It’ s almost that time of year… the clocks move forward, the days get longer, warmer and lighter…. And our children’s routines seem to go out the window. Well, they don’t have to!

Here are a few pointers for preparing for the daylight savings transition:

General Tips:

  • Keep your regular day and night routine
  • Ensure your child’s bedroom is dark enough – You can use foil, garbage bags, or black out blinds. Although the mornings will be darker, the evenings will be lighter (making it more difficult for some children to get to sleep)
  • Avoid any other transitions over this time (moving into a big kid bed, night weaning of any kind etc.)
  • My recommendation is moving bedtime, nap times, and meal times earlier by 15 minutes per day, over four days. You also have the option of doing this more gradually (i.e. 10 mins earlier per day over 6 days), or cold turkey; however, this can be more disruptive for children and babies who are less adaptable. Below is a step by step guide to transitioning your baby/toddler into the new Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT) –  Sunday 12th March, 2017 

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*The above transition assumes a 7:00am – 7:00pm schedule
*For parents who have early risers (ie. 6:00am or earlier), you won’t have to wake your babies in the morning, however, you will continue to make adjustments to meal times, nap time/s and bedtimes as outlined above.

Posted in Routine, Sleep Transitions

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