FALL BACK: How to Help Your Child Adjust
The time change officially happens the first weekend in November this year and this means that your child who has been waking up at 6 AM will now be waking up an hour earlier at 5 AM. Sounds awful…below are some tips to make this transition easier.
Toddlers will adjust a little easier mostly because they are less likely to become overtired and can more easily go to bed one hour earlier (new time 7 PM/old time was 8 PM bedtime) and while there may be some crankiness it won’t be horrible and they will adjust within the first week. It is easier than adjusting an infant’s sleep habits who fall to pieces when they become overtired leading to middle of the night waking’s and some very early morning wake ups.
It is worth your while to spend the week before the time change to shift your infants’ schedule.
Some strategies that can help with the transition:
For toddlers who take 1 or 2 naps you can implement the transition over 4 -5 days by adjusting their nap by 30 minutes every 2 days. For example, if they usually nap at 1 PM, the week before the time change, try putting them down for a nap at 1230 (which will be 1:30 when the fall time change happens) for two days and then at 100 PM (which will be 2 PM after the time change) for another 2 days. You would do the same changes with their bedtime schedule. I their normal bedtime is 7:00PM, you would put them to sleep at 6:30 PM for two days and then 7:00 Pm for two days. This will also change their morning wake up time. Your child may be tired, but they can usually manage this fairly easily.
For babies under one year, it is a little more challenging. How they adjust has more to do with their temperament and personality. Some babies really struggle with a 15-minute adjustment to their sleep schedule while others are more able to adapt quite easily. Our suggestion is to make the change in 15-minute blocks over 4 days. It is best to begin with the morning nap by shifting it 15 minutes later and follow this with shifting all other naps and bedtime by 15 minutes later. Each day move naps by 15 minutes later. For example, on day 1 bedtime would be 7:15, then 7:30, 7:45, and 8:00 which when the time changes your child will be going to sleep at 7:00 PM new time.