Can you believe it’s that time again? Daylight Saving time officially begins Sunday, March 14th and although I love having more daylight, I loathe giving up an extra hour of sleep to get it! That doesn’t seem like a fair trade, does it?
Time changes are difficult on us, no matter which way the clock is moving, but they can be particularly hard for children. Here are some things you can do to help make this transition a bit easier on them (and you!):
- Starting a few days to a week before, start shifting your child’s bedtime later, in 15-minute increments. If bedtime is 8p.m., four or five days out from the change, put your child to bed at 7:45p.m. Do this for a day or two then shift the bedtime to 7:30p.m. and so on until you’re putting him or her to bed at 7:00pm. Your child may not fall to sleep right away, but putting him or her to bed will help reset their body’s clock.
- The above sounds good on paper, but the problem with springing ahead is that it will still be light outside at 7p.m. Who wants to go to sleep when it’s still daylight?! Your kids may not be tired at 7p.m. so the best way to combat this is to dim the lights in the house in the evening, and make sure you cut their electronics usage off at least 30 minutes before bed. If that still doesn’t work, blackout shades might be a good investment.
- Maintain a routine. This is critical because routine is what tells the body it’s time to wind down. Make sure you stick to whatever routine you’ve put in place (minus the electronics!), like reading a book or a bath.
