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Spring Forward
March 6, 2013 4:00 pm | by

Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend. So at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, we all get to “spring forward” an hour! If you’re a sleep deprived parent like me, you might not be too thrilled about losing another hour of sleep.

I used to love daylight savings time before I had children. Sure, I’d lose an hour on a single day, but I enjoyed having more sunshine after work each day. I also loved that daylight savings time was one of the first signs of spring. When I had children, that changed. I quickly learned that children have a difficult time adjusting to the time change than adults. There have been some years where it has taken our family an entire week to get back in the swing of things after a time change.

After a few years of this chaos, I began to get work on a few parenting tricks. Our family actually begins the transition a little early. A few days before it’s time to “spring forward” I start adjusting bedtimes a teeny bit. Each night (or every other night), I let my little ones stay up 10-15 minutes later than I normally would. Read an extra book, spend a few extra minutes in the bathtub or have a few extra minutes of snuggles. Distraction is the name of the game. Let your little ones think they are getting away with something extra.

By the time Saturday night arrives, the goal is to be halfway through the hour transition. One year I tried to complete the transition by the actual day, but it just didn’t work for our family. Thirty minutes seemed like a much more attainable goal. Once the time change actually hits, we keep the same pace until everyone is fully acclimated to the new time. Sure, it technically still takes us about a week to adjust, but the transition feels a bit less harsh by starting it early. Most importantly, my little ones aren’t cranky a full hour (or more) before bedtime on Sunday night and Monday morning isn’t as traumatic.

How do you help your little ones through the daylight savings time transitions? Share your tips in the comments below, so maybe this weekend will be a little easier on all of us.

About the Author

Heather is mom to four, born within 40 months (single, twins, single). She writes transparently about her chaotic household to encourage others through the twists and turns of parenting.

Comments

3 Comments

  • Anonymous said...
    March 15, 2013 at 2:33 am

    I became father a few months back and really it was an awesome feeling!!!
    swim nappy

  • Jill said...
    March 7, 2013 at 9:27 am

    same with anon. we’ll just put them to bed at the ‘normal’ time which will be an hour earlier. it will probably make the 4 year old mad, but that’s tough. if nothing else, we’ll make it so it’s only moving a half hour total. that way daddy and I still get some time at night instead of rushing them off to bed and immediately going to sleep ourselves!

  • Anonymous said...
    March 6, 2013 at 4:02 pm

    Going to bed later has never meant waking later for my little one. I’m a night owl.. I wish!