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Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! Coming off of a long summer break, we want to remind you how important it is for your child to get a good night's sleep. Many families find bedtime and naptime to be a challenge for them and their children. It is estimated that 43% of all children and as many as 86% of children with developmental delays experience some type of sleep difficulty. Sleep problems can make infants and young children moody, short tempered and unable to engage well in interactions with others. Sleep problems can also impact learning. When a young child is sleeping, their body is busy developing new brain cells needed for their physical, mental, and emotional development. Parents also need to feel rested to be nurturing and responsive to their growing and active young children.

Here are a few proven tips for making bedtimes and naptimes easier for parents and children. Making Life Easier Bedtime Routine Website

"Bedtime and Naptime" Tips

• Establish Good Sleep Habits
• Consider keeping a sleep diary for a week
• Talk with your child about their fears
• Look for the signs of sleepiness
• Celebrate the little success along the way

Neurodivergent children experience the start of the school year as every student, with a range of emotions. We know that your child may have many big emotions starting the school year. We encourage you to utilize this scripted story to talk about what all happens during their school day. 

We know parents have lots of feelings as they send their children to what is sometimes their first school experience. Are they ready? Do they know all the things they need to know? These questions and feelings are all completely normal! What is important to remember is that your child’s unique skills and experiences are what will make them an integral part of their classroom family. The beginning of the school year will focus on learning what interests your child, what makes them special, and teaching them classroom routines and expectations. You can build upon these same skills at home too. Daily routines are often thought of as just “maintenance” activities: mealtime, running errands, getting ready for bed, taking baths. But these everyday actions are rich opportunities to support your child’s learning and development, while having fun. Routines offer the chance to build self-confidence, curiosity, social skills, self-control, communication skills, and more. Try something like the example below when you and your child next perform a daily routine together.

Take grocery shopping:

Midori (aged 2) and her mom wheeled through the supermarket. Midori pointed at the apples and her mom said, “Look at the red apples and the green apples. Don’t they look yummy?” She held one out for Midori to touch: “Feel how smooth they are.” Then she picked up a plastic bag and turned back to Midori: “Why don’t you help me choose some to bring home?” Together, they counted out five apples and put them in the bag. Midori tried her best to help, but those apples were hard to hold! It took two hands to get one in the bag. “Nice work!” said her mother, “Thanks for helping.”

Here, a simple interaction in the produce section opened the doors for practicing language skills, taking turns, talking, using one’s senses, and learning about numbers. It also provided a chance to nurture Midori’s self-confidence and self-esteem as her mother let her know that her thoughts and interests were important. Midori’s mom also let her know that she was capable of doing important things, like choosing and bagging the apples.

Routines provide the two key ingredients for learning: relationships and repetition. So, enjoy these “ordinary” moments with your child. If she’s having fun with you, she’s learning, too!

Please click the link for more information on the benefits of building routines -

Creating Routines for Love and Learning | ZERO TO THREE

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