How to Reset Your Child's Sleep Schedule After the Holidays
Late-night family gatherings, travel to grandparents' houses, cousins running around past bedtime, and the general excitement of the season create holiday memories that will last a lifetime.
But let's be honest: the holidays also wreak havoc on your child's sleep schedule.
If you're reading this in early January with a child who's suddenly waking at 5:00 AM or fighting bedtime until 10:00 PM, you're not alone. The good news? Resetting your child's sleep schedule after the holidays is absolutely possible, and it doesn't have to take weeks of struggle.
Not sure your child’s current schedule is working?
How to Get Back on Track After the Holidays
The key to resetting your child's sleep schedule is gradual adjustment combined with firm consistency. Trying to force an immediate return to your pre-holiday schedule rarely works and often creates more resistance.
Assess Where You Are Right Now
Before you can fix the problem, you need to understand exactly what's happening. For 2-3 days, track your child's actual sleep patterns without trying to change them yet.
Note when your child naturally falls asleep at night, when they wake in the morning, and the timing and duration of any naps. You might discover your toddler is now going to bed at 9:30 PM and sleeping until 8:00 AM, or your baby is taking an extra-long afternoon nap that's pushing bedtime later and later.
This baseline gives you a clear starting point and helps you create a realistic plan.
Decide on Your Target Schedule
What schedule do you actually want to return to? Consider your family's routine. Was it working before the holidays? Or is this the excuse you needed to make a change?
If you need your child awake by 6:30 AM for daycare, work backward from there. An 11-hour night (our recommendation for overnight sleep for most children) means a 7:30 PM bedtime. If your child has been going to bed at 9:30 PM, you're looking at a two-hour shift.
For children under 3 who still nap, factor in daytime sleep. Remember that total sleep needs are calculated over 24 hours, so a longer nap might mean a slightly later bedtime is actually appropriate.
Shift Gradually (15-30 Minutes Every 2-3 Days)
Rather than trying to move bedtime two hours earlier in one night, which typically results in a child lying awake and frustrated, shift gradually.
Start by moving bedtime 15-30 minutes earlier than where you are now. Maintain that new time for 2-3 nights before shifting another 15-30 minutes earlier.
For example, if your child has been falling asleep at 9:30 PM and your target is 7:30 PM, your progression might look like this: Days 1-3 at 9:00 PM, Days 4-6 at 8:30 PM, Days 7-9 at 8:00 PM, Days 10-12 at 7:30 PM.
Yes, this takes nearly two weeks. But it works with your child's biology rather than against it.
Re-Anchor Your Morning and Naps Accordingly
As you shift bedtime earlier, you may need to wake your child slightly earlier in the morning to help their body clock adjust. We always suggest parents “anchor” their morning, which create more predictability to your overall schedule and typically promotes a more regular bedtime.
If your toddler is napping, watch those nap times carefully. A nap that's too late in the day or too long will sabotage your bedtime efforts. You may need to wake your child from their nap or shift nap timing earlier as you adjust the overall schedule.
For babies under 12 months, focus on age-appropriate wake windows. As bedtime shifts earlier, the last wake window of the day should remain consistent with your child's developmental needs.
Reinforce Your Bedtime Routine
Now more than ever, your bedtime routine needs to be rock solid. The predictability and structure help signal to your child's body that sleep is coming, even if the timing feels different than it did during the holidays.
Follow the same sequence every night: bath, pajamas, brush teeth, two books, one song, lights out. Keep the routine to 20-40 minutes on average and avoid the temptation to rush through the routine just because bedtime is earlier than your child is used to. The routine itself is part of what helps reset their internal clock.
TIP: If you’d like to learn more about building a bedtime routine that works for your family, check out How to Build a Perfect Bedtime Routine.
Common Challenges and How to Handle Them
Even with a solid plan, you'll likely hit some bumps along the way:
Trouble Falling Asleep
It’s normal for your child to take a little longer to fall asleep during the first few days of a schedule change. This is why a gradual approach is helpful.
Stay consistent with your bedtime routine and lights-out time. Their body will adjust. Avoid the urge to push bedtime later again just because they're not falling asleep immediately.
Waking Up Early
Early morning wakings often get worse temporarily before they get better. If your child was sleeping late during the holidays and you're now putting them to bed earlier, their body might initially wake at the same total duration of sleep, resulting in an earlier wake time. This typically resolves within a week as their circadian rhythm adjusts. Use blackout curtains and white noise to help.
Naps Get Thrown Off
As you get overnight sleep back under control, daytime sleep might suffer temporarily. Stay as consistent as possible with nap timing based on wake windows if under 6 months and anchor naps at regular times if older than 6 months, even if the naps themselves are shorter or more difficult than usual. As nighttime sleep normalizes, naps typically follow.
TIP: If you’re not sure what an age-appropriate schedule is for your child, we’ve got you covered! Check out our schedule downloads for every age from newborns to 18+ month olds!
What to Do When Things Don’t Go as Planned
As a general rule, give yourself one to one-and-a-half days of recovery for every day you were out of your schedule. So if you traveled for five days, plan for seven to ten days to get back to your baseline routine.
The truth is, the disruptions are usually worth the time spent as a family. The holidays are about connection, joy, and memory-making. Yes, sleep is important, but it's not more important than the moments you're creating with your family.
When to Seek Additional Support
For most families, a post-holiday sleep schedule reset resolves within 5-10 days of consistent effort. But sometimes sleep struggles run deeper than just holiday disruption.
If you've been consistent for 7 to 10 days and you're not seeing improvement, or if your child was already struggling with sleep before the holidays, there may be other factors at play. This is exactly the kind of situation where reaching out for expert guidance makes all the difference. Every child is different, and a member of our expert sleep team can help decipher what works for your family.
Final Thoughts
Resetting your child's sleep schedule after the holidays requires patience, consistency, and realistic expectations. You won't undo two weeks of disruption in a single night, but you also don't have to resign yourself to months of struggle.
Start with a clear assessment of where you are, create a gradual plan to get where you want to be, and commit to following through even when it feels challenging. The holidays were worth the temporary chaos. Now it's time to reclaim the sleep your whole family needs.
If you're finding that sleep struggles persist beyond the typical post-holiday adjustment period, or if you're not sure where to start with creating a personalized plan for your family, I'm here to help. Schedule a complimentary consultation call and we'll work together to develop a plan that fits your child's unique needs and your family's real life.
Toddler parents, this one is for you…
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Meg O'Leary is an Infant and Child Sleep Expert and the founder of A Restful Night. Based in Westchester County, NY, she leads a team of certified sleep coaches to provide virtual support to families across the US and around the world.
