Summer is a season full of sunshine, fun outings, and often later bedtimes. But while the days stretch longer and routines become more relaxed, quality sleep for your child remains just as essential. When a child isn’t getting enough sleep, they may become grumpy, struggle with emotional regulation, become hyperactivite, lose focus, and even have disrupted eating habits—all of which can make parenting more challenging.

And I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make my job as parent slightly easier, not harder!

Here are some practical, summertime sleep strategies to help your infant or young child get the rest they need—even when the sun says it’s still playtime.

1. Enjoy the Longer Days

Staying out later and enjoying the sunshine is often part of summer life—but it’s still important to make sleep a priority. Oftentimes bedtimes creep later. If your baby or child is capable of sleeping in a bit later in the morning, then a slightly later bedtime can work for them. However, for many infants and younger children, no matter what time they go to bed they will still wake at the same time – or even earlier! This means they are actually getting less sleep and this can quickly lead to overtiredness and meltdowns during your day.

My Dreamy Sleeper Pro Tip: Use a toddler clock or light system for your toddler or child to help signal when it’s bedtime and when it’s okay to wake. 

I’m sure you’ve heard it from your child. “It’s not bedtime. Look! The sun is still out!” It is awfully difficult to enforce a bedtime when it is still so bright outside. 

But by using a clock or light, it becomes the visual cue telling us WHEN it’s bedtime. Not the sun outside. 

2. Keep the Room Dark Dark Dark and Cool

Keeping your child’s bedroom dark like a cave helps combat early wakes and short naps. Remember, you want your child waking when their body is ready to wake not because the room is starting to brighten. 

Use blackout curtains, shades, or even travel blackout shades to help keep the room dark. 

Keep the room cool (between 65 – 68 degrees F) and well-ventilated. If it feels stuffy or too warm, consider using a fan or opening the door slightly for air circulation. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to control the temperature in your home if you have a room that is always warmer or an old AC unit. (Our old house in Pasadena had an ancient unit, and I can remember putting my kids to bed at night and seeing it read 78 degrees! Gah!) 

When it’s hard to control the temp, opt for changing the sleep attire. Use very thin, light weight onesies and sleep sacks. Using a light onsie that only covers the arms but not legs and a thin sleep sack with a TOG of .5 could be the way to go.  

3. Plan Outings with Sleep in Mind

Spontaneity is part of summer fun—but skipping naps too often or trying to nap on the go too often can cause problems. 

As I always tell my families, doing naps on the go with your little one is like doing a science experiment. You test and see what the results are. Then you decide whether you want to repeat it or not. Ha! 

Some littles are more sensitive to sleeping other places, like my daughter, and we are better off minimizing naps in the car or stroller, while other children are more flexible, like my son, and can handle napping on the go more frequently.  

Try to keep the first nap of the day at home, which for most infants is usually their longer nap of the day. Then the later naps in the day can happen in the stroller or car. If naps are short or skipped, opt for an early bedtime, to try and avoid a really early morning the next day. 

Take a Pack ‘n Play or portable crib with you. If there is a place for your infant to nap – a spare bedroom, an office, an extra bathroom, on the beach in the shade, go for it! Getting in that needed sleep only makes the outing more fun for everyone!

Keep children hydrated. When we are out spending more time in the sun, it can be very dehydrating. Make sure infants are getting enough milk and older children enough water to stay replenished. Try to avoid consuming large amounts of liquid later in the evening however, to avoid more trips to the bathroom throughout the night. 

4. Incorporate Quiet Time for Older Kids

We all love nap time. Your child gets the sleep their body needs, and you get a break. During the summer, when our children may be home more, it can be really exhausting when they have outgrown their naps. Creating a daily quiet time is a nice way for your child to get some down time and for you to get a break. 

Aim for Quiet Time to take place around the same time each day. For parents with multiple children, it’s nice to plan quiet time when a younger sibling is napping too. That way the whole house gets a quiet moment. 

Check out Creating Quiet Time for Your Child for more information on how to implement. 

5. Stick with Nap and Bedtime Routines Even in the Summer

Your consistency towards these rituals really does create a cue for the brain and body that sleep is near. It’s comforting to children and is essential for dreamy sleep. 

Keep your bedtime routine the same, even if it’s a later night. I love for families to do nightly baths, read, sing, and have fun together before going to sleep for the night. 

Avoid screens, snacks, and extra drinks sneaking into the bedtime routine. These often lead to problems falling asleep. 

6. Give Yourself TIME to Adjust Sleep Schedules  

Although summer can be a busy time, it can also be a good time to adjust schedules BEFORE getting into a new school year or daycare scenario. 

If your older infant is starting daycare in the fall and daycare prefers your baby be on one nap (this is common), it’s better for you to tackle that nap transition before daycare starts. Give yourself a good 6 week’s time to shift from 2 naps to 1 and for baby to adjust. 

For those of us who have taken advantage of the later nights over the summer, once school rolls around again, we know timing will have to be moved earlier. Start moving bedtime earlier 1 – 2 weeks out from the start of school. Adjust bedtime 15 minutes earlier every 3 – 5 days (depending on how long you’re giving yourself and how much you need to move it).   

It’s a good idea to start waking your child a bit earlier every few days as well so that when school begins, it is not such a shock to the body. 

I must admit, I am NOT good at this. I usually wait too long and then we start school still going to bed too late and everyone is tired the first week. This year, I will try to be better! 

If You Need Help

Summer’s relaxed pace can be a beautiful thing we look forward to every year. By continuing to make sleep a priority, you can help your child thrive all summer long—and make parenting just a little bit easier, too!

If you are struggling to make sleep a priority or just need help in general teaching your baby or child how to sleep better, let’s chat! Schedule a Free Discovery Call.