Back to School: How to Get Your Kids Up in Time
Going back to school means the relaxed, lazy days of summer are about to give way to packed schedules, homework, after-school activities, and toughest of all, waking the kids up early. The change of pace can be a jolt to the whole family.
So, how, after months of sleeping late, do you get the kids used to earlier wake-up times without creating household chaos first thing in the morning? Here are five tips to get your kids out of bed and off to school.
1. Start Planning Early.
It’s important to recognize that transitioning from the relaxed schedule of summer to the structure of the school year is a process, says David Swanson, PsyD, a child and family psychologist practicing in Los Angeles and author of HELP-- My Kid is Driving Me Crazy, The 17 Ways Kids Manipulate Their Parents and What You Can Do About It.
If you wait until the night before school starts to get the kids to bed on the early side, don’t expect a smooth morning. “Parents make the mistake of waiting until the last minute,” Swanson says.
To make sure your family is prepared for an early start, begin preparing kids at least a week before school starts. Call a family meeting to announce a new sleep schedule and to get everyone on the same page, says Jill Spivack, LCSW, co-author of The Sleepeasy Solution, The Exhausted Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Child to Sleep.
“You have to sit with kids and explain the value of sleep,” Spivack says. “We want them to understand sleep nutrition is as important as food nutrition, and that a lack of sleep can have major consequences.”
Many studies have shown that a lack of sleep can hamper physical and mental health. Tweens and teens aged 11-17 operating on too little sleep have shown an increase in anxiety, depression, and physical pain. School performance often declines too. A study done several years ago on fourth- and sixth-grade students by researchers at Israel's Tel Aviv University showed that after losing about one hour of sleep over several nights, students performed worse on a reaction test that predicts their ability to pay attention in class.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, kids aged 5-12 need 10-11 hours of sleep each night. Children aged 10-18 need a little less -- 8.5-9.5 hours per night. But most kids don't get enough sleep.
You can show your kids some empathy about the fact that getting back into a routine may not be fun, but let them know that the schedule change is meant to help kids feel good when they are at school. “It comes from a place of love and education about the importance of sleep, and not control,” Spivack says.
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/get-kids-up-for-school?src=RSS_PUBLIC
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