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Surviving the end of daylight savings
Parents with young children may be intimidated as day light saving’s comes to an end. They will often worry their child’s routine will be completely out of whack. Depending on the needs of your household you may find that your children going to sleep an hour earlier and waking up an hour earlier puts a spanner in the works. Here are some tips to make winding back to the clock as smooth as possible.
Babies
Start preparing your baby as soon as possible. Babies don’t respond well to drastic changes in feed and sleep times, so try not shift everything by an hour in one day. If possible, start moving their feeds and sleeps by 15 minutes a day until you have shifted them to an hour later.
Two to three days before day light savings ends you should have at least moved feeding and sleep times by half an hour. Ideally by the day before the end of daylight savings, you’ll have delayed feeding and sleeping by 45 minutes.
Remember to do what feels right for you and your baby. 15 minutes may be too much for your baby, so try delaying the routine by 5 to 10 minutes instead.
Toddlers
Parents of toddlers have similar concerns as parents with babies. Their child waking up an hour earlier disrupts everyone’s sleeping pattern and the household routine. Use the weekend to move their routine back 25 minutes if that seems easier than planning a week in advance.
Preschoolers
Preschoolers are more likely to understand the vague concept of daylight savings (“it’s darker in the winter”) but they still may find it hard to adjust. Shift their sleep schedule ahead using either 15 minutes or 25 minutes at a time. You can also purchase your preschooler an Okay to Wake clock, available from The Baby Factory and The Sleep Store. These clocks are specifically designed for under-5s and teaching them when it’s time to get up.
Exception: Sometimes children don’t need help adjusting and the darkness naturally makes them tired at the right time. If you see the tell-tale signs of tiredness, put them to bed early.