On October 27th our clocks will go back an hour. “Fall back”, This means everyone gets an extra hour in bed, except us lucky ones that have little children! So if you have a child that usually wakes at 6:30am this will probably mean on Sunday they will be up at the new time of 5:30am.Yikes!
Here are some simple steps to follow to help your little one adjust to the new time change on Sunday and get them back on track.
Step 1: Do nothing
I’ve told all my parents is just to leave the clocks alone so it’s not a psychologically upsetting event to see your little one up an hour earlier. Just get up at your usual time and start the day. After your cup of coffee and a bit of breakfast, then you can go around changing the clocks. It will feel much better this way, trust me! It will probably mean ignoring your ipone for a little while as they update automatically
Step 2: Split the difference throughout the day
To gradually help your little one adjust to the new time, move their schedule back 30mins all day. So if your little one usually has their first nap at 9:30am, you will adjust this to 9:00 for the three days after the time change. Do the same to their afternoon nap too.
If your child goes to bed at 7p.m, I recommend putting your child to bed at 6:30p.m. for the first three days following the time change. (This will FEEL like 7:30 to your child.) And it will take about a week for your child’s body to get used to this.
Step 3: Work on the early wake up
For those with babies; when your little one wakes an hour early, don’t rush into them to get them up for the day, keep them in their cot for an extra 15minutes. After a couple of days, move the time later by another 15minutes, do this until you have reached your desired wake up. It will take a week for them to adjust.
For toddlers: If using a Gro Clock or a Digital clock, adjust by 45miutes, So if they usually wake at 7am but will likely now wake at 6am, adjust the Gro clock to light up at 6:15am. As above, extend every couple of days to your desired wake up time
Good luck!