Daylight Saving Time Ending

Daylight Saving Time is ending in about a week and a half. Are you ready? 

I, personally, think this is the harder transition for parents, even though we are told we get an extra hour of sleep. Between later bedtimes and early wake ups, it doesn’t always feel like we gain an extra hour of sleep.

Let’s go through a few things that will help you and your child transition during this time.

“Fall back”, as they say, is seemingly the better transition because you gain an hour of sleep, rather than losing. However, this can mean your child, who regularly wakes at 6:30, is now waking at 5:30 because it feels like 6:30. How do we handle this?

Do not(!!) put them in front of the TV. This reinforces the early wake up time, and will ensure that it continues. Try to encourage them to go back to sleep, or at the very least stay in their room. This is a great time to get or recommit to an “ok to wake” clock that changes colors when it’s ok to leave their room.

How do we prepare for Daylight Saving Time to end? 

One way is to start transitioning a few days early. Thursday night, put your child to bed 15 minutes later and try to get them to stay in bed an extra 15 minutes in the morning. Friday night, do bedtime 15 minutes after that (so 30 minutes after your regular bedtime) and wake up 15 minutes later. Saturday you do bedtime 45 minutes after your regular bedtime and try to keep your child in their room 45 minutes later (which will actually be 15 minutes earlier on the clock on Sunday morning). Then Sunday night and Monday morning, your clock will read your regular times.

Another way is to jump in and transition all at once, like you would if you went on vacation one time zone to the West. Sunday morning, despite it feeling like their wake time, you have your child stay in bed or in their room until the clock reads the correct time, and then you do bedtime at your regular time, despite it feeling later for your child.

Both of these methods have their pros and cons. Option one requires more planning, option two requires more boundary keeping. At the end of the day, being consistent is going to help keep your family’s sleep on track and keep everyone rested. 

Are you reading this in late November after everyone’s sleep has gone haywire? Let’s chat! Head over to my Work With Me page to schedule a call so we can get you better rested again.