Transition Your Kids To Daylight Savings

I don’t know about you, but I find daylight savings to be the biggest pain in the a**! It’s hard enough for adults to make this time adjustment, but throwing kids into the mix creates a whole other warzone! This year, I want you to take a deep breath, relax and know you’ve got this! Transitioning to and from daylight savings can be done easily and this year you are going to rock it! The end of Daylight savings is quickly approaching and before you know it November 3^rd will be here. You might find yourself wondering when you set your clock back how your kids will react.

“Will be able to keep your kids/babies up later?”

“How will you ever be able to drag them out of bed in the mornings?”

If you dread setting your clocks back, rest assured that this year your kids will have an easy transition to ending daylight savings.

 Do You Dread Daylight Savings Each Year?

Clients always stress about the havoc daylight savings causes on their kids and home life. Their, once smooth bedtime routines, become crazy chaos where they can’t get their kids to go to bed or fall asleep. Or they already are struggling with sleep and setting the clocks forward or back just makes things worse.  Mornings can also become a complete drag, because no one will get out of bed with the newfound darkness and firmly set body clocks.

Avoid Daylight Savings Troubles

You can avoid daylight savings disasters and actually transition your kids to daylight savings without them even knowing! You will be able to sneakily adjust your kids sleep times and body clocks, so when November 3^rd arrives they're already on the new time change. I am going to share with you some simple, yet effective daylight savings strategies to make your life so much easier!

Begin One Week in Advance.

5 Steps to Transition Your Kids to Daylight Savings

1. Move your child’s bedtime forward in 15 minute increments every two days

 If you work to slowly and steadily adjust the timing or your current sleep and eating schedules, when you “fall back” your child’s body and mind are already set for the new time! To give you an example, if you want your child to continue their 7pm bedtime, you will adjust their bedtime every couple of nights by 15 minutes. Nights one, two go to bed at 7:15pm, nights 3,4 bedtime will be 7:30, nights 5,6 7:45, and by one week your child will be going to bed at 8pm. This way when your clocks “fall back” their bedtime will still be 7pm.  If you are thinking to yourself right now, “there’s no way in hell I can possibly do this for a week!” Don’t worry, start a couple days before and adjust in bigger chunks. For example adjust bedtime forward by 20-30 minutes each night. Moving your child’s bedtime any amount ahead of daylight savings will be helpful.

2. Make sure to adjust naps in the same manner

Follow the same slowly and steady ‘bump forward’ sleep timing for naps. You want to try and synchronize their body clocks, which includes all of their sleep and wake times.

3. Adjust your mealtimes in 15 minute increments to help reset body clocks, hunger cues and bodily functions

Your kid’s bodies become like little mini clocks. It’s important to help them regulate their bodily functions and hunger cues. Adjust their meals and snacks in the same way you do their sleep. This way in a 24-hour cycle, they are adjusting all of their body’s needs to meet the end of daylight savings. 

4. Get plenty of daylight

Our body’s natural sleep cycle (circadian rhythm) is regulated by the amount of light and darkness you get. Therefore you need to be mindful of the amount of light your child gets during the da. One way to do this is to get outside in the morning and often throughout the day. This extra light will also help keep your child from becoming too sleepy in the evenings while you’re trying to keep them up a bit later.

5. Anticipate early rising

This is one of parent’s biggest fears, those early morning wakeups. If your child is already waking early, ending daylight savings might be giving you lots of anxiety because you can’t imagine waking any earlier. Don’t worry! With the gradual adjustments you’ll be making the week prior you will be taking care of most early wake-ups. But…if your child wakes early and isn’t’ transitioning as easily to ending daylight savings, try to encourage independent crib/bed times. It’s okay for your child to be awake and alone in the mornings (assuming they aren’t upset). Older kids can easily have some independent time in their beds in the early hours. Have conversations with them about the time change and help them set up some fun, independent activities they can do in their rooms quietly.

Transition to Daylight Savings Smoothly

With the 5 steps above you will easily transition your kids, all ages, to the end of daylight savings. If you can commit to minor adjustments one week prior to November 3^rd, you will be golden! For more information on sleep or parenting questions, book a complimentary 30 Minute Discovery Call so I can connect with you. Everything is Fixable so don’t wait!