Getting the kids sleep-ready for school

They’re adorable over the holidays. So much quality time to share and bond. But, let’s face it, they can also be impossible. Keeping them occupied. Feeding them. Sorting out siblings' spats. Getting them to settle down. Bribing them, if you must. Being the sergeant major you really don’t care to be on your family getaway. It’s like you gave birth to your holiday nemesis.

Kids. Gotta love ’em.

And that’s just on holiday. Now tell them they’re going back to school soon. And they need to, you know, get ready?

Good. Luck.

Nothing much to your kids, that’s for sure. But, as you will no doubt be aware, consistent, restorative sleep is critical to the physical and mental development of your child. As the holidays come to an end and the new school term approaches, there are a few tips and tricks you might consider to help get your child sleep-ready for school.

1. The holidays have likely been disruptive to your child’s normal sleeping patterns. The excitement of being away on vacation, of spending time with friends and family, and those late-night entertainment indulgences have now turned into morning sleep-ins. Start nudging your child to get back to an earlier sleep time. And waking up at their usual hour.
2. If you need to negotiate a scattered holiday routine back to a regular bedtime, start a week ahead with 15-minute shifts each evening towards the usual bedtime. Factor in that, depending on their age, they could need anything from 9-11 hours’ sleep a night.
3. Start calming down the pre-bedtime activities like watching or playing on devices. Sit the family down for regular, early mealtimes and start cutting out any evening entertainment snacks and sugary treats.
4. Add daily occupational activities that mirror your child’s school day. Set up fun projects to complete in the mornings, whatever you know would interest your child. It could be a physical task like model building, cracking a large jigsaw puzzle, or a creative project like drawing, painting or clay sculpting. Even household chores like neatening up a bedroom, or cleaning a bicycle, can help to focus on more project-oriented activity. Add an exercise routine in the afternoons, preferably outdoors so that there is plenty of natural daylight exposure. This can all help towards getting your child to tire earlier, get to bed, and settle into full, uninterrupted rest through the night.
5. If you’re a working mom or dad, your child will already be getting a sense of how the mornings are ‘getting back to normal’. Have them join the breakfast table as a family. Start discussing the upcoming school year and what lies ahead in the next grade. It’s all part of re-focusing a mindset with positive affirmation and anticipation of the school year ahead. And it may be easier to include the importance of sleep as preparation for getting back to class.

If your child’s mindset is progressively refocused on school, the need for becoming sleep-ready is likely better understood. Even if slightly begrudgingly at first.

While it may seem intuitive that your child should sleep well to perform better at school, there are important physical and mental health reasons that are at a critical stage in your child’s early development. Sleep scientist, Dr Dale Rae, gives us some insight.

“It’s not just a matter of getting your child to bed at a particular time. What is critical is that your child enjoys the right amount and quality of sleep each night. From pre-school to teenage years, your child is experiencing rapid growth. It is during sleep that any learning from the day before is processed by the brain and retained for future recall. Physical repair and development after an active day is also an important sleep process. And since school is a place where children are continually in close proximity, it is important that your child’s immune system is able to rest and restore itself each night.”

The sleep environment is also key to a child’s best sleep. The bedroom should be a calm, familiar space, where young sleepy-heads feel they can safely drift off. Effectively, the bedroom is a ‘sleep-ready’ chamber that can play a subconscious role in preparing your child for sleep. Typically, however, your child may also have a desk in their bedroom. So the bedroom has an association with being both ‘sleep-ready’ and ‘work-ready’. Ideally, one would try to create a dedicated study space in a separate room in the house. Where this is not possible, if space allows, try to create distinct sleep and work spaces in the room, especially keeping all tech away from the bed.

Instill a positive attitude to sleep hygiene while they’re young. It’s all part of a healthy lifestyle and education. Look out for signs or behaviours in your child that might suggest poor sleep. These signs can be evident in both the daytime (for example, fatigue or excessive daytime sleepiness) and night-time (problems falling asleep or staying asleep). Bear in mind that there could be all manner of reasons besides sleep that are affecting your child’s behaviour. But sleep is always a good ‘first base’ to consider. Here are just a few clues to look out for:

1. Is your child reportedly inattentive or disinterested during class?
2. Does your child regularly get the sniffles, even in the summer?
3. Has your child suddenly become moody and disgruntled?
4. Is there a lack of motivation when playing games or sports, where your child seems to tire easily?
5. Is your child going through a period of insomnia or disrupted sleep?

Talking through physical and emotional challenges with your child, and checking whether it might be related to compromised sleep, will help to create an association of a healthy lifestyle with optimal sleep. Often, if there is possibly a sleep-related issue, it may be a simple solution.

1. If your child has two family homes, ensure that you are co-ordinating with your ex-partner and co-parent to address any sleep issues.
2. Is your child sleeping on the right type of mattress? Have they outgrown it, or has the mattress reached the end of its sleep-productive life?
3. Are there nighttime beverages or snacks just before bedtime? Or is your child having dinner too close to bedtime?
4. Is there sufficient fresh air passing through the bedroom to allow for a cool sleep environment?
5. As kids head into their teen years they will often tend to want to go to sleep and wake up later. Be mindful to discuss this together and encourage your teenager to be self-reliant and responsible about their sleep. Advise against devices for entertainment, social media and gaming ahead of bedtime.

Good, deep sleep is one of life’s easiest lessons to share. It’s so obvious. And yet we can very easily overlook it. (And who doesn’t love their kids just a little more when they’re fast asleep?)

Dial•a•Bed may as well be called the Academy of Sleep. Across the floor of a Dial•a•Bed store you will quickly be guided to your child’s preferred level of comfort and support. Every leading mattress brand, with a full complement of materials and design features, is yours to explore. Just as important as your child’s education is their quality of sleep. Help your child find the perfect mattress, whatever your budget. Those precious, formative years need the best you can afford. #SleepForLife.

TAKE CARE: Lifestyle recommendations are not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare professional should you be experiencing prolonged sleep difficulties or related health issues.