedule as soon as possible enough. Maybe I will learn to not change the routine next time. What? I can dream can’t I.
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