Daylight Saving Time and Children’s Sleep
Sukkie
It’s creeping up, the dreaded time change. I can’t think of one parent that LOVES 
Daylight Savings, especially if their young children MAY wake up earlier. Don’t panic, our children’s body will adjust back to its regular sleep pattern within a week. Here are some tips to help with the time change this weekend:
-Don’t change the clocks before you go to bed. Change them in the morning, once everyone has started their day on Sunday (unless you have to be somewhere, then you may want to know what the “new” time is!).
-Push your children to stay up an extra ½ hour for naps and bedtime. For example, if they normally go to bed at 7pm, the “new” time will be 6pm, so put them to bed at the “new” time of 6:30pm. So you are pushing them to stay up an extra ½ hour because their body clock (“old time”) will be 7:30pm.
-Do this for 3 days, then on day 4 move them to their normal bedtime.
-For babies, you may not be able to keep them up for an extra ½ hour, so just start with an extra 10-15 minutes each nap time and at bedtime, until they reach the “new” time.
Remember, it can take up to 1 week for the body to adjust, but sometimes even as long as 4 weeks. Be patient and hang in there.
Here’s to sleeping well!
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