Resetting Your Kids’ Sleep Schedule When You Can’t Even Sleep Yourself

Alright, let’s talk about something that drives me absolutely crazy: resetting your kids’ sleep schedule when you can’t even get a decent night’s sleep to save your life. As a parent who deals with insomnia, I feel like the universe has played one big, cruel joke on me. How am I supposed to fix their sleep patterns when my own body is waging war against the idea of rest?

Yet, here we are. Because kids don’t give a damn if you’ve only had three hours of broken sleep – they’re still going to wake up at the crack of dawn, demanding breakfast and energy that you simply don’t have. But the truth is, a kid running on an out-of-whack schedule means more chaos for everyone, and honestly, I’m not about that life. So, despite the insomnia, I’ve had to figure out ways to get my kids back on track – and yeah, it sucks sometimes, but it can be done.

Here’s how I’ve managed to wrangle their sleep (even when mine feels like a lost cause).

1. Fake It Till You Make It (Literally)

First off, let’s just acknowledge the obvious: it’s hard to enforce good sleep habits when you’re dead tired and running on fumes. But you know what? I’ve learned that sometimes you’ve just got to fake it. You may not be sleeping, but you can at least pretend you’re functional for your kids’ sake.

If their schedule’s gone to hell, the key is consistency – even if you’re lying there at 3 a.m. with your eyes wide open, wondering why your brain won’t shut off. Kids thrive on routine (I know, yawn), but it’s true. Set up a nighttime routine for them that you can stick to no matter what. It can be as simple as:

• Dinner by 6 p.m.
• A calming activity (we do books or puzzles, nothing too wild)
• Bath or shower (because apparently, it’s magic for sleep)
• Lights out by 8:30 p.m.

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it has to be consistent – even if your brain is bouncing off the walls and begging for a Netflix binge at midnight.

2. Block the Blue Light (for Them and Maybe You)

My kids? Obsessed with screens. Me? Guilty of scrolling at 2 a.m. when I should be trying to force myself to sleep. But here’s the deal: the blue light from tablets, TVs, and phones screws with their sleep cycle. So, about an hour before bedtime, I rip the devices out of their hands and switch to something screen-free.

This doesn’t mean I always follow my own advice – sometimes, insomnia gets the best of me, and my phone feels like my best friend in the wee hours. But for them, it makes a difference. And guess what? You can get blue-light-blocking glasses for yourself too. Trust me, it might not be a cure-all, but at least it’ll reduce some eye strain and help you wind down – eventually.

3. Control What You Can (Not What You Can’t)

As a parent who struggles with insomnia, I’ve accepted that some nights, sleep just isn’t going to happen for me. But that doesn’t mean my kids have to follow me into that sleepless abyss. One thing that’s helped me is taking control of their environment, even if I can’t always control my own.

For the kids, we’ve added blackout curtains to their rooms so that early morning sunlight doesn’t turn them into little 6 a.m. wake-up monsters. I also use white noise machines for them, which drowns out the sounds of the outside world (and sometimes my pacing at 3 a.m.).

Here’s a hot tip: when your insomnia’s raging, try throwing in a pair of earplugs and a weighted blanket for yourself. At the very least, you’ll trick your body into thinking it’s calm, even if your brain is trying to run a marathon.

4. Get Outside (Even If It Feels Like Hell)

This is one of those tips that everyone says, and it’s annoying, but it actually works. If your kids are going feral because their sleep schedule is messed up, getting them outside in the morning does wonders. Natural sunlight helps reset their circadian rhythm, and guess what? It can help yours too.

Am I suggesting that this will magically cure your insomnia? Hell no. But getting outside and dragging your kids into the sunlight can help their bodies realize it’s daytime and time to be awake, which, in turn, sets them up for better sleep at night.

Plus, you might get tired from chasing them around – here’s hoping that exhaustion hits you before 3 a.m. for once.

5. Forgive Yourself When It Doesn’t Go to Plan

I’ll be real with you: it’s not always going to be perfect. Some nights, even after setting up the perfect routine, your kids will still wake up at random hours or refuse to go to bed. You’ll be lying there, eyes wide open, dreading the next day because you know you’re not going to sleep tonight either.

And that’s okay.

As parents with insomnia, we have to give ourselves a bit of grace. It’s hard enough to manage your own sleep issues, let alone be responsible for someone else’s. If it doesn’t go perfectly, don’t beat yourself up. Tomorrow is another day (and probably another chance to drink too much coffee). You’re doing your best, and that’s all that really matters.

Final Thoughts: We’re in This Together

At the end of the day, resetting your kids’ sleep schedule is hard enough when you’re not getting proper rest. But you’re not alone. There are so many of us out here, tiptoeing through parenting while battling insomnia, and we’re doing the best we can. So give yourself credit where it’s due—you’re still showing up, even if your brain is half asleep.

If you need a few tools to help, I swear by some of these:

• Blue-light-blocking glasses – for when you can’t resist your phone at midnight.
• White noise machine – keeps the kids (and you) in dreamland.
• Blackout curtains – because 6 a.m. wake-ups are evil.

Take care of yourself, and know that we’ll eventually figure this out. Or, you know, survive on caffeine and sheer willpower. Either way, we’ve got this.

Stay strong, Mellow 💛