[March 08, 2014]CHICAGO — Yep, it's that time
again! Right when your kids were finally sleeping well, we get to
throw another wrench into their system and change their schedule …
again. But, since daylight saving time happens twice a year, we are
knowledgeable, we will prepare for it, and we will get on with it!
Susie Parker, certified child sleep consultant and founder of Sleep
Baby Love, shares some facts about daylight saving time and tips for
your child's sleep schedule.
Daylight saving time starts on Sunday
at 2 a.m. We will spring forward!
Here are some fun facts about daylight saving time:
There are many
areas of world that either no longer follow daylight saving time
or never have.
In Europe,
daylight saving time starts on March 30, later in the month than
U.S. daylight saving time.
The idea of daylight saving time was
originated in 1784 by Benjamin Franklin, but it wasn't adapted
in the U.S. till 1918, mostly to preserve coal during World War
I (thanks, Wikipedia).
What does it mean to spring forward?
On Sunday, the former 6 a.m. is 7 a.m. — and 6 p.m. becomes 7
p.m. In Parker's opinion, this is the better of the two daylight
saving times — since early risers will actually wake up a bit
later — even if it's just because of some clock magic and even if it
only lasts a day or two. And parents get an extra hour of sleep,
assuming the children go along with the plan to sleep an hour too.
This is the time of year when it will stay darker in the morning and
lighter at night.
There are two ways to handle the transition of daylight savings
time: do nothing or take action:
Do nothing:
Sleep is regulated by our circadian rhythm, or body clock, which
is affected by darkness and light. If you put your child to bed at
their normal time, technically they might wake up at their normal
time in the morning, even though by the clock it's an hour later.
You could put your child down for their naps later by half an hour,
and by the end of the day or within a couple of days, your child
should be adjusted to the new schedule.
Here are some helpful tips for the adjustment:
A shot of light in
the morning will help adjust your child's body clock. Open your
curtains and let light in.
Since it will be
brighter at night, use blackout shades to help keep the light
out.
Keep your routine
and schedule the same — offer the same nap and bedtime routine
to signal to your child that it is time to sleep.
If your toddler
uses a tot clock, you can set the new wakeup time an hour later
with the plan that they will stay in their room until the clock
turns green (this requires a discussion of expectations in
advance).
As great as a later bedtime and wakeup schedule sounds, usually
after a few days your child will revert to their old schedule
without doing anything (just like we adjust when traveling to a new
time zone).
To help ease into the transition leading up to daylight savings
time, you can slowly adjust your child's schedule. Over the course
of the week, you can start shifting your child's schedule later by
15 minutes every three days. So a nap at 9 a.m. will start at 9:15
a.m. and so on. By the end of the week, your child's bedtime will be
close to an hour later, so when daylight savings time rolls around
you will have already adjusted to the new time change.
Go about your normal schedule:
Regardless of the strategy you choose, it is only a matter of
time until your child is back to their normal schedule. Keep in mind
that:
A well-rested
child will be readily able to adapt to the time change.
If you find that
your child is extra-affected by the time change, do your best to
get back to your normal schedule. Get out of the house in the
morning to get your child active, and offer relaxing activities
in the afternoon.
Within a week (two weeks maximum), you
should be over the hill of the daylight savings time
adjustment — just get ready to do it again in another six
months.
___
Susie Parker is a certified infant and child sleep consultant and
the founder of Sleep Baby Love. To find many other sleep tips,
tricks and advice, like Sleep Baby Love's Facebook page as Parker
attempts to rid the world of sleepless families. She offers many
sleep consulting services — via phone, email and Skype — aimed to
teach your child to love sleep. She can be reached for questions at
susie@sleepbabylove.com
or 847-834-9216.
