Daylight Saving Time - Fall Edition
Daylight Saving Time - Fall Edition
Spooky Season is Upon Us
Daylight Saving Time; three words that instill fear in all parents, three ways to get through it.
We as parents not only need our sleep to get through our days, be patient, deal with work, all the appointments, running here there and everywhere, maintaining a household and to stay healthy to ensure we have the energy to do all these things, but our children need it too; to protect their development, help them fend off all the new viruses, regulate their behaviour and so much more!
How can 1 hour create so much anxiety in us when it comes to our children's sleep?
Easy. Many of us had to teach our children independent skills and have worked to maintain a schedule that balances our lives, commitments and of course, our children’s sleep needs. It took a great deal of time and effort to strike the right balance and then comes along good ole’ Daylight Saving Time and out the window our carefully laid sleep plans go! Or so it seems…
The good news is it’s temporary. The bad news is it might be a weird week. So, cue up the Starbucks order and a healthy dose of patience but this too shall pass.
Help me! How do I deal with the time change?
There are many ways to handle the time change but ultimately, we all go through it, we all adjust and after a week, we all forget it…until spring.
So let’s all take a collective deep breath, take a sip of our aforementioned hot coffee and chat about our options.
There is no perfect plan so pick the one that you feel you can be the most consistent with.
Option 1 - DO NOTHING
If you want to roll with it, wake up on day one of the time change and stick to the new clock.
If your child isn’t up by 7:00 a.m., I do recommend you get them up then to preserve your schedule.
Push naps to the new clock times or based on your child’s wake time. Remember, your younger babies and children might struggle as their 12:00 p.m. nap is actually 1:00 p.m. to their bodies.
Option 2 - START A WEEK BEFORE
If you prefer to plan ahead, six days before the time change, start shifting your child’s sleep schedule by 10 minutes each day.
For example, on day one, if your baby wakes at 6:00 a.m., you don’t go and get them until 6:10 a.m. Even if they wake up prior to that target time, push their first nap based on the PLANNED wake time of the day. For instance, if your child is on two-hour wake windows and they wake at 6:00 a.m., on day one you are timing that nap from 6:10 a.m. (your target wake time) meaning nap no earlier than 8:10 a.m. Each day you are adding 10 minutes and then when you get to day seven, you just fall back to the new time.
Option 3 - SHIFT THE SCHEDULE THE DAY BEFORE
Push your child’s schedule the day before the time change to get to a later bedtime but be cognizant of how hard you want to push. We want to get them to a later bedtime but don’t want them to have naps that are very short due to pushing their window beyond what they can reasonably handle.
The first nap of the day is the hardest one to push so you may want to leave that one and then just push the other windows later in the day.
Try these windows before naps and keep your regular bedtime window to prevent an overtired child:
1 nap, push by 15-30 mins.
2 naps, push each by 10-15 mins.
3 naps, push each by 10 mins.
4 naps, push each by 5-10 mins.
BUT I have an early riser so now they are going to be waking at 5:00 a.m. instead of 6:00 a.m.!
Try and do the six day or day before method outlined above, however if you didn’t…
If they rise early on day one, leave them until at least 6:00 a.m. Offer comfort if needed to get them to the new time but avoid starting the day earlier and reinforcing this wake time.
If possible, minimize going into their room as it will just further stimulate them and make that time until 6:00 a.m. tougher for all of you.
Time their first nap based on a 6:00 a.m. wake up time even if it means pushing their windows longer than usual for a few days. For babies on three to five naps, the first nap should not be earlier than 8:00 a.m., on two naps, never earlier than 9:30 a.m. and on one nap, never earlier than 12:00 p.m.
You can also let them sleep 10 to15 minutes longer during their naps for a few days if it means it gets them to a later bedtime. That is preferred over pushing windows too assertively and pushing them into overtired mode at bedtime which can mean vocal night wakes and a very energetic early rise.
Remember…
The new nap and bedtimes will feel later to our babies and children so make sure routines are maintained and even elongated to help them wind down so they can ease into their sleep.
It’s no different than a time zone change. On the day of the change and those that follow, get outside and get as much natural light as you can; even feeding near a window is exposure enough.
Armed with this information you should be able to handle anything that Daylight Saving Time throws at you. But if you want some more customized sleep support, check out the website and book a complimentary discovery call to see how we can help your family on the path to better sleep.
Author: Andria Gordon
Andria Gordon is the Owner and Founder of child sleep consulting agency Have Baby. Must Sleep., a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant who has helped over 400 families get sleeping again, as well as a frequent speaker and presenter to parent groups and daycares/preschools. Andria is the co-founder of a Children’s Sleep and Medical Conditions certification course for sleep consultants, is a member of various professional associations and has been featured on Global News in Canada. As a former senior ad executive Andria knows what it means to provide exceptional, high-touch client care and service. You can find her on Instagram @andriasleep.
Company:
Have Baby. Must Sleep. is a leading pediatric sleep consultancy serving parents with babies and children ages 0 to 5 years old. They specialize in providing a high-touch, completely customized sleep coaching experience centred around each individual family and their lifestyle. The team is composed of moms who have experienced their fair share of sleepless nights while trying to balance work and life, and that’s why they’ve come together to help other tired parents get the rest they need and deserve. As Pediatric Sleep Consultants who have worked with 800+ families, sleep is what they do, it is their expertise and sole focus. You can find out more at www.havebabymustsleep.com.