Is everyone in your house feeling a bit cranky these days?
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If so, you're not alone.

As the kids head back to school or childcare—and adults return to their work routines—many families are feeling the strain. After the slower pace and flexibility of summer, the shift back to structured schedules can be exhausting. Even if your kids aren’t in grade school yet, the end of vacation mode impacts the entire household.

Sleep habits often slip during the summer, whether it’s from travel, jet lag, or kids struggling to adjust to new environments. Add to that the emotions that come with starting a new school or daycare, and it’s no wonder you’re seeing “big feelings” at home.
Transitions are tough for everyone. Here are some strategies to help your family navigate this period more smoothly:

Move bedtime earlier.
Even if bedtime has returned to what it was before summer, your child might need extra sleep during this adjustment phase. Try shifting their bedtime up by 30 minutes for a couple of weeks. Once they settle into the new routine, you can ease back to the original time.

Skip after-school activities in September.
It’s tempting to dive into extracurriculars, but tired kids may struggle with the added demands of listening and following directions. Consider a more relaxed approach for the first month—save playground trips and other fun, unscheduled activities for when your child feels up for it. A walk or scooter ride can also help them unwind after a long day.

I know you may have already paid for piano/soccer/math tutoring/mommy and me swimming, but your family will thank you if you prioritize rest and rejuvenation over skill building right now. 

Lower your expectations at home.
Children who normally dress themselves or play well together might suddenly need more help. Instead of pushing them to manage independently, try separating them for some quiet playtime or offering extra support with tasks. It’s normal for kids to regress a bit when they’re tired.

If you're a family who offers screen time during the week, save it for when you first get home.
This will allow you to get dinner on the table in peace, prevent sibling fights, and allow your child some time to decompress.

If you don't do screen time, you could offer the Toni Box, a podcast on Alexa (we like Little Stories for Tiny People), drawing, or having your little one "help" you prep dinner. A Learning Tower or similar is great for keeping your toddler or preschooler safe and engaged in the kitchen. A younger child can bang a wooden spoon on the highchair try or bang some measuring cups on the floor. 

Serve dinner earlier—skip the snack.
An earlier dinner can work wonders for tired kids. If they’re used to snacking in the afternoon, they might be too full or exhausted to eat a proper meal later. Swap snack time for dinner as soon as you’re home. Aim for quick, simple meals—nothing fancy.

If you are a family who prioritizes family dinners, I applaud you. (My family doesn't do so well with this.) In this case, have childcare provider or parent who is with the children serve dinner and then plan a post-dinner snack or dessert together when the whole family is home.

Don’t forget about yourself.
You need rest, too. Just like your kids, you’re adjusting to the demands of a new routine. Encourage yourself to cut back on evening commitments and aim for an earlier bedtime. A reminder on your phone might help you stick to it!

September can be challenging for many families, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. If your family is struggling with this transition, I’m here to help. Schedule a free consultation, and let’s get your family back to feeling rested and balanced.

There are six essential elements for creating great sleep in young children. If you aren't optimizing each of them, your child is probably not getting all the high-quality sleep she needs. Inadequate hours of sleep, or sleep at the wrong time or in the wrong place or with too many wakings all lead to an overtired child.

Overtired children have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Their naps are too short and they wake up too early in the morning. It's a vicious cycle. 

Overtired children also tend to be wound up and hyperactive. They usually are not sleepy. This is because their bodies produce a stress hormone, cortisol, when they don't get enough high-quality sleep. This stress hormone helps them stay awake but makes it hard for them to focus effectively on their play -- their work --  or to fall asleep when naptime rolls around. 

If you optimize these six elements, you can guarantee better sleep for your child. They are as follows:

1. Consistent soothing routine -- doing the same thing at every naptime and bedtime cues his body that it's time to sleep, and makes separation from you easier. It's normal for children to protest separation from their beloved parents, but it gets easier when children know what to expect. Start a bedtime routine at about four months old. It may include a story, a song, putting him in the crib awake, closing the shades and turning on the white noise, then saying, "Sleep well! I love you!" Doing the same thing every single time is reassuring to young children. It teaches them that you go away at predictable intervals but you always come back. This makes them feel safe enough to drift off peacefully. 
   
   
2. Determine his sleep needs and plan accordingly. Some children need more sleep than others. For example, a four-month old I recently worked with could only stay awake for an hour between naps. Most children his age can last at least 90 minutes, but if we tried to stretch Lucas' awake interval that long, he was miserable and took a short nap afterwards. Whatever a "typical" four-month-old needs was irrelevant for him. When Lucas went back to his crib after only one hour awake, he slept ninety minutes and woke up gloriously happy. 
   
   
3. Eliminate sleep debt and prevent overtiredness -- both actually make it harder for a child to sleep, which is totally counterintuitive. Many well-meaning friends and family members will encourage you to keep your child up late to "guarantee" a great night's sleep, but this will backfire in many cases. An extra-early bedtime will help your child catch up on lost sleep and prevent night wakings. Sleeping late in the mornings in actually counter-productive because it interferes with naps and bedtime; for this reason, I don't recommend it. 
   
   
4. Ideal sleep environment -- creating the ideal sleep environment makes it easier for a child to fall asleep and stay asleep. For the best sleep possible, your child should sleep motionless in the dark with white noise. Of course you can't guarantee this ideal sleep setting 100% of the time, but limiting exceptions to this "rule" will help keep your child on track, sleep-wise. 
   
   
5. Self-soothing ability -- children need to be able to put themselves to sleep independently in order to put themselves back to sleep when they wake up between sleep cycles, as we all do (adults typically don't remember these brief awakenings). By putting your child into bed awake every time, she learns how to self-soothe herself to sleep and she can repeat this behavior when she wakes up between sleep cycles. Doing so independently, without needing your help, makes her sleep much more restful. For both of you!
   
   
6. Ideal sleep timing -- appropriate timing of naps and bedtime makes it easier for children to fall asleep, stay asleep until the target wake time, and have more restful sleep. Most children under six need about twelve hours of sleep at night. If your target wake time is 7 am, your child's bedtime should therefore be at about 7 pm. The most restful sleep is before midnight so a 9 pm bedtime with a 9 am wake time is not nearly as restful as a 7-7 schedule. 
   
   Likewise, naps are most restful (after 4+ months) if they are at the appropriate clock times. For most children after 4 months, the earlt afternoon nap should start between 12 and 1 pm. A too-early nap means your child is overtired before bedtime and a too-late naptime means your child isn't sleepy enough at bedtime. 
   
   These times aren't always ideal for parents' schedules but when your child sleeps at biologically ideal times, he sleeps longer and wakes up well-rested, which means he will be more calm and happy than otherwise. This will lead to more time to get your work done, more restful sleep for you, and more opportunities to enjoy each other. 
   
   

It isn't always easy to institute all the changes necessary to incorporate all of these elements into your child's life, but I guarantee doing so will improve your sleep, and your lives, immeasurably. 

I know reading the suggestions here, or in a book, isn't the same as actually putting them into practice. Doing so can be intimidating, especially when your family is already exhausted. Let me help. Schedule a free call and change your family's life forever.