“Fall Back” Tips

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 ScheduleNovember 2ndNovember 3rdNovember 4thNovember 5thNovember 6th
6:30am Wake-Time6:45am Wake-Time7:00am Wake-Time7:15am Wake-Time7:30am Wake-Time6:30am Wake-Time
9am Nap 19:15am Nap 19:30am Nap 19:45am Nap 110am Nap 19am Nap 1
1pm Nap 21:15pm Nap 21:30pm Nap 21:45pm Nap 22pm Nap 21pm Nap 2
6:30pm Bedtime6:45pm Bed7:00pm Bed7:15pm Bed7:30pm Bed6:30pm 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.

Leave a Reply