Don't be scared....It will all be fine....Daylight savings won't win!
Daylight savings ends in the Fall season each
year. It will be time to “fall back” the
clocks. It can be a dreaded time for
parents of young children because with this, comes an adjustment that does not
happen immediately. This is because
children tend to be more structured in their bedtime and wake up around the
same time each morning and that is why people usually can see a greater effect
on children when the time changes.
However there are some things you can do to
help make the transition to the new time go a little smoother. My recommendation is to leave your clocks
alone Saturday night. Wake up Sunday
morning, have breakfast, then go around your house and change your clocks. Psychologically, it will feel much better for
everyone if you wait until Sunday morning to change the time.
My best advice for children to help them with
the change is to split the difference with the old time and the new time. How does that work?
School Age Children- If you have a child that
does not nap and normally goes to bed at 7:00 p.m., you would put him to bed at
6:30 p.m. on Sunday night, the first night of the time change. Do this for 3 nights, putting him to bed 30
minutes earlier than normal, then on the 4th night put him to bed at
the normal time, 7:00 p.m. or whatever is normal bedtime for your child.
Toddlers- If you have a toddler ages one and
older, on Sunday the first day of the time change, you would put him down for
his first nap 30 minutes earlier than normal.
So if he naps usually at 9:30 a.m. put him down at 9:00 a.m. You would do the same with the afternoon nap
if he takes an afternoon nap. For
bedtime, if his normal bedtime is 7:00 p.m., you would put him down at 6:30
p.m. Do this for 3 nights after the
time change and then on the 4th night, put him to bed at 7:00 p.m.
and on 5th day move naptimes back to normal time. So if your child naps at 9:30 a.m. put him
down at 9:30 a.m. and so on with the rest of the day.
Infants- If you have a baby and his bedtime and
naps have become predictable (usually over 6 months old) meaning he is always
going to bed around the same time each day.
For example if bedtime is normally 7:00 p.m. move bedtime 15 minutes
later each night until you reach the normal time again. So the first night you would put him down at
6:15 p.m., the second night 6:30 p.m., and so on. On the fourth night you should be back to
7:00 p.m. Do the same thing for
naps. Start 45 minutes earlier than
normal and move them 15 minutes later each day.
So if morning nap is at 9:00 a.m. normally, start with 8:15 a.m. on
Sunday, 8:30 a.m. on Monday, 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday and then 9:00 a.m. on
Wednesday. Do the same for the afternoon
nap. If their bedtime and naptimes are
not predictable (0-6 months old) simply jump to the new time Sunday night as if
you were traveling to a new time zone and use their wake time window (awake
time between sleep periods) as your guide.
A great thing about this time change is that
there are more hours of darkness which helps make this transition a little easier. If your child wakes up too early, walk them
back to their room and tell them it’s not time to get up yet. If your child wakes up too early and is in a
crib, be sure to help his body understand it isn’t morning time by keeping him
in his crib in the dark room until normal wake time.
Note for Toddlers/School-aged children: If you have a toddler or an older child who relies on a
clock to know when their “morning time” has arrived, set the clock one half
hour ahead of the new time so that it reads 7:00 a.m. at the new time of 6:30
a.m. Allow your child to wake a bit
earlier than normal (they will think it is 7:00 according to the clock but it
will be 6:30 a.m., new time). This will only be temporary as your child adjusts
to wake at their usual 7:00 a.m. time after about one or two weeks.
It may take children and babies a bit more time
to fall asleep, this is normal, since the time is different initially they
might seem tired earlier. It usually
takes about a week for children and babies to completely adjust to the new
time, some children it can take up to a month.
Be patient and stay very consistent, it will happen.
Happy sleeping from me to you!
Carly
778 877 6380
www.timetosleepconsulting.com
www.timetosleepconsulting.com
