TAMPA, Fla. — The countdown continues to the new school year, and that also means making sure your kids are on the right routine and sleep schedule to start the year off strong.
Summer means family time, fun and some much-needed rest.
"Of course, they're going to friends' houses and doing all the things, so it's the sleeping later that's the problem. It's not the staying up later,” said parent Jessica Markun.
Markun is going to be sending two kids back to school in just a matter of days.
"Starting this week, we'll start going back into making sure they're getting ready for bed at a decent time. That involves making sure that they're active during the day so that they actually are tired at night,” said Markun.
Students have been out of school for weeks, so getting into the routine of things again might take some time.
"A rested kid is a happy kid,” said Abby Morris, a certified infant and child sleep consultant.
Morris said the time to get kids on the right sleep schedule is now.
"Don't wait until the day before or even the weekend before. Start shifting, so every night, move bedtime up by 10, 15 minutes,” said Morris.
That also means the whole schedule is shifted, so waking up at a consistent time in the morning too.
"I see it all the time: kids are crashing, they're having tantrums from when they're getting picked up from school, just meltdowns because they're exhausted, all the stimulation, and they're not able to unwind,” said Morris. “They're just a mess, so if you start now, you can get ahead of all of this, and it really makes a big difference in their learning."
Some other suggestions include using blackout curtains, creating bedtime checklists and cutting screen time out at least an hour before bed.
"Just making sure that they understand that there is a routine and what it looks like, and as much as you can do to prepare them the night before, that's going to help them in the morning,” said Markun.