Adjusting to Daylight Savings with Babies
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This weekend we change our clocks. The fall time change is a little easier on us as moving our clocks back gives us an extra hour of sleep, but as any parent of young kids will tell you — it’s not always that easy.
It’s natural that as the time change approaches parents begin to worry how their babies or children will adjust to the new time. Will bedtimes become horrendous and will we be waking in the morning earlier than the birds?
Well, I’m here to tell you that with both the spring and fall time changes our body clocks will adjust on their own, however, we may have to help our kids adjust a little bit.
How to Adjust to Daylight Savings
GRADUAL APPROACH
If your child is more sensitive to these time shifts it’s best to take the gradual approach.
A few days before the actual time change shift your routine later by 15 minutes each day, even going as far as shifting your little one’s entire day-to-day routine later, including naptimes and meal times. So, your normal naptime of 9:00 am will get moved to 9:15 am and so on. Then once the clocks “fall back” your child will already be adjusted.
RIDE IT OUT
You can do what we do at the Good Night house… Two times a year when the clocks shift, we just hold on tight and adjust to the new times. It’s the easiest route to take and if you think that your child can manage just switching to the new times it may be the best route for you to take for your family too. You may have a fussy little one for a few days, maybe up to a week, but they will adapt provided you remain consistent.
Helpful Tips
ALL BEDROOMS SHOULD BE SET UP FOR SLEEP SUCCESSPromote a cool, dark, and quiet environment for both you and your children. Install blackout blinds, and/or use a white noise machine to help set up great sleep conditions. Doing so will aid in proper restorative sleep for you and your family. Parents don’t forget about you!
Parents need to focus on your own sleep just like we focus on your kids sleep. Time change can have a major effect on an already sleep deprived society and there’s actually a higher occurrence of reported traffic accidents after time changes — so now is the time to make sure you’re getting enough rest as well. Practice the same habits you preach to your kids.
GIVE YOUR NIGHT TABLE AN AUDIT
GIVE YOUR NIGHT TABLE AN AUDIT
Remove phones, tablets and other tech and electronics from your night table (and your kids’ rooms) before bed. Electronics right before bedtime makes it more difficult to fall asleep and results in less restorative sleep. Tech in the bedrooms is probably the biggest sleep buster out there and it’s important for the whole family to clear the tech in order to sleep better.
Don't Stress
Hang in there, moms and dads!
The shift in this new schedule normally takes a week or two for our kids to adapt to. Remember these two words: persistence and consistency! You will get through this.
For more helpful sleep advice be sure to check out our Learning Centre.
The shift in this new schedule normally takes a week or two for our kids to adapt to. Remember these two words: persistence and consistency! You will get through this.
For more helpful sleep advice be sure to check out our Learning Centre.