Say goodbye to lazy summer.  School is starting this week.  In Canada, school started on September 4, after the Labour Day weekend.

The switch from the summer routine (which for most people means a lack of a routine) to school routines can wreak havoc on sleep patterns.

Here are some tips for parents.

1.  Set a bedtime

Kids need 9-10 hours of sleep a night, so try to put them to bed early.  It is hard to do it overnight, so scale back bedtimes over a week (15 min everyday) to ease kids in.

2. Avoid screen time before bed

Blue light mimicks daylight which suppresses melatonin. This means screen time can wind kids up insteading of winding them down.  Reading a book before bedtime is preferable to watching a cartoon. Specialists recommend no screen time 90 minutes before bed time.  

3. Get ready the night before

For kids, it means they should have their school bags ready before bed.  For parents, make their lunches the night before and have the school clothes laid aside for the next morning.

Good luck ^_^