Many parents who work very hard to establish a healthy sleep routine can dread daylight savings time. (For more information on healthy sleep routines please visit www.child-works.com) Parents worry about how this one hour change in time will alter their well preserved sleep schedule. The good news is the change in time should not significantly alter your child’s sleep habits. The even better news is the “spring forward” time change is easier on children’s sleep than the “fall back” time change.
Since the time change occurs in the wee hours of Sunday, April 2nd this year, I recommend beginning making changes to your child’s routine on Saturday, April 1st. If your child does not nap then put her down 15 minutes earlier at bedtime starting Saturday evening and continue to do this nightly until she is at the appropriate bedtime. If your child is still napping then put your child down at her normal naptime on Saturday, but wake her about halfway through her final nap. For example, if your child naps from 1pm to 3pm then wake her at 2pm. If your child takes a morning and afternoon nap then put her down normally for her morning nap, but wake her from her afternoon nap after 45 minutes of sleep if she typically naps for an hour and a half. That evening put your child to bed 15-30 minutes earlier than normal. How much earlier you are able to do is dependent on your child, but the earlier the better.
On Sunday morning wake your child at her typical wake time. For example, if she usually wakes at 7 am then don’t let her sleep past this time (as tempting as it may be!), even though her body thinks it is 6 am. This will set your child up for keeping to her normal schedule on Sunday with the new time change. So again, if your child wakes at 7am, naps at 1pm and goes to bed at 7:30 pm then keep these times on Sunday. If necessary, wake her Monday morning at 7 am again and keep to her schedule on Monday.
To make this change as smoothly as possible it is best to adhere to your child’s sleep schedule over the weekend and on Monday as well. It should only take a few days for your child to adjust and everyone in the family sleeping at their regular times. Once everyone has adjusted it is fine to occasionally vary from the schedule again when necessary. If you have further questions or need more information please visit www.child-works.com.
Rachel Steinberg is founder of Child-Works. Child-Works provides parents research-based information and consultation on sleep for children. Rachel has helped countless families all over the country acheive a better nights rest.