Kids & Company Blog

Clocks Roll Forward Tips

Springtime doesn’t just bring warmer weather and flowers. Daylight Savings Time returns and your child who normally rises at 6:30 AM may wake closer to 7:30 AM for a few days until his schedule readjusts. Enjoy those precious extra minutes! But, many parents need their child up by a certain time to get to child care or school or feel that any change to their child’s sleep schedule can have a negative impact on daytime temperament and a solid night’s sleep.

 

Here are some tips that can help you make the transition easier for everyone in the family.

Like to plan ahead or have a child that thrives on a pretty strict schedule?  Starting a week ahead of time, you can put your baby/child to bed 10 minutes earlier each night.  For example, if the normal bed time is 7pm, try 6:50 one evening, then 6:40 the next until you get to 6pm.  Once daylight savings time returns, you’ll resume bedtime at 7pm. It will take a bit of time, but eventually, their internal clock will shift and your child should begin getting up around the same time.

Prefer to not adjust sleep so far in advance or have a child that is pretty flexible sleep wise?  You can try just putting your child to bed 30 minutes earlier two days before the clocks roll forward and then 30 min. earlier again the next night.  So, 7pm bedtime becomes 6:30 the first night and 6pm the second.  Then, the clock will roll forward and you’ll resume a 7pm bedtime.

Prep the bedroom for more morning sunlight.  In the short term, bedrooms will be darker in the morning because sunrise is later.  But, the days are getting longer and sunrise is getting earlier and earlier. This may cause your kiddos to “rise with the roosters”. Be prepared.  Make sure you have shades, darkening curtains or even towels tacked up over the windows as we move into spring, since it lessens the odds of early morning sun waking your child before you want her to get up.

Forgot about Daylight Savings Time?  No worries, you can do this after the fact too – you may get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning or have a child who is a bit more cranky (since bedtime is actually an hour later) for a few days.

Posted on: Tuesday March 8th, 2016

Posted by: Kids & Company