This weekend our clocks go forward one hour. The first thing I would recommend to all parents on Sunday morning is just to leave the clocks alone as it can be quite upsetting to lose an hour of sleep! Just get up at your usual time and start the day. After your cup of coffee and a bit of breakfast, then you can go around changing the clocks. It will feel much better this way, trust me!

I am frequently asked by parents what they should do with their little ones sleep schedule. My preferred way to handle it is to wait until the day of the time change and then “split the difference”.

See my recommendations below for different aged children.

School Age Children:

Let’s say your child usually goes to bed at 7pm. I recommend putting that child to bed at 7:30pm for the first three days following the time change. (This will FEEL like 6:30pm to your child). Then on the fourth night put them to bed at 7pm (or whatever their normal time is). It will take about a week for your child’s body to get used to this.

Toddlers:

If you have a child that is 1 year or older then on the day of the time change you would put them down for their nap 30 minutes later than usual. So, if your little one usually takes a morning nap around 9:30am, you will adjust this to 10am on the day of the change (this will FEEL like 9am). It will feel earlier than usual for your child, but not so much that it will cause much damage to their schedule. Then do the same for the afternoon nap (if they have a second nap).

For bedtime, if your child usually goes to bed at 7pm. I recommend putting that child to bed at 7:30pm for the first three days following the time change. (This will FEEL like 6:30pm to your child). Then on the fourth night put them to bed at 7pm (or whatever their normal time is). On the 5th day move the naptimes to the normal time.

Infants:

If your baby is under the age of 7 months and their bedtimes and naptimes are not yet predictable just jump into the new time on the day of the change and use their usual wake windows as a guide.

If your baby is on a fixed schedule then on the day of the time change start naps 45 minutes earlier than the usual time and move them 15 minutes each day. So if morning nap time is usually 9:30am then on Sunday put them down at 10:15am (this will FEEL like 9:15am to your child). Then on Monday put them down at 10am, Tuesday would be 9:45am, Wednesday they are back to 9:30am. Do the same for the afternoon nap. If bedtime is usually 7pm then on the first day of the time change put them to bed at 7:45pm (this will FEEL like 6:45pm), then the second night would be 7:30pm, then 7:15pm until you reach 7pm on the fourth night.

Tips:

Around this time of year we see light earlier in the morning so I recommend to darken your child’s room to help with the light coming through during the early hours of the morning. Your child might start to wake up earlier than usual due to this light so keeping their room dark helps signal to their body that it is still time to sleep. We also see lighter evenings so darkening the room and using a dim light during the bedtime routine can be very helpful to increase melatonin levels at bedtime, making it easier for your little one to fall asleep. 

Be Patient. It is normal to see our little ones take a bit more time to fall asleep after the clock change. You might notice that they are not as tired as usual. It usually takes about a week or two for children and babies to completely adjust to the new time, for some children it can take up to a month. Be patient and consistent, and don't worry it will happen.

Get outside! The daylight helps to set our circadian rhythm so get outside as much as you can to help your body clock adjust to the new time.