What time should your child go to bed?

Getting back on a school sleep schedule

NEATLINGS Sleep Schedule - What time should your kids go to bed? Free printable schedule!

A new school year is upon us and once again we are working towards getting our kiddos back on a regular school day schedule. This is the time that all parents are asking themselves...What time do our kiddos need to go to bed in order to feel revived and refreshed for their school day?

How much sleep do your school age kids need?

As all we all know all kids are different. Some kiddos will need more sleep and others less but here are some informational guides to help you determine how much sleep your child(ren) needs and what time they need to go to bed in order to get their rest.

Preschoolers and Older

• 3-6 Years Old: 11- 12 hours per day
• 7-10 Years Old: 10-11 hours per day
• 11-18 Years Old: 8-10 hours per day

What time should your kids go to bed?

How does the needed sleep translate to bedtimes? This handy chart is a great guide to use when determining your child's bedtime.

Click on the Download File link below. Enjoy!

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This chart was inspired by Wilson Elementary in Kenosha Wisconsin whom posted a schedule on their Facebook page. You can see their post by clicking here at Wilson Elementary. 

How to get your kids sleep schedule back on track?

Over the summer months my families sleep schedule starts to slip. The days are longer and the sun stays out later. I just don't have the heart (or maybe it is fortitude) to make them go to bed at 8 pm (our regular school time bed time) when it is still bright and sunny out and the neighborhood still seems alive with action. Before we are long into summer it seems my kids are regularly going to bed at 10pm (or later) and waking up at 9 am or later (please don't judge ). 

This means that as the school year approaches I am faced with the reality that I need to get them back on track. 

In my attempts to do this I have been putting them to bed a few minutes earlier each night which has helped some and got us almost half way to our goal of waking up at 6:45 am. It has been a gentle approach to help ease them back into a school year bed time routine but admittedly it has one major flaw. That just putting them into bed earlier does not make them get up earlier. What to do now? I know what I have to do, I have to bite the bullet and simply wake them up earlier, this can make for some seriously grumpy kiddos which is why I have tried to avoid this approach but it is a tried and true method for getting them back into their routine. Fortunately, at the moment that I write this, I have a few days that I can ease into this one too. By putting them to bed a little earlier each night and also waking them up a little earlier each morning they are sure to get back to their regular 8:00 pm bedtime and 6:45 am wake up.

My kiddos are fortunate to live close to school and hence are some of the very last to be picked up. For them this means that they get a slightly later bed time then some of their peers and they get to wake up a little later than many as well.

How we get back into our school routine with NEATLINGS Chore Chart System

We use NEATLINGS Chore Chart System (of course) to get back into our school routine.

NEATLINGS is an awesome award winning chore chart system that works for one or many children. It is a versatile system that can be set up in several different ways to meet the needs of every family.

Some of the NEATLINGS chore cards that we use as gentle reminders to get our kiddos back on track with their school routine.

Morning Chore Cards

Make Bed
Get Dressed
Brush Hair
Clear Your Dishes (after breakfast)
Take Vitamins
Pack School Bag (and lunch)

Evening Chore Cards

Homework
Practice Instrument
Pajamas
Put Dirty Clothes in Laundry Hamper
Brush Teeth
Extra Reading

Do you have back to school tips to share? Please leave a comment below!

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Sources:

How much sleep do children need? (2016, February 25). Retrieved from
​      http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children?page=1

All about sleep. (2014, November). Retrieved from
      http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sleep.html#

Helpful information! (2015, August 28) Retrieved from
     https://www.facebook.com/wilsonkusd/photos/pb.442418692530141.-2207520000.1441308398./727950003977007/?type=3&theater

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