My girls are soooo tired

I figured I would post in here, even though my girls are only in preschool this seemed the more appropriate forum. My girls just started preschool, but they have the same schedule as a kindergarten student would and are going to the elementary school in our town. They are on the bus by a little after 7 and not home until a little after 3. They only have a four day week, but this schedule is taking its toll on all of us. I have pushed bedtime earlier to 7:30 but they just seemed to be soooo tired when they come home. About Wednesday (it happened last week and today) they come home and literally crash on the couch and immediately fall asleep. Allison actually went to her bed and laid down for about an hour. I feel so bad for them. Sarah will only lay around all night until bedtime and usually whines and cries the whole night. I know this happened with Luke, but I just can't remember it being this bad. How long before they get used to this schedule? Also, I don't think they are eating much at school. They say that they have to leave before they eat everything. They are starved by the time they get home and I know it's just something they have to get used to, but I feel so bad for them. They get a snack, but I just hate the thought of them not having time to eat their lunch. Thanks for listening.

 

My kids have similar school hours and I have them in bed at 7 (asleep by 7:30). They need 10 hours of sleep at a minimum and do much better with 10 1/2. They're too wound up to nap at school even though they have a rest time there.

The first week, they fell asleep on the bus ride home. I kept with the earlier bedtime (it had creeped up to 8-8:30 over the summer months) and they quit sleeping on the bus in week 2. They still need a bit of "decompression" time when they get home but they're usually feeling pretty good after a nice walk (1/2 mile) and a small snack. We also had some adjustment with needing to eat at a specific time and only having a set period to finish but I tackled this at home before school started. I set a timer and told them that it's lunch time and the timer would ding when they would need to be done if they were at school. The lunch boxes have been coming home almost empty (they sometimes finish the food for their small snack). They still dawdle at dinner time but I don't stress about it (I figure enough of their day is scheduled).

 

I always try to give any new schedule a month before I worry too much. That is a big day for kids who aren't used to it. My kids have always been in daycare/school from 8:45-5:15, roughly, but they still nap at school -- which makes bedtimes very difficult, but at least they can get through the school day! And when we went without naps for a whole week on vacation, even though they were 4.5 and could go without a nap just fine on weekends, it was a challenge. I think it can take several weeks to settle into a new school/sleep schedule (just like when they gave up the morning nap as toddlers!).

As far as not having time to eat, can you talk to their teachers and just see what the situation actually is? Maybe they're too excited or too distracted to eat, and that will settle down too.

 

I remember when my oldest DD started K. She had been napping everyday up until then. When we went to the first day of school, the teacher informed us that they no longer had a nap/rest time. If I had known that I would have used the summer to cut out the naps. It took about a month for her to get used to school.

As for the lunches, I have been to lunch with my girls several times. I don't know how some of the kids eat anything. They never quit talking! One of the teachers on duty told me one time that at a school where she used to teach, would have the first 10 minutes or so as quiet time. This was so that the kids would eat. After 10 minutes they were allowed to talk. Our school only has quiet time at lunch if it gets too loud.

I hope things start to settle soon for you and your girls. It is a big adjustment.

 

Thanks for your replies. I would like to put them to bed at 7:00, but there's just too much daylight outside, they just throw an absolute fit because it's not night time yet...so they say. I have been very diligent about getting them to bed by 7:30, but I honestly can not wait until the time changes so that it is dark by 7 and I can put them to bed then. They are out within 10 minutes now even after a powernap when they get home. I think I will email the teacher just to make sure they are eating at lunch. Again, thanks so much, it's been such a hard transition on me and hubby

 

It's completely light here at 7 also (and 7:30, for that matter). I told them that it's light at bedtime when it's summer and dark when it's winter but that's because of the way the earth faces the sun; it's the very same time on the clock. They accept this simple truth. I promise, they will get used to whatever you stick with. My kids did not go to sleep for an hour the first week of the new bedtime but that has shortened to more like 15 minutes with consistency.

 

Mine go to bed at 8:30 PM. They wake up at 5:30 AM. They ride the bus with all of their older cousins and their cousins told me they sleep on the bus on the way home. So they get about a 30 minute nap on the bus. When they come in they are still pretty active. We go over their work that day and they play, watch TV etc. Their has been a few days where I let them take a 45 min nap and they still went to bed at regular time.

HTH!

 

My two are so tired too...I can only imagine pre-k with the same hours! In fact some afternoons...mine will put themselves to nap and they have a short nap time at school!