Fall Back – Daylight Saving Time

Daylight saving officially ends the first Sunday in November which this year falls on the 3rd. The good news is, we gain an hour. So at 2:00 am November 3rd, we will set our clocks back one hour.

Who doesn’t love getting an extra hour of sleep? Unfortunately, if you are a parent you will not share the same benefits as your childless peers because your children will be waking one hour earlier.

Well donʼt fret, remember we all get through it and forget about it until the next time change and itʼs usually not too painful. So, with that said, here are some adjustments you can make to get through this as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Napping Children:

Naps: Start the naps 1/2 hour earlier than the normal nap time. For example, if your childʼs original nap time was 8:30 am, then make it 8:00 am instead.

Bedtime: Since the naps are starting earlier and probably ending earlier, then you will also need to make the bedtime earlier. A 5:00 pm bedtime might be necessary especially for the younger babies taking two naps a day.

Transition Complete: As the wake time inches closer to the original, the nap times and bedtime will also start occurring at their regular times once again.

Children who are not napping:

Bedtime: Make it a little bit earlier, maybe a 1/2 hour if they too are getting up earlier. Once the wake time gets back to normal, so can the bedtime.

Big Kids and/or Pre-teens: Older children and young adults will benefit from this time change. As it is these kids are at such a deficit of sleep due to early school times and late nights doing homework, any amount of extra sleep will make a difference.

Overall it takes about a week for the older kids and a little more for the younger ones to come together. The only advice for the moms and dads; get yourselves earlier to bed as well.