The holiday season is finally over and you’re staring at the wreckage. Kids are completely off their schedules after weeks of staying up late and sleeping in. They’ve been eating sugar constantly and they’re having meltdowns about returning to normal meals. The house is chaos from holiday visitors and gift explosion. And you’re exhausted from accommodating irregular schedules, extra work, and managing holiday intensity while also trying to have your own life.
Now it’s January and everyone needs to get back to normal routines except nobody remembers what normal actually looks like after a month of holiday chaos. Kids resist bedtimes that were easy in November. Parents are frazzled and impatient. And you’re trying to re-establish structure while everyone’s acting like you’re being unreasonable for expecting the same behaviors that were standard six weeks ago.
The January reset is real and it’s hard every year. After twenty years working with Chicago families and families nationwide, we know this transition period requires patience, strategy, and realistic expectations from everyone. The families and nannies who handle January well recognize it’s a transition requiring intentional effort rather than expecting everyone to just snap back to pre-holiday functioning immediately.
Why January Is Actually Difficult
The struggle isn’t just in your head. There are real reasons why getting back to routine after holidays is genuinely hard for kids, families, and nannies.
Kids’ sleep schedules got completely disrupted during holidays. They stayed up late for family gatherings, they slept in guest rooms with cousins, they had overnight visitors, they traveled across time zones. Even a week or two of disrupted sleep throws off circadian rhythms that take time to re-establish. You can’t just announce bedtime is 7:30pm again and expect kids to fall asleep easily when they’ve been going to bed at 10pm for weeks.
Behavioral expectations relaxed during holidays and kids adapted to those relaxed rules. They got away with more screen time, more treats, more flexibility about listening and compliance because everyone was busy and stressed and picking battles carefully. Now you’re trying to re-establish pre-holiday standards and kids genuinely don’t understand why rules that didn’t apply for weeks suddenly matter again.
Everyone’s exhausted from holiday intensity. The social obligations, travel, hosting, shopping, cooking, and general chaos of December depletes everyone. You’re all starting January already tired rather than refreshed, which means everyone has less patience and resilience for navigating normal challenges.
Chicago winter makes it worse. You’re not just dealing with post-holiday adjustment – you’re doing it during cold dark months when nobody wants to go outside and cabin fever sets in fast. The outdoor activities that help burn off kid energy and break up days aren’t appealing options when it’s fifteen degrees and dark by 5pm.
Acknowledging that January transition is legitimately hard helps everyone extend grace to each other during the adjustment period rather than assuming kids are being difficult or nannies aren’t managing well.
Re-Establishing Sleep Schedules Gradually
The biggest January challenge is usually getting kids back to appropriate sleep schedules after weeks of staying up late. Don’t try to fix it overnight – literally.
If kids were going to bed at 10pm during holidays and you need them back to 7:30pm, move bedtime earlier gradually over a week or two. Start with 9:30pm for a few nights, then 9pm, then 8:30pm, and eventually back to 7:30pm. Sudden dramatic shifts just create bedtime battles where kids genuinely can’t fall asleep and everyone’s miserable.
Wake kids slightly earlier each day too so they’re actually tired by earlier bedtime. If they’ve been sleeping until 9am, you can’t expect them sleepy by 7:30pm. Wake them at 8:30am for a few days, then 8am, gradually shifting to normal wake time as bedtime shifts earlier.
Bring back bedtime routines that got abandoned during holiday chaos. The bath, books, songs, whatever the routine was – re-establishing those cues helps kids’ bodies recognize it’s sleep time. Routines provide signals that help with sleep transition much more effectively than just announcing it’s bedtime.
Minimize screens for at least an hour before bed to help kids wind down. This might have relaxed during holidays when everyone was exhausted and you let kids watch extra TV so adults could deal with holiday tasks. Re-establishing screen limits helps sleep quality significantly.
Be patient with the adjustment. Kids might fight bedtime or take longer to fall asleep initially. That’s normal transition rather than sign something’s wrong. Consistency over a week or two usually resolves most sleep issues that developed during holiday period.
Getting Back to Food Routines
Holiday eating habits – constant treats, irregular meals, grazing on party foods – need to transition back to normal nutrition without creating food battles or making kids feel deprived.
Don’t abruptly cut off all treats. That just creates conflict and kids fixating on what they can’t have. Instead, gradually return to pre-holiday patterns. Maybe there are still some holiday cookies for a few more days but they’re afternoon snacks rather than all-day grazing. Then phase out the special treats naturally as they’re eaten.
Re-establish regular meal and snack times rather than constant food availability. Kids adapted to eating whenever during holidays when schedules were irregular. Getting back to structured eating times helps with both nutrition and behavior. Hungry kids are cranky kids, but so are kids who’ve been snacking constantly and never actually experience hunger cues.
Bring back the vegetables and regular meals that might have been less consistent during holiday chaos. Frame it positively – “we’re back to our regular healthy foods that help our bodies feel good” rather than making it sound punitive or like holiday foods were bad.
Don’t make eating a power struggle. If kids resist foods they were fine with pre-holidays, don’t force it. Offer the regular meals, don’t make alternatives, and trust that when they’re actually hungry they’ll eat. A few days of kids eating less than usual while they adjust is normal and not harmful.
Model normal eating yourself too. Kids notice if adults are still eating lots of leftover holiday treats while expecting kids to eat regular meals. Consistency in household food environment helps everyone transition.
Re-Establishing Behavioral Expectations
Kids tested boundaries during holidays and got away with more than usual. Now you’re re-establishing pre-holiday standards and they’re pushing back because they think the rules changed permanently.
Acknowledge the shift directly with age-appropriate explanation. “During the holidays we were more flexible about screen time because we had family visiting and different schedules. Now we’re back to our regular routine where screens are only after homework and before dinner.” Making it explicit that holiday flexibility was temporary helps kids understand the transition.
Be consistent about expectations even when kids push back. They’re testing whether the relaxed holiday rules are actually over or whether they can maintain the extra freedoms. Your consistency teaches them that yes, we’re back to normal standards.
Pick your battles during the transition period. You’re re-establishing important rules like listening when asked, respectful communication, following routines. Don’t also try to address every minor behavior issue at the same time. Focus on the core expectations and let minor stuff slide temporarily.
Use natural consequences when possible rather than punitive responses. If kids won’t get ready for bed on time, bedtime routine takes longer and there’s no time for extra stories. If they resist cleaning up toys, the toys get put away for a while. Natural consequences teach without creating power struggles.
Expect some regression in behaviors that were solid before holidays. Kids might be more whiny, clingy, or resistant even though they were past those stages pre-holidays. Temporary regression during transitions is normal child development, not sign of permanent backsliding.
Resetting Boundaries With Families
Holiday season often means nannies accommodating extra requests, irregular schedules, and blurred boundaries because everyone’s in survival mode during that intense period. January is when you need to re-establish normal boundaries before holiday flexibility becomes the new expectation.
If you worked extra hours during holidays, communicate clearly that you’re back to regular schedule. “I was happy to help with extra coverage during the holiday weeks, but starting next Monday I’m back to my regular 8-5 schedule.” Don’t assume families remember what normal schedule actually was after weeks of flexibility.
If families got used to texting you during off-hours about non-urgent things during holiday chaos, reset that boundary. Stop responding immediately to after-hours texts unless they’re genuine emergencies. Train families back to respecting your off-duty time.
If you took on extra responsibilities during holidays – extra cleaning because of guests, running more errands, being more flexible about scope – scale back to your regular job description. “During holidays I was handling the extra cleaning from family visits, but now I’m back to my regular childcare responsibilities.” Make it explicit rather than assuming they’ll notice.
If compensation for holiday extra work wasn’t handled clearly, address it now. If you worked overtime that wasn’t paid, bring it up promptly. If families promised holiday bonuses that didn’t materialize, follow up. Don’t let financial issues fester hoping they’ll resolve themselves.
Re-establishing boundaries isn’t being difficult. It’s preventing the temporary holiday accommodations from becoming permanent scope creep that makes your job unsustainable.
Managing Your Own Energy in January
You’re also recovering from holiday intensity while trying to help kids and families get back to normal. Managing your own depletion matters because you can’t support anyone else when you’re running on empty.
Give yourself grace for having less patience than usual in early January. You’re tired, everyone else is difficult, and the weather is terrible. It’s okay to not be at your best immediately after holidays. Just show up and do what you can manage rather than expecting yourself to be perfect.
Take care of basic needs consistently. Sleep enough, eat regularly, get some movement even if it’s just a walk around the block when kids are at activities. When you’re depleted, basic self-care makes much bigger difference than you’d think.
Use kid naptime or quiet time for actual rest rather than catching up on tasks. The tasks can wait. Your energy can’t be restored unless you actually rest. Even sitting quietly for twenty minutes helps more than powering through exhaustion.
Don’t compare your January energy to your best days. You’re managing transition period during dark cold months while helping other people adjust. That’s hard. Comparing yourself to how you function during easier times just makes you feel worse.
Connect with other nannies who are also managing January challenges. Knowing you’re not alone in finding this period difficult helps normalize the experience. Professional isolation makes everything harder.
Catching Up on Household Systems
Holiday chaos probably disrupted household organization and systems that normally run smoothly. January is when you help families catch up on what got let go during December.
Kids’ rooms probably exploded with new toys and gifts. Help kids sort through, donate what they’ve outgrown, organize new items, and re-establish some order. Don’t try to do it all at once – work on organization gradually over a few weeks.
Laundry probably backed up during holidays. Just work through it systematically rather than trying to catch up all at once. A few extra loads daily gets things back to normal without overwhelming everyone.
Meal planning and grocery systems probably got disrupted. Re-establish whatever systems worked pre-holidays – meal plans, regular grocery runs, prepped ingredients. The routine helps everyone function better.
Schedules and calendars need updating for new year activities, schedule changes, upcoming commitments. Make sure everyone’s on same page about what’s happening when so there aren’t constant last-minute surprises.
Don’t try to catch up on everything immediately while also managing behavioral and sleep transitions. Prioritize what matters most and let other things happen gradually. Progress over perfection.
What Families Can Do to Support Nannies
Families who want smooth January transitions need to support their nannies actively rather than just expecting them to magically fix post-holiday chaos alone.
Acknowledge that January is a difficult transition period and express appreciation for nannies managing it. “I know getting everyone back on schedule after the holidays is challenging and I appreciate your patience with the kids.” Recognition goes a long way.
Be realistic about expectations. Don’t expect perfect behavior and smooth functioning immediately after weeks of disruption. Kids need time to adjust and nannies need grace to manage the transition.
Support the re-establishment of rules and routines rather than undermining them. If your nanny is working to get kids to bed earlier and you’re letting them stay up late on weekends, you’re making their job much harder. Consistency between parents and nannies helps everyone.
Respect boundaries around schedule and scope that might have relaxed during holidays. Don’t assume holiday flexibility is permanent unless you’ve explicitly negotiated that change with appropriate compensation.
Pay any overtime or bonuses that were earned during holiday period promptly. Financial stress makes everything harder and families who handle compensation professionally keep excellent nannies long-term.
The Bottom Line
January transition from holiday chaos back to normal routines is genuinely difficult every year. Kids need gradual adjustment to sleep schedules, food routines, and behavioral expectations. Families need to re-establish boundaries and systems that got disrupted. And nannies need to manage all of that while also recovering from their own holiday depletion.
The key is recognizing this is a real transition requiring a week or two of intentional effort rather than expecting everyone to just snap back to pre-holiday functioning immediately. Gradual adjustment, patience with temporary regression, and realistic expectations help everyone get back to normal with less conflict and stress.
After twenty years watching Chicago families and families nationwide navigate this every January, we know the ones who handle it well give themselves and each other grace during the adjustment period. They acknowledge it’s hard, they’re consistent about gradually re-establishing routines, and they don’t expect perfection while everyone’s still tired from holidays.
By mid to late January, most families are back to functioning normally. The sleep schedules have adjusted, the behavioral expectations are re-established, the household systems are running smoothly again. Getting there just requires surviving the transition period with patience and strategy. You’ve got this.
