Brian Brady 
With the first day of school just around the corner, our team at Professionals Keith Brady Real Estate, Everton Park thought we’d help out Everton Park parents with a few tried and tested ‘back to school tips’, beginning with re-setting your child’s body clock.
Getting back into the swing of earlier wake-up times can be hard for kids, not to mention parents. To better ease your family’s transition to a “school night” sleep schedule, it’s not a bad idea to roll back your child’s bedtime the week before term 1 begins.
If your child is aged 5 to 12 they’ll typically need 10 to 11 hours of sleep per night, while older children will generally require at least 9 hours of sleep.
Some signs that your children are not getting enough shut-eye are:
- They’re irritable, restless, or have a short attention span.
- They don’t have as much energy as usual, or run out of steam faster.
- They’re more impatient, anxious, or defensive than usual.
To help your children get sufficient sleep it’s recommended that a bedtime routine is established and maintained for consistency. The National Sleep Foundation recommends:
- Limiting caffeine consumption in the afternoon and evening.
- Avoiding serving big dinners close to bedtime.
- Setting a regular bedtime and enforcing it.
- Creating a calming night routine. Video games and TV shows are too stimulating before bed. Instead, why not share a favourite story with your child or encourage your child to read on their own?
Does your child have a successful bedtime routine? Is there a favourite toy or book your child won’t sleep without? Please share any of your own ‘back to school’ parenting tips with us here.