Managing Daylight Savings Time

This time of year always makes me crazy.  Another year of gain an hour, lose an hour. It’s hard enough for adults to adjust to the change in their sleep routine, but even worse for babies and children (and in turn, for the parents who have to deal with the consequences of disturbed sleep schedules!) I vividly remember posting a video about the time change on Instagram about 6 months ago with optimism that Congress would finally pass a bill that would forever end the outdated need for changing the clocks. Although I’m not surprised that we are still waiting, I am disappointed. Alas, here we are again.  So how do we handle the time change with our kids?

There are 3 ways you can handle the adjustment to the new time. The first is the gradual shift. This can start 4 days to a week ahead of time depending on how sensitive your little one is to the time increments. Wake your child 15 to 20 minutes earlier every few days until you have made the full shift by the day the clocks change.  Naps and bedtime will shift earlier as well

The second approach is to split the difference. On the Sunday after the time change wake up, have your coffee, and then switch the clocks. If your baby is still on a set schedule move everything LATER 30 minutes (this will feel earlier to your baby). After 3-4 days shift back to your old sleep times to finish the change.

The last approach is to do nothing. Change nothing. On the Sunday after Daylight Savings starts wake your child at their normal time on the new clock. Use their normal wake windows and sleep times.   Some families use this time to naturally shift to a later summer schedule. OR, if you have a baby who is normally a super early riser, here is your chance to get that extra hour of sleep!

Hopefully we won’t be talking about Spring Ahead again next year.  But if we do, just remember that no matter how you handle it, your kids will eventually adjust after a week or two.