How to enjoy summer without sacrificing sleep
I look forward to the end of the school year. No more 7 am wakeups, no more school lunches to make, and the free and easy days of summer.
I also look forward to being able to have a more flexible schedule for my girls. If we want to watch a movie in the evening, we don’t have to cut it short to keep bedtime on track. If they are enjoying playing outside after supper, I can let them run around a bit longer, knowing they don’t have to be up early for school.
So, am I going to throw schedules and sleep routines out the window? Not a chance. As nice as a schedule-free summer sounds, the reality is kids thrive on routine, and still need the same amount of sleep.
I find in life, often it is all one way or the other. Creating balance can be challenging. Work/Life balance. Balancing time with family vs. time with friends vs. time with oneself. All work and no play for most of the year, followed by all play and no work (at least for our kids) during the summer.
The school year is 5 days per week, 6 hours per day of structure and studying for 10 months per year. Summer break is 7 days per week, 12 daytime hours of free time, fun and relaxation crammed into 2 months. That’s why many of us feel so ready for school to begin again long before summer vacation comes to an end. Even our kids get bored and are ready for more structure after about a month.
So what is the key to enjoying summer and creating that balance of ease and structure without sacrificing sleep? Here are some practical tips.
Don’t stress about sticking to a perfect schedule. If you are out and about, and everyone is enjoying themselves, give yourself a break around bedtime and stay out a little longer. Keep supper easy (think poached egg, peanut butter toast and some pre-cut raw or leftover cooked veg). Shorten the bedtime routine. (Don’t race through it or skip it altogether, but you don’t need to go through every step, every time.) And let go of expectations. Bedtime is going to be a little later that night. There’s going to be a pile of wet, dirty, sandy clothes to deal with later. Don’t worry about it. Get the kids to bed and put up your feet. Maybe tomorrow will be a quieter home day and you can deal with the laundry then.
Don’t keep them out late every night or skip every nap. If you have older children (kindergarten and up), choose maybe 1-2 nights per week when bedtime can be a bit later ( e.g., 30 minutes later). This can work for kids who will sleep in later in the morning. If they are early birds, avoid food and screen time and exposure to light until an appropriate wake time. These are all things that will reinforce an early wake. With older kids who generally sleep well, you might even opt to have a later schedule throughout the summer. Again, this will depend on whether your kids will sleep in enough to fulfill their sleep needs, or if a later bedtime will result in an earlier wakeup, essentially taking sleep away on both ends. If it’s the latter, a later bedtime might not be a wise choice at this time.
Do prioritize at least one good nap at home per day for toddlers and babies taking 2+ naps. The morning nap is often a good one to have at home, and will allow you to prepare for an outing while your baby is napping so you’re ready to go out when they wake. If you have a child who will nap on the go or while you are out, great! Make sure their sleep space is safe. If they won’t take a nap on the go, plan to be home for an earlier bedtime to help them catch up on that missed sleep. If your child is taking one midday nap and that nap gets missed, it’s early to bed for 1-3 nights to help them play catch up and hopefully avoid the consequences of missed sleep.
“Know your children! Is your child fairly sensitive when it comes to sleep or more easygoing? What is their personality and temperament? How have they generally done in the past when they missed out on sleep?”
Do know your children! Is your child fairly sensitive when it comes to sleep or more easygoing? What is their personality and temperament? How have they generally done in the past when they missed out on sleep? How flexible you can be with nap schedules and bedtime will depend on how well your child does when they are off schedule, miss a nap (or have a short nap) or go to bed later.
Do know yourself! How do you manage when your child is cranky due to being overtired or when they wake in the night after losing out on some sleep? How do you manage the consequences/results of your child being underslept? How do you feel about doing some sleep homework (staying home and prioritizing sleep for a few days) to help your little one get back on track?
Don’t jam pack the summer with activities and adventures, filling every day with fun from sun up to sun down. Consider creating a balance of fun, full days interspersed with more relaxed, slower paced days close to home. Summer break is supposed to be a break, after all!
Do consider your priorities and plans for the summer. What activities, adventures, trips and plans are most important to you? What’s on your must-do list? What can be skipped if you find it’s just too much and everyone could use a good night of sleep at home? Summer is short and we won’t be able to do everything we want to do without sacrificing sleep, rest and relaxation.
Do recreate their sleep environment as best you can wherever your kids will be sleeping (e.g., in a trailer or tent, at grandma’s house, in a hotel). Think dark, cool and quiet. Make sure to bring familiar sleep items from home (e.g., white noise machine, sleep sack, transitional item like stuffy or blanket for kids 12 months and older, and favourite bedtime books).
Do use blackout solutions. In the summer, the sun rises earlier in the morning. This means if any light is coming into the room at 5 am, your little one might start waking at that time. And if you are already dealing with a too-early wake, that light will reinforce it, making it hard to help your little one sleep in later. The sun also goes down later at night, which can make it hard for children to fall asleep at their usual bedtime and cause them to struggle to fall asleep. A simple, affordable solution is taping heavy garbage bags to the windows for a fully blacked-out room.
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This summer we plan to stay close to home relaxing, kids playing in the backyard, and me and hubby working on the house and yard. We’ll invite friends over for meals on the deck. There will hopefully be lots of lake and river time, bike riding and day trips. I always plan to eat an abundance of good locally made ice cream and spend weekends at the farmers’ markets. We will likely go camping for a few weeks as well. I’ve also registered the girls for camp one week in July and may sign them up for one more activity in August just for a bit of structure for them and kid-free time for us.
Summer can be fun and restful. The key is deciding what is most important, figuring out what works best for you and your family, and finding that balance.