Paediatric Sleep Expert tips on keeping your child’s sleep schedule on track during holidays

Getting the kids to bed during the school break can be hard.

The Christmas holidays are just around the corner now. With all the excitement and guests around, as well as the added chocolate and treats, it can be difficult to get them to wind down come the end of the day. Paediatric Sleep Expert Lucy Wolfe knows all about this and has some great tips on how to keep your child on their regular sleep schedule over the holidays. 1. Ideally travel during the day and arrive at your location in advance of sleep time. This way you can get your child used to their new sleep room. I've fallen fowl of my toddler falling asleep in the car on long journeys before leading to her not being a bit tired come bed time so this is a tip I'll definitely be using. 2. Don’t forget your familiar items: the teddy, the blanket, the music CD that you normally play and familiar books that you routinely read. 3. Ensure that you are providing a good sleep space: a cot or bed if that is where your child normally sleeps. Bring with you the sheets from their cot at home that they slept on the night before, so they can smell their familiar environment. 4. Try to keep bedtime as similar as possible, both timing wise and procedure. Consider adding an extra ten minutes to your bedtime routine to help ease them into the unfamiliar environment. 5. If you are room sharing when you normally don’t then move the cot or bed as far away as you can. 6. If possible, avoid sharing the bed if you don’t normally so that you don’t create an expectation when you arrive home. 7. If you are travelling through time zones, get straight into the location time. 8. Re-establish your typical routine and sleep approaches immediately on arrival home.