Adjusting Your Child's Sleep Pattern Before Preschool

15 September 2016
 Categories: , Blog


If your child is preparing for preschool, you need to help adjust their sleeping patterns so that they maximize their rest. A good sleep schedule is important to learning and mental functioning, and following this process will get your child ready for success in preschool.

Establish Good Sleeping Habits Quickly

If you haven't established good sleeping habits in your child the summer before preschool, you still have time to instill them. Your time is limited, however, so make sure you do the following as soon as possible:

  • Make sleep important from a very young age and establish a daily schedule
  • Gauge your child's sleep patterns during the summer before preschool
  • Decide if they are sleeping too much or too little, as sleep problems can cause issues in preschool
  • Create a regular bedtime and wake time for your child, adjusting both to an earlier time for their preschool needs

A routine like this is important for children, because they not only need a guideline for behavior, but actually crave one. In this way, they know what to do and how to behave and learn proper sleeping behavior. This adjustment to routine also helps them get ready for the stricter behavior guidelines for preschool.

Be Consistent And Firm

As hinted at above, children need consistency and firmness in order to learn and adapt to new situations. This one is no different. You need to get your child to follow your strict guidelines regularly, without fuss. Don't cave in just because they get angry or cry: this will only reinforce bad behavior.

Helping your child understand your authority is also key to getting them to behave properly in preschool. They'll be in the care of new people who have their best interest in mind, and who must get them to behave properly. This simple consistency will help prepare them for preschool, beyond helping them get a good night's sleep.

Try To Make Bedtime Special

Children often feel like an earlier bed time is a punishment, especially if they are used to a later one during the summer before preschool. However, if you can make bedtime feel more like a game or special, then you can get them to look forward to it. In this way, they can get the rest they need to succeed in preschool without being grumpy during the early hours before their nap.

One of the simplest ways to do this is to read a bedtime story to them every day before you go to sleep. The benefits of this are numerous. For example, it not only gives your child something to look forward to every night, but helps create an active imagination and mind, one that will thrive in a preschool environment like Kid's Country Child Care & Learning Center.

That's the biggest part of this process: helping your child prepare for success in a preschool setting. Yes, there may be times they struggle to get to sleep while they adjust, but if you follow these tips, your child will get to sleep on time and have the energy and focus they need to succeed.


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