|
The annual Fall Back on November 1st this year can cause sleep disruptions in your child’s sleep patterns. However there are steps that you can take to minimize these disruptions.
Oh no it’s not that time of year again; yes it is daylight savings time. I can hear you all groaning now, but there is no need to dread this time of year anymore.
Most children experience sleep loss and schedule disruptions because of the time change. As many parents know, additional sleep deprivation is not something they can afford. Too many children will sacrifice yet another hour of sleep when the clocks change - an hour they cannot afford to lose in most cases.
By making a few simple lifestyle changes, most children can achieve the sleep that is needed to feel alert, refreshed and ready to take on the day. These steps can help them transition into Daylight Saving Time.
There are a number of ways that you can deal with daylight savings time ending, but here I am going to give you my two tried and true ways.
So let’s say that on Monday Nov 2nd your child generally gets up at 7am, then you should wake him at 7am. It doesn’t matter if it is not “really” 7am. Also put him down at the regular time for his naps, don’t put him down earlier because he is tired. Now I know this will be difficult to do but it is in his best interest , because if you don’then it will make it much harder to adjust to the new time.
Remember to maintain your child\'s regular sleep, wake and nap times. Try not to compensate for the lost hour by delaying bedtime or allowing your child to sleep in. This will increase the time it takes to transition. There may be some crankiness from being tired, but this should last only a day or two.
Altenativley you can wake your child 1 hr early on Sunday October 31st which may make life a little easier seeing as it isnt a work/school day. Also seeing as it is Halloween that day, I would try and get your child to take a longer nap in the afternoon before you go trick or treating.
The other way is to adjust your child’s schedule by 15 minutes every night , so lets say for example that your child goes to bed at 7.30pm on daylight savings time, so on Thursday October 28th put him to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual at 7.15pm , on Friday 7pm, then Saturday another 15 minutes at 6.45pm and then on Sunday night November 1st another 15 minutes, so he is will be in bed at 6.30. By this time you have already adjusted 60 minutes, so on Monday morning you wake your child at his regular time. This should alleviate any crankiness or tiredness.
One of these ways will definatly work for you and your baby, as I said I have been using these two ways for years and they have never failed me yet.
So go ahead and enjoy your trick or treating and stop dreading Fall Back this year!
Author Bio: Kathy Sinclair CNCS, CPD, CLE, graduated from Australia’s prestigious Charlton Brown Nanny College and began her professional career as a Nanny in 1993. Kathy developed her specialty with Infant Sleep while working as a Newborn Care Specialist in Los Angeles. Currently the founder of Baby Sleep Solutions, Kathy provides one on one individualized sleep consultations, leads Mommy & Infant groups for new moms and lectures on sleep in and around Los Angeles. She lives in Ventura, Ca with her husband and three dogs. She may be contacted through her website www.babysleepsolutionsla.com |
