Daylight Savings: Your Guide to Fall Back with Ease

It’s that time of year again - the clocks are about to fall back. This means that we will all be gifted an extra hour of sleep. What a dream! For some kiddos, and some parents too, this can cause a bit of havoc with our circadian rhythms - wake up times change which can throw your routine completely out of schedule. 

When the clocks change our bodies need to adjust, and how you handle this change is down to you and your family. As a child sleep consultant here are the two paths I recommend.

1️⃣Path #1:

This is for:

• Parents who like to have a clear plan to follow.

• Children and babies who are quite sensitive to change.

• Babies who are under 12 months of age.

If this is you, you are going to adjust to the time change gradually over a number of days. If your baby is super sensitive to change, I recommend adjusting their schedule by 10 minutes a day starting on Monday the 21st of October. This means pushing wake times, meal times, nap times and bedtimes out by 10 minutes each day. Those less sensitive will be able to handle a 15 minute adjustment over 4 days.

By Sunday, when the clocks change, your little ones will already be running on ‘new time’.

2️⃣Path #2:

This is for:

• Parents who have more of a ‘wait and see what happens’ approach to life.

• Children and babies who are flexible to schedule changes.

• Babies over 12 months of age.

• Children who are already waking at 7 am or later.

This group doesn't need to make any changes ahead of time. Allow your children to wake at their usual time on Sunday and immediately switch your entire schedule to ‘new time’. Nap times and meal times will still happen at the same time on the clock that they always do.

If the morning wake time happens to be far earlier than it usually is, bring bedtime 15-30 minutes early on Sunday evening.

✨A Child Sleep Consultant’s Tips for Success: ✨

🥱Always watch your child for sleepy cues rather than being a strict clock-watcher. Allow your child to sleep when they need it to avoid them becoming overtired.

🌞Get outside and exposed to the sun as much as possible during the day and between naps.

🌙Keep bedtime routines consistent, babies and children love that stability amongst the change.

Are you struggling with sleep? Feel free to book a free 15-minute sleep assessment call with me, a child sleep consultant, to see how I can help? As a paediatric sleep consultant and baby sleep consultant, I’m here to support you in navigating these changes for your family.

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