How To Get The Kids In and Out Of Bed This Summer

School is out and summer is here! Coaxing your kids to go to bed and wake up at a decent hour, may be one of the biggest daily hurdles your family will face this summer. Kids say the darndest things and will make a million excuses to stay up past their bedtime or stay snuggled under the covers a few more minutes.

Help make your bedtimes and mornings a little easier and keep your kids healthy and moving, with these Springfree-approved tips for getting your family in and out of bed this summer!  

Limit Blue Light Exposure During Evenings

Our bodies’ natural rhythms are altered by short-wavelength light, or blue light. Blue light is emitted by digital devices such as smartphones, Smart TVs, laptops, and tablets. According to an article entitled How Blue Light Affects Kids & Sleep, written by the National Sleep Foundation, kids have trouble falling asleep, take longer to wake up, and are more lethargic and confused in the morning if they are exposed to blue light in the two hours before bedtime. Best practice is to ensure your children turn their electronic devices off at least two hours before you put them to bed. Special filters that block out blue light emissions from electronic devices can also be purchased, but consider reading to them or playing a game to keep your child’s natural sleeping and waking patterns more routine instead.

Ensure Everyone Gets Enough Sleep

One of the most obvious steps to establishing an effortless morning routine is to make sure you and your kids get enough sleep overnight. You are going to struggle to coerce your son or daughter out of bed when the alarm goes off if he or she is not well enough rested.

The National Sleep Foundation’s (NSF) article entitled How Can My Child Get More Sleep? states that the average number of recommended hours of sleep per night depends on age. Somewhere between 7-9 hours of sleep on average per night is suggested for adults. 

It is advised that pre-schoolers should have 10-13 hours per night, kids aged 6-13 should have up to 9-10 hours, and teens 14 and up should have 8-10 hours of sleep.

Make Best Use of Your Air Conditioner

The warm season is finally here bringing along sleepless nights due to the high temperature in bedrooms. A too-warm bedroom makes it difficult for children to fall asleep and maintain a deep, restful slumber. Sleeping too hot is linked to night wakings and nightmares. Make best use of your air conditioner to help you and your family sleep well without compromising your health with these tips:

• A temperature of 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for sleep
• Never direct the air jet directly on you, but always upwards
• Remember to often clean its filters so not to disperse dangerous microorganisms into the air
• In order to not wake up with a sore body or headache, it would be better to switch on the air conditioner in your room before going to bed, to then switch it back off during the night
• Use the timer to set the conditioner’s automatic shutdown: once you have fallen asleep, the body will naturally cool down a few degrees and you and your family will be able to sleep without problems

A/C Ref

Indulge in a Bedtime Snack

When children have something to look forward to, it is may make it easier to get them in bed. Attempt setting aside some time for a bedtime snack. This can help everyone in the family get into a night time routine. Maybe it’s apple slices with peanut butter and a bed time story! Remember, kids who go to bed hungry will not sleep well. So, make healthy snacks to satiate their hunger pains. Some nutritious options include...

·       Plain oatmeal with banana

·       Whole grain crackers with cheese

·       Whole grain toast with peanut butter, a slice of cheese or a hard-boiled egg

·       An orange

·       Nuts like cashews and walnuts

·       Check out some other Springfree snack suggestions!

Snack Ref

Let The Sunshine In

Natural light assists in waking us up and making us feel more alert by stimulating our brains to release serotonin. To help your kids overcome early morning drowsiness, slowly introducing sunshine is a vital phase in stirring them naturally, so pull up the shades and draw those curtains open at least 15 minutes before the kids’ alarm goes off! Make sure they go outside during the day as well and catch some rays (and vitamin D!) Have them take a nap on your Springfree or jump before they eat lunch.

Get the Dog Involved!

Get your pet ready to pounce on your kids’ beds first thing in the morning for a wake-up call that can’t help but shock the sleepy victim awake with laughter! No one can sleep through dog slobber and the enthusiasm of a cute pup! Have a morning backyard session with the kids, pets and your Springfree! The kids will love showing off their best jumps to their “best friend.”

Photo Credit: @life.with.mya

Get Them Moving on Your Springfree

With video games, streaming tv and technology these days, kids need parent encouragement to go play outside. Exercise during the day helps children sleep better at night. Children of all ages should be active for at least 60 minutes daily. (10 minutes of jumping on a trampoline is the cardio equivalent of a 30-minute jog.)

Not only is a Springfree workout more time efficient, it is also more fun for the entire family.

Get the TEENAGER Out of Bed…or at Least Slightly Productive

The older ones are a bit harder to bargain with and asking them to wake up early during their summer vacation is a large battle to pick.

·       Respect their vacation, within reason. Be flexible with their productivity and chores. Many teens have summer jobs. Are they always early and on time to work? Fair enough.

·       Give them choices. Do you need help around the house? Communicate your expectations, allow time for competition and determine together how to maintain accountability.

Teen Ref

Our Springfree Trampoline team is committed to families! We hope your household’s bedtimes and wake up calls become a little bit more fun by trialling one or more of our suggestions!