It takes between a week and ten days for Start the school year. They are days of preparations, last minute purchases and routine setting, mainly from sleep, which is one of the aspects that wobbles most during the summer.
Although at the beginning of the holidays we gave you some guidelines to try to maintain the sleep routines during the summer period, it is normal and logical that we have relaxed with them, so now we have to adapt them so that the return to school of our children is not an abrupt change as far as its biological rhythms are concerned.
How to adjust sleep routines in 10 days
When sleep routines are out of control and our children go to bed and get up without schedules and without pressure, thinking about adjusting the hours before going back to school may seem like something hard to rush.
And obviously, if during the summer our children have been getting up at 10:00 a.m., trying to wake them up from one day to another at 07:00 will not only be complicated, but also affect character and school performance, since they will feel tired and irascible.
Therefore, when it comes to going back to school after summer vacations, experts recommend starting to adjust sleep routines about ten days before and, in no case, do it suddenlyIf we start implementing this today sleep plan, the kids will have more than a week ahead to get used to and gradually adapt without trauma to the new situation that awaits you in a few days.
- 1) Lay your child down ten minutes before each day
If from now, and during the next ten days, we will advancing ten minutes a day when going to bed, the day before starting school we will have got them to sleep an hour and a half before the time they used to during the holidays.
You can play with these times according to your needs or particularities, without forgetting that the Spanish Pediatric Association recommends that children between three and five years sleep between 10-12 hours a day, and children between six and 10 years, Do about 10 hours a day.
- 2) Advance the time to wake you up ten minutes every day
Though this point is a consequence of the previous and as our son goes to bed earlier, he may also modify his waking time in the morning himself, we can help him wake him up a few minutes earlier each day.
In this way, at the end of the sleep plan, we will have achieved not only that our children go to bed earlier but get up early, always respecting the rest hours recommended by pediatriciansTips to make this adaptation easier
Adjusting sleep schedules can be easier if we carry out a series of additional tips that will help our children to better accept the new routine prior to the start of the course.
- Routines that favor sleep
A while before putting the children to bed we must carry out a series of routines that favor your rest, have a positive impact on sleep quality and help reduce stress.
The physical exercise during the afternoon, a relaxed bath and a light and nutritious dinner are the perfect allies to get a restful sleep. In this regard, we may also have to adjust the schedules and types of dinner as part of the same adaptation plan to the new routines.
Remember that the screens are not allies of the dream so we must flee from them, so if your child has been especially hooked this summer to tablets and mobiles, now is the time to start removing them.
- Light, temperature and clothes
To all of the above we must also add a relaxed environment that invites to rest: soft light, mattress, pillow and sheets of natural and breathable fabrics and room temperature around 22 degrees on average.
- Nervous? Help him relax!
But it may happen that despite putting all these tips into practice you notice that your children you are especially nervous or restless, and even tell you that they have trouble falling asleep. It is absolutely normal.
There have been many weeks of disconnection, fun and absence of routines and as the return to school approaches nervousness and uncertainty also grows, which can intensify in certain situations such as a change of school, teachers or cycle step.
If you detect that your child is worried about this issue, talk to him and convey a reassuring message. Maybe you can tell him a story adapted to the "back to school", or keep with him a talk about what you will find when the course begins and how you will face it together.
Possibly, after talking with you and transmitting your fears and emotions, you feel more relaxed and supported and that translates into a better quality of sleep.
- Lead by example
But it won't do all this if parents don't we preach with the example. It is time to resume family dinners (if they had been lost during the summer) and stories before going to sleep, as well as face the "return to work" with energy and positivism.
And if adults openly show the post-vacation syndrome and complain in front of children how hard it is to return to work after the holidays, get up early or adjust schedules, how are we going to pretend that our children bring their return to the joy cole?
Returning to the routines always costs, especially after having spent a long summer with the family, but with positivism, energy and advice that favors sleep and rest, it sure is more bearable. Happy return to the routine!- IStock Photos
- In Babies and More How to maintain, also in summer, children's sleep routines, Children also suffer from post-vacation syndrome, how can we help them? Many nerves and little sleep: how to help them back to school
