Helping Your Children Sleep Comfortably During the Summer
Most children regard summer as their favorite season – and it isn’t difficult to see why. In addition to getting a lengthy break from school, many kids embark on family trips and enjoy copious amounts of outdoor recreation throughout the summer months. However, while summer may be great, it’s not without its downsides. This is particularly true when it comes to bedtime. Because of the extreme heat many areas experience during the summer, kids often have problems sleeping comfortably. Since the last thing any parent wants to deal with is a poorly-rested child, all moms and dads should take active measures to keep their little ones cool and comfy all season long.
Install Ceiling Fans in Their Bedrooms
Ceiling fans are invaluable cooling aids throughout the summer months, and no bedroom should be without one. So, if you’ve yet to install dependable ceiling fans in your children’s sleeping spaces, now would be a good time to rectify this mistake. Reliable ceiling fans can help circulate cool air from your central AC system throughout your entire residence. In addition, when their blades have been set to rotate counterclockwise, ceiling fans are able to produce downward-flowing cool breezes independently.
When seeking out ceiling fans for your children’s bedrooms, look for ones that are user-friendly, easy to install and feature a variety of convenient settings. Furthermore, since ceiling fans come in a wide assortment of sizes, you should have no trouble finding ones that are perfectly suited to your kids’ respective sleeping spaces. For example, if your children’s bedrooms are on the small side, consider purchasing hugger ceiling fans.
Install Window-Based AC Units
If your residence lacks central air, consider installing window-based AC units in your children’s bedrooms. Dependable window units can provide your little ones with overnight relief from intense heat, so if you hail from an area that’s known for excessively warm summer nights, individual air conditioners are a worthwhile purchase. Just remember that for maximum effectiveness, these units will need to be properly installed, so if you have little to no experience in this area, it may be a good idea to delegate this task to someone with a little more expertise. Additionally, for window units to enjoy the longest possible lifespans, they’ll need to be cleaned and have their filters changed as needed. Again, if these are tasks with which you don’t have much experience, consider farming them out to a seasoned expert.
Maintain a Consistent Bedtime
Most children – and most adults, for that matter – thrive on structure and routine. These two things are particularly important when it comes to sleep schedules. If there’s no day-to-day consistency between when you go to sleep and when you wake up, your internal clock is liable to go haywire. Not only are you likely to start keeping increasingly odd hours, you’re unlikely to ever be properly rested.
Since many children have a fair amount of downtime throughout the summer months, they tend to go to bed and get up much later than they do during the school-year. While there’s nothing wrong with changing things up a little during summer vacation, it’s important to avoid taking this too far. For instance, it’s generally okay to assign kids a slightly later bedtime over the summer – provided, of course, you stick to your guns. Even if they’re allowed to stay up a little later, they still need an assigned bedtime and a nightly routine. This will help ensure that your little ones are well-rested over the summer and prevent them from abandoning any semblance of a set routine. After all, your kids may have a lot more freedom during this period, but this doesn’t mean that summer break should be a structureless free-for-all.
It’s easy to see why summer is such a magical season for children. Getting three whole months off of school and spending their days immersed in pure enjoyment is one of the foremost staples of childhood. Still, when nighttime rolls around, things can get a bit uncomfortable. With summer bringing extreme heat to much of the country, getting a peaceful night’s slumber during the summer months can prove difficult for a fair number of kids. Parents looking for effective ways to enhance their children’s summertime sleep quality can benefit from the pointers discussed above.
