It’s daylight savings time again?! Really? Didn’t we just turn our clocks backwards yesterday? We think we are getting into a good pattern with our children’s sleep and then the clock changes again. So here I am again to share with you how to help your child get through the spring forward time change.
I have good news for you though: while we lose out on an hour of sleep as adults, our children will “sleep later” based on what time the clock reads on the day of the change. So, if your child normally sleeps till 6am, they will sleep until 7am that day 🙂 Good stuff, right?! This scenario works really well for kids who are not sleeping until a normal time.
For kids who are on a great sleep schedule and sleep well, the time change may mean that you need to wake them a bit earlier. This will need to be compensated for, to keep them well rested.
In either case, we can get through the time change better if we plan for it. There are a couple of ways to do this:
Ease In
Start three days ahead of time and move everything in your child’s schedule backwards by 15 minutes a day. I mean everything! We want them to feel like nothing has changed. You can even start a bit earlier and take it a little slower. However you time it, just ensure that by the day of the time change, you are at the right time.
Jump In
Especially in spring, and if your child is sleeping well to start off with, this is my personal favorite. On the day of the time change, just go about your day as the clock reads. This may mean waking your child from sleep in the morning to protect their sleep for the rest of the day. But let’s say you need to wake them an hour earlier that morning, they then miss out on an hour of sleep. If that is the case, consider a slightly earlier bedtime that evening to help make up for the lost sleep.
Bonus Tip: If you use a toddler clock – don’t forget to change the time on the clock the night before 😉.
I know that Daylight Savings can wreak havoc on sleep and an overtired child can happen. With a good plan though, you can and will get through this!
This is a great way to look at Daylight Savings! I never thought of it like that. I’m not a mama yet, but I can definitely appreciate this. Easing in is a great tip too, to start everything 15 minutes earlier. Thanks for sharing!