your roadmap to a better daylight savings

Mar 3
2 min read

If you are a parent of a young child, early November and March are the most awfulest times of the year. Daylight savings is the absolute worst.

Imagine finally getting your little on a solid sleep schedule. You have successfully fought the ups and downs of sleep training. If you have older kids, by November, you have mastered your mornings before the bus. You finally get everyone sleeping through the night. Everyone is on-time when they need to be.

Then, it’s 4 am and the kids are wide awake on a Sunday.

Look- if you know me, you know damn well I should not give advice on sleep. I am your girl for squats, not sleep. My kids have struggled their whole lives and it's not changing anytime soon. I've tried everything from melatonin to strict bedtimes to blackout curtains.

However, the week before daylight savings I don't play around.

Here is what we do the week before each time change:

1- Move up or down in 15 minute increments for bedtime AND mornings.

My kids are not great sleepers. So adjusting bedtimes doesn’t always mean they wake up earlier. So, we bump up morning also. This ensures they are getting tired earlier.

2- Use the sunlight to your advantage.

This is particularly helpful when it’s Spring Forward. With warmer weather, try to get the kids outside as much as possible to tire them out for an early bedtime throughout the week.

For the Fall, soak up extra outside time before bed and start a cozier schedule for the evenings. If the weather isn't cooperating - for older kids- start adding a quick round of cards, a game, or read a book together in the evenings. Have them get ready before you do this for an easier transition to sleep.

For the Spring: Have them build a habit of outside time before dinner. This will float into our Summer schedule. But, outside outside outside. And not after dinner. Get them tired, hungry for dinner, and ready for an earlier evening.

I have started opening up all the windows in the morning to let more light in for Spring. Use the Sun to help their own circadian rhythm. This is especially important for babies and toddlers. Outside time is imperative for sleep.

3- Don’t be a hero

Look, there are a zillion things you can do for sleep. Blackout curtains, sound machines, magic sleep-sacks, okay-to-wake clocks, melatonin, you name it. You are not a better parent for avoiding any of these. Sleep is important. Use it if you need it.

Also- if you are able to- swap nights on and off with your partner. We got this idea from a friend and it's been a lifesaver. When our baby is going through a regression we take shifts and swap nights.

Lots of other good tricks here and if you haven't read the 5 S's yet - do it!