Heading back to class also means getting into a new routine at home, and experts say when it comes to sleep, that routine should begin now.
Nicole Semeniuk is an infant and child sleep consultant. She says the trick is to get children back into their school year sleep routine gradually.
“It’s best to start a little earlier, say one or two weeks before the back to school day, and put your children to bed 15 minutes earlier for a few nights and wake them 15 minutes earlier in the morning.”
Semeniuk says moving bed and wake-up times a little at a time can help parents find an optimum sleep schedule, with less push-back from the kids.
“If you progressively do it over a week or two it will be not quite a shock, they’re not expected to go to bed an hour and a half earlier the night before school.”
Some other bedtime tricks include stopping the screen time an hour before putting kids to bed, and moving on to quiet activities like reading a story.
Make sure the bedroom is dark and cozy, and a source of white noise, like a fan, also helps children fall asleep.
“I highly recommend baths because it lowers their body temperature and kind of sets the mood for sleep,” Semeniuk says.
Semeniuk says children between five and 10 years old need between 10 and 12 hours of sleep at night for optimal performance during the day.