Sleep Schedule
Don’t shoot the messenger! Back to school is just around the corner and with that comes a wake-up time that may be jarring for little ones who have been sleeping in this summer.
As soon as you are ready, you can start to get the kids on that schedule, so it is not an added shock when the school year begins. The beauty of starting ahead of the school year is that you can adjust bedtime slowly earlier and the same with wake-up time.
For example, start going to bed 10 minutes earlier each night if you’re on a set schedule. If you’re not, think about maybe doing a social story or a bedtime routine with times attached. For example, if dinner is usually at around 6 PM, that could be your starting point. Maybe put the bath or shower after that and work from there.
If this just feels way too overwhelming, let it go…it’s no big deal. It will just make for a couple of tired days when the school year starts up. And honestly, we’ve all made it through a few tired days…this will not be the end of us. Wink.
Share This Post
About the Author
Erica Mauro is a mom to two teenage boys, Will who is neurotypical and Michael with Autism and cognitive delays. She holds a BA in Psychology from Colgate University and a Masters of Psychology in Education from Columbia Teacher’s College. Before staying home with her children, she worked as an elementary school teacher. For five years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Molly Ann Tango Memorial Foundation, a charity dedicated to enriching the lives of children with special needs. In partnership with her husband Dave, she aspires to parent by using daily life as an opportunity for therapeutic intervention, seizing on real experiences as opportunities to build skills and strategies for Michael in a joyful, loving home environment. On the tougher early days, she just tried to get everyone safely to bedtime and start fresh in the morning. *wink* 
Let's Connect
Subscribe to our newsletter for more updates