Three ways to ensure the summer holidays don't negatively impact your child's sleep.

Parents often find it difficult to ensure their kids maintain a consistent sleep schedule in the summer. With long days, children will often wake early with the sun, and few children want to go to bed when it is still light out (especially when they could be playing outside!).

It is very easy to get off schedule during the summer without the routine of school and with the added distractions of long days and holidays. If a child does not need to wake for planned holiday activities, then a later bedtime and wake time is not problematic. However, if children are going to bed later, and parents have to drag them out of bed in the morning to get them off to activities, this means the child is not getting enough sleep. As during the school year, this can interfere with all aspects of a child's functioning, including growth, development, mood, and performance.

For teens, summer can be a time to catch up on lost sleep during the school year, with many parents complaining about how they “sleep away the day,” not waking until lunchtime or later. While this extra sleep is a good thing, it may also result in a shifted or delayed schedule, with teens going to bed later than usual, and sleeping later than usual. This can be problematic when school starts and the teen has to once again attempt to go to bed early and rise early.

So what is a parent to do?

1. Enforce a consistent sleep schedule that allows a child to obtain a sufficient amount of sleep.
This may mean your child has to go to bed when the sun is still up. One way to help promote sleep is to use blackout shades in your child's bedroom.

2. For teens, allowing them to sleep in is okay, but within reason. Try to have your teen up no later than 10:00 a.m. This will make the transition back to school a lot easier. One way to get teens up is to get them involved in activities that require them to be present in the morning.

3. Two to three weeks before school starts, begin working on shifting your child's or teen's sleep schedule to help them get ready for school. The easiest way to do this is to have a set bedtime and wake time that allows for enough sleep, and then move both the bedtime and wake time 15 minutes earlier every 2-3 nights until the desired sleep schedule is reach.

While summer is great for getting outside, enjoying the sun, playing, and relaxing, it is important to remember that sleep is an essential part of a child's health and well-being. So help your child get the most out of their summer holidays by helping them get enough sleep!

Source - Sleep.org