I don’t think I’ve ever met a parent who didn’t have a bit of apprehension for daylight savings time. We all dread the unwanted disruption and secretly wish there were some kind of magic pill we could give our kids to encourage just one more measly hour of sleep each morning until the transition is behind us. Does this sound familiar?

This year, let’s begin with a new perspective. We’ll plan ahead, we’ll have a positive attitude, we’ll expect some resistance to the change and accept the challenge without fear. This year instead of just gutting it out, we’ll go in swinging with our sights set on a smooth transition without frustration and sleep deprivation.  Are you ready?

Daylight savings officially starts  Sunday, November 5th, when we turn our clocks BACK one hour.   This is the toughest time change of the two because when our kids normally wake up at 7am, suddenly our days begin at 6am instead. This single hour doesn’t seem like a lot, but in those early morning hours it feels unbearable.

As adults, we’re able to adjust easily to the new time because we’re constantly looking at the clock, which inadvertently re-programs our circadian rhythms. When we see that it’s noon, we think we must be hungry. When we get home from work, we know it’s dinner-time, etc. It doesn’t take more than 1 day for us to move on ahead with the new time without a second thought. For children though, it’s not so easy. Their little internal clocks don’t reset as quickly and it takes much longer for them to re-acclimate. This is why it’s important to plan ahead!

Most sleep consultants will tell you to push your child’s schedule later in preparation for this time change, which is effective – but not for all babies/children! Some children do well with this, but those who are already carrying around even the slightest sleep debt become overtired and you end up with a bigger problem on your hands. If your child is already on the overtired side of things, follow these guidelines to get them caught up before making the transition. Even though it seems counter-intuitive, working toward an earlier bedtime will result in a later wake-time, which is ideal when the time falls back.

Guidelines for children who are on the sleepy side of the spectrum:

Start with naps – 1-2 weeks before the time change, plan to start naptime 15-30 min. earlier than normal. If you have a highly sensitive child, go for 15-min. If your child is easily adaptable, 30-min is perfect. For example, if your child usually goes down at 9am and 1pm, change it to 8:30am and 12:30pm. Provide ample amounts of physical, outdoor activity during this period of adjustment!

Bedtime – Bedtime will follow suite and begin a bit earlier as well. Even if this means putting your child to bed at 5/5:30pm, do it! You’ll reap the reward when the time change is at your doorstep because all of this great rest will result in a healthy sleeper and a later wake-up time!

When they are sleeping 11-12 hours at night, napping for at least an hour for each nap, and falling asleep quickly for each sleep period, follow the guidelines below in the 3-4 days before the time change.

If you’re reading this and you don’t have 1-2 weeks to prepare for your sleep deprived child, move the bedtime hour earlier for 3 nights in a row starting ASAP. For example, if it’s normally 8pm, move it to 6:30-7pm in one swoop for 3 consecutive nights. You’ll most likely see naps improve and the morning wake-up time will move later. At this point, follow the recommendations below for children who are considered “well rested”. The only difference will be that you won’t have as much lead-time, so after the time change they’ll go to bed earlier than usual and slowly creep to their typical bedtime after the “new” time is in place. For example, if you start on a Monday before the time change, put them to bed much earlier than usual, say 6:30pm, Mon-Wed night. On Thursday push it to 6:40pm, on Saturday push it to 6:50pm, on Sunday (the first night of the “new” time”) put them to bed at 6:15pm, on Monday 6:30pm, Wednesday 6:40pm, Friday 6:50pm and Sunday 7pm. If you find that the morning wake-up doesn’t creep later and naps become an issue, stick with the 6:30pm “new” bedtime for a week or two before pushing it any later.

 

For children who are well rested and have predictable sleep patterns:

Start with Naps –  throughout the week leading up to the time change, begin moving the naptimes 10 min later every other day.  If your child is easily adaptable, 20-min is ideal, but if you’re not sure go for 10. If you find that they have trouble falling asleep now that you’ve pushed them later, or wake up earlier from their naps, go back to their normal time and follow the advice from the previous section.  With a well-rested child, this should push their wake-time later slightly. Either way, make sure you don’t rush to them as soon as they wake after a sleep period! This will help the wake-times regulate with the later naps/bedtimes.

Bedtime – The later naps will naturally push bedtime a bit later as well. Plan to put them to bed 10 min later every other day. In a well-rested child, this will result in a later wake-time, so that when the time falls back an hour, they will be waking up at their normal, healthy time. Everything will fall in line with the usual routine at the new times. Again, make sure you’re not rushing to get them out in the morning! A reasonable wake-time is 11-12 hours from the time they went to bed the night before. Try to stay out until that point!

When you get to the time change, they will still have about 20-30 min to go until the sleep times are in line with the “new” times. Just continue pushing them later every other night by 10-15 minutes until they get to the bedtime that works for them. The rhythms of daily life after the change will help with the rest of the transition and within a few days you won’t look back!

For well-rested children who no longer nap, just move their bedtime 10 min later every other day until the wake-up time is in line with their usual hour for the new time.  If you find they are waking up earlier in the morning, push bedtime earlier by 15-30 min instead and the slowly creep later from that point. Early wake-ups are a sign of an overtired child!

Many parents use the “wait and see” approach which works well for some kids, especially those who are well rested, but for those who like to plan ahead this method can be frustrating. This is a good way to handle it if you’re not sure whether or not your child is in the well-rested vs. overtired category.

For this method, don’t do anything until the time has moved back. Prepare for an early wake-up and regulate your child’s schedule gradually until by the 3^rd or 4^th day they’re right on track with the new time schedule. Generally this means putting them down for their nap/bedtime 30 min later than usual (based on the new time) for 2-3 days, then another 30 min later until they’re regulated.

Don’t minimize the importance of a visual reminder to let toddlers and preschoolers know when it’s time to get up! Using a programmable cue such as the SleepBuddy Complete Sleep System will help them adapt to the new wake-time. This would have to be introduced a few days/week prior to the time change to have an impact. If you’re already using a sleep/wake cue, set it to go off 30 min earlier than usual. For example, if they usually get up at 7am and now it’s 6am because of the time change, set it to go off at 6:15am (the new time) and then when they are doing that with consistently move it another 15 min., etc. until you reach their normal wake-time.

All in all, it typically takes about a week for it all to get back to normal. With some kids it can be more like 2 weeks, so don’t worry if your family falls into this category! The best way to combat the stress of it is to make sure you get to bed early so that you’re bright and cheery regardless of when your little one decides to start the day.

 

-Laura Swartz, Founder, HealthyHappySleep.com and mother of 7