Adjusting Your Child’s Schedule for Summer

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May 20

It’s time for swimming, sunscreen and s’mores! That’s right, it’s (basically)...

Summer, summer, SUMMERTIME!

Now that the sun is staying up later, you may be thinking about moving your child’s bedtime later as well!

Doing this adds more flexibility to your evenings, letting you enjoy those warm summer nights roasting s’mores with your family or more time splashing in the pool!

Or….maybe you don’t want to shift their schedule so you can enjoy the fire and a cocktail with your partner. If that’s the case, then this blog might not be for you, but maybe you’ll want to save it in your back pocket (a.k.a. Pinterest) for the future!

Here are a few starting tips:

You’ll want to have a little bit of a game plan for this change, because it could backfire BIG TIME if you make the adjustment too drastically.
Wait until your child is out of school for the summer.
If you have more than one child, adjust all of their schedules at the same time to make it easier on yourself.
If your child is 2.5/3 years old and up, consider using an OK to wake clock or the Hatch to signal to them when morning has arrived.

The plan:

Shift your child’s schedule in 15-minute increments. Doing it by 30 minutes may be too much for them and can cause them to become overtired, leading to some unwanted bedtime battles!
Only shift 15-minutes per week to allow them to adjust, and to allow you to see how the adjustment affects their morning wake up.

Now, this change may or may not work for YOUR child.

Keep in mind, optimal bedtime for most children is 7:00-8:00pm. Shifting to a 9pm or even 8:30pm bedtime may not be a good fit for them! If your child starts having those early morning wake ups, then you’ll know the shift is not working for them and you’ll want to move their schedule back.

You may notice that your child handled the first 15-minute shift just fine, but the second one didn’t go so well. It’s amazing how much of a difference fifteen minutes can make! If your child doesn’t do well with the second shift, then stick with just the one shift for a couple more weeks and before you try tacking on the other 15-minutes again.

I don’t recommend doing the schedule shift unless your child is already a good sleeper. If your child still struggles with independent sleep/naps or sleeping through the night, you’ll want to get that handled first before trying to shift their whole schedule later.

If sleep has been a struggle for your child and you’re looking for a guided approach to better sleep, then take a look at my support packages. I have you covered from zero-5 years of age with options under each age group to fit your needs!

Sleep easy,