Fall is absolutely one of my favorite times of year- the air turns crisp, the trees get colorful, and I can bust out allll the cozy clothes. My only complaint about fall is the gradual shortening of daylight that goes hand in hand with the end of daylight savings.
“Falling back” an hour seems great until you are a parent and suddenly your little one doesn’t get the memo and is rising an hour earlier. Are you doomed to one less hour of sleep and walking around like a zombie until we “spring forward” again? Absolutely not. Depending on your child’s temperament, there are three main strategies for handling this adjustment with grace.
1- Rip off the bandaid transition- This work best for the “go with the flow” kids and families who can roll with the punches of abrupt change. This transition is super straightforward and doesn’t require any brainpower! On Saturday night, change all clocks when you go to bed, then proceed with your normal schedule the next day with the new time. Your child may wake early for a couple days, but should get back on track quickly. If they do wake early, offer an earlier bedtime on these days so they don’t get overtired.
2- Middle ground transition- This method splits the difference of the other two and is a great middle ground. If your child isn’t quite okay with a full blown hour difference in schedule, but doesn’t need tiny incremental changes, this is a perfect choice. You will be moving the whole schedule by 30 minutes on Saturday ( morning wakeup, meals, naps, etc)
Example with a 7pm bedtime:
November 6th- bedtime 7:30
November 7th- bedtime 6:30 according to time change
November 8th- you will be back to the previous 7:00 bedtime, but according to the new clock time.
3- Gradual transition- This method is great for the “planners” out there and the kids who are very schedule oriented and sensitive sleepers. Starting about a week before November 7, begin to move your child’s schedule forward by about 10-15 minutes every couple days. It is important to move back the whole schedule, not just bedtime. So wakeup times, meals, naps, bath, etc. Time it so that by the time the clocks change, your kiddo is back to their previously normal schedule according to the new time.
Example with a 7pm bedtime:
November 3rd- bedtime 7:15
November 4th- bedtime 7:30
November 5th- bedtime 7:45
November 6th- bedtime 8:00
November 7th-bedtime is back to 7:00 according to time change
Helpful reminders-
1- The change in daylight hours can send the wrong signals during times your child should be sleeping, so double check that their sleep environment is blacked out! Having light slipping in during the early morning hours can throw the schedule off.
2- Get your little ones outside, especially after waking. This helps the body adjust to the new time change
3- Change all your clocks! Don’t forget alarm clocks and OK to wake clocks that you may have in your child’s room. That would be a bummer to diligently plan and then have the alarms going off at the wrong time!
Now, break out those cozy clothes and hot drinks, and enjoy your well rested family!
-Janet
Reminder- these transitions work best on children who are already good, independent sleepers. If you are completely lost on how to get here, feel free to reach out and we can chat!