Daylight Savings Time: How to Make it NOT Suck

Confession time: I never believed in preparing for the time change until last year with two kids. It was THE WORST.

Of course, when it rains is pours. I was solo parenting because my husband was out of town for work for a few days, and it just so happened to align with the start or end of Daylight Saving Time (I don’t remember if it was Fall or Spring - y’all, I was in survival mode!). Lulu was about 6 months old.

I’m not kidding you, both my kids were up at 4:00 a.m. I tried to keep them in their rooms in the dark until 5:00 a.m.

I ended up making lunch around 10:00 a.m. that day, and they were both falling asleep during lunch. Lulu in her highchair, and Lukas at the table. I thought to myself, “Y’all better take a GREAT nap, since we’ve been awake SINCE 4:00 a.m.!”

They were crying. I was crying. I think I’m scarred from it.

So, naturally, I want you to learn from my mistakes.

Considerations for Daylight Saving Time

Number of Children

If you’ve got one baby…fine. It’s not too big of a deal. You can make adjustments over a few days or just jump into the new time and schedule.

If you’ve got more than one child, though, do what you can to prepare your children. You may want to further consider their temperaments and current schedules.

Temperatment of Child or Children

Some children are just more sensitive to changes than others. If you know your child likely falls into this category, it’s not a bad idea to try to adjust things a few days in advance of the time change in order to set your child up for success.

If your child is more flexible and can go with the flow, you may not need to worry about doing a gradual adjustment and can just jump into the new time.

How to Adjust for the Time Change

There are so many options for adjusting (or not adjusting) your child’s schedule for Daylight Saving Time:

• Before the time change

• After the time change

• Gradually adjust

• Split the difference

• Jump right into the new time cold turkey

So many options! But I want to make it EASY for you!

Here’s what you’re going to do:

End of DST: The Fall Time Change

Start by pushing your child’s schedule 15-20 minutes every 2-3 days leading up to the time change day. 

You’ll want to bring everything 15-20 minutes later about a week before the time change. Every 2-3 days, bring it another 15-20 minutes later. That way, by Sunday morning after the time change, you’ll be able to hop right into the regular schedule seamlessly.

If you're more tied down to a schedule (for example, if your child goes to daycare), start adjusting at bedtime Friday night. Friday night put your child down for bed 30 minutes later. Repeat with naps on Saturday (they should all be 30 minutes later than usual). Then, at bedtime on Saturday night, put your child to bed a whole hour later than normal. Sunday morning after the time change, jump into their regular schedule again.

Beginning of DST: The Spring Time Change

Start by bringing your child’s schedule 15-20 minutes earlier 2-3 days leading up to the time change day. 

You’ll want to bring everything 15-20 minutes earlier about a week before the time change. Every 2-3 days, bring it another 15-20 minutes earlier. That way, by Sunday morning after the time change, you’ll be able to hop right into the regular schedule seamlessly.

And, again, if you're more tied down to a schedule (for example, if your child goes to daycare), start adjusting at bedtime Friday night. Friday night put yoru child down for bed 30 minutes earlier than normal. Repeat with naps on Saturday (they should all be 30 minutes earlier than usual). Then, at bedtime on Saturday night, put your child to bed a whole hour earlier than normal. Sunday morning after the time change, jump into their regular schedule again.

Does this feel like Greek to you?

Thinking about the time change can literally hurt your brain (at least it does mine!). If you’d benefit from chatting through it with a professional, my Mini Sleep Strategy Call (30 minutes for $65) would be a great option! Get all your questions answered and have a plan in place to ensure this DST goes as smoothly as possible!