Time. The never ending life stop watch. What time should we go bed? What time should we wake up? How much time will something take? Me time. Family time. Social time. SomeTIMEs, I just want to say buzz off (bad pun, sorry).

So some of you answered my Facebook post about whether you start a back to school bed time routine a couple weeks before school. It was half-and-half with yes and no. My daughter’s response was she wishes that she didn’t have to, LOL.  I think there are pros and cons. And I struggle with this decision every August.

Should I? Yes. Do we? Eh, not always. Tonight is supposed to be the start of getting on school sleep schedule.  Melaina will be attending two schools this year, so we have two orientation/registrations to attend this week.  The paperwork and forms and signatures, oy!  Although I can see it working a few days this week, I can totally see the ‘schedule’ getting thrown out by the weekend.  And then picking it back up next week.

It also means changing my sleep time schedule *eye roll*.  Thankfully, I am able to change my work schedule when the school year starts and again once summer gets here.  I like the school year schedule at work.  Take her to the bus stop in the morning and then head to work.  I usually get there at about 7:40.  Then leave at 3 to meet her at home after she gets off the bus.  Although I get up at 6:00a during the summer, thanks to Pringles, it doesn’t involve actually getting motived.  Ya know?  I can tend to the cat and snuggle back down in bed until my real alarm goes off.  Sometimes even falling back asleep if I was up too late.  But school time is up and running at 6:00a.  So I should be sleeping by 11:00p at the latest – literally snort laughed at that one.  I am so very rarely in bed before midnight that I don’t even  know what it feels like to get more than six hours of sleep.  Bad mom.  But I am real enough to acknowledge that the selfish instant gratification side of me wins most nights.  Really, what’s feeling a bit tired and sluggish in the morning compared to getting some extra alone time?

On the other end of the spectrum, let’s squeeze every bit of time out of summer that we can.  Stay up late, sleep in, and be lazy.  But should kids really start school tired?  I mean being in middle school they have several teachers, locker combinations, and need to work more independently.  Their brains need the rest.  So we will start a schedule with social media using the Parent Kit app and start a bed time routine.

If you have any tips, PLEASE share them…LoL.  Join the conversation on my Facebook page and keep up with the struggle of time-management.

If you want to see how the Parent Kit app works, you can read about it in a previous post.