Easing Your Kids into DayLight Savings

On March 13th, those of us lucky enough to live somewhere the time changes, we will all lose an hour of sleep (Eye Roll, am I right?)!!  A lot of kids won’t have a problem adjusting to the new time, but for the littles that have always struggled with sleep, I would suggest adjusting their clock gradually so that they can ease into it and not get thrown off in just one night.  Below are 2 possibilities of easing your kids into Daylight Savings!

For those parents and children that are blessed with sleeping well and aren’t sensitive to change, their internal clock will adjust itself (just like ours does), so not preparing for losing that hour of sleep and letting them adjust naturally will probably mean that they will be back on the right track in just a day or two.

For those kids that have parents that worked hard for their meticulous schedule because they are not naturally good sleepers and are extremely sensitive to change, my best advice is to move their entire schedule back in 15-minute increments (or 30 minutes) every day.  So just by waking them up a little earlier each day, will allow for you to adjust their naps, meals, and bedtimes appropriately until the desired bedtime has been reached.  For Instance, the following schedule is an example for a child on 1 nap.

This table is for more sleep sensitive kids that need a more gradual approach to ease into daylight savings.

Current ScheduleMarch 8thMarch 9thMarch 10thMarch 11thMarch 12th
7:00am Wake-Time6:45am Wake6:30am Wake6:15am Wake6:00am Wake7:00am Wake
1:00pm Nap12:45pm Nap12:30pm Nap12:15pm Nap12:00pm Nap1:00pm Nap
7:00pm Bedtime6:45pm Bed6:30pm Bed6:15pm Bed6:00pm Bed7:00pm Bed

This chart is for babies that aren’t so sensitive to change and can handle a faster approach.

Current ScheduleMarch 12thMarch 13th
7:00am Wake-Time6:30am Wake7:00am Wake
(old 6am so you’ll still have to wake them at 7am)
1:00pm Nap12:30pm Nap1:00pm Nap
7:00pm Bedtime6:30pm Bed7:00pm Bed

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me! 623-824-5427 or krissy@monkeyroosleep.com

If you are having more difficult struggles with your kids and sleep, feel free to book a phone call by going to my facebook page. MonkeyRoo Sleep Consulting (facebook.com)
Or if you have no idea where to start with sleep training, fill out an intake form and I can guide you on what package might be best for your situation. https://monkeyroosleep.com/sleep-training-packages/

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