Daylight Savings Ends on November 6th this year, and for most people it is more of an annoyance to change all your clocks than it is something that you dread. But for some parents that have worked hard to get their sensitive sleepers on a great schedule, this particular day can leave one feeling uneasy. If this is something that you worry about, see below for the easy Fall Back tips to keep children on schedule.
How To Adjust Schedule
For those of you parents with children that aren’t sensitive sleepers, their body should gradually adjust to the time change on it’s own within a day or 2 just like ours does as adults. However, for the little ones that struggle with sleep, the easiest way to adjust to the time change is to slightly move back their schedule a few days to a week prior to the actual time change. Depending on how sensitive your child is to schedule changes, you can adjust gradually in 10 minute increments for a week or just 30 minutes in two days.
For instance, the following schedule is an example of a child on 2 naps (anywhere from 8 months-24 months). Besides their sleeping schedule, you’ll want to adjust meal times also.
They will still wake up at 6:30 on the 1st day, but you can let them play in their bed for 15 minutes or so, and you’ll just adjust everything (including their meal times) 15 minutes later throughout the day.
| Current Schedule | November 2nd | November 3rd | November 4th | November 5th | November 6th |
| 6:30am Wake-Time | 6:45am Wake-Time | 7:00am Wake-Time | 7:15am Wake-Time | 7:30am Wake-Time | 6:30am Wake-Time |
| 9am Nap 1 | 9:15am Nap 1 | 9:30am Nap 1 | 9:45am Nap 1 | 10am Nap 1 | 9am Nap 1 |
| 1pm Nap 2 | 1:15pm Nap 2 | 1:30pm Nap 2 | 1:45pm Nap 2 | 2pm Nap 2 | 1pm Nap 2 |
| 6:30pm Bedtime | 6:45pm Bed | 7:00pm Bed | 7:15pm Bed | 7:30pm Bed | 6:30pm Bed |
If you have any questions or concerns about the time change and keeping your little one on schedule, feel free to contact me today.
