How to survive Daylight Saving Time (fall edition)

Plan 1: Do Nothing

Don't laugh. Yes, this is really one of my options! Being transparent here, this is what my family typically does. We do nothing. We put the boys to bed at their usual 7pm time and then we get them up on the morning of DST at 7am (which feels like 8am to them).

This approach does not work for everyone, but it will work if your children are slightly older (I'd say 12-18 months +), if they are well-rested, AND if you are good about enforcing a regular wake up time in your house. That third criteria is the biggest.

If your baby/toddler is automatically taken out of their crib in the morning no matter when they wake or if your child gets out of bed in the morning and wanders to your room to get you no matter what time it is, this plan will NOT work for you.

In our house, we are very intentional about what time we all start our day and we have been since my boys were babies. Wake up time is 7am in our house and if the boys happen to wake before then, they have learned (and my husband and I have enforced) that they lay or play quietly in their crib/bed until we come to get them at 7am. If this sounds like your family, you can probably get away with doing nothing for DST. Sounds nice, right?

Plan 2: The 30 Minute Shift

If the above "plan" stresses you out or you realize you just aren't the type of family that will work for, here is your next option. I'll use a 7pm-7am schedule for ease of explaining.

Saturday night, before the time change, you will put your child down for bed 30 minutes later than usual. With our example, that would mean 7:30pm.

Sunday morning your child will probably wake at 6-6:30am according to the clock but it will feel like 7-7:30am to them. If they wake any earlier than 6:30am, do not get them up until the clock says 6:30am. If they wake before 6:30am, still use 6:30am to count their wake time to the first nap. For the rest of the day, their naps will probably be about 30 minutes earlier than usual according to the clock. For example, if they typically nap at 9:30am and 2:30pm, their naps on Sunday will be 9am and 2pm.

Sunday night you will put your child to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual, as well. So that means a 6:30pm bedtime (although it will feel like 7:30pm to their body still).

Monday morning you simply shift back to the typical 7am wake up! Again, if they wake earlier than 7am, do not get them up until the clock says 7am. Now their naps and bedtime should be completely back to normal. They may still be adjusting and they may struggle slightly at bedtime, but fear not! Experts say that for every 1 hour of jet lag we experience while traveling, it takes our bodies 1 day to adjust.

AKA- this should not throw your child out of whack for weeks! If it does, you've likely reinforced an early wake up and you need to address that issue.

Bonus Plan:

In case the 30 minute shift really has you freaking out, you can try 15 minute shifts instead. I would only recommend trying this if your baby is younger (under 1 year) and if you feel they are very sensitive to their schedule. Most well-rested children should be fine with the 30 Minute Shift.

You would use the above plan for 4 days and shift the schedule earlier by 15 minutes over 4 days. This one gets really complicated to explain and implement, and it's one of the reasons why I just prefer the 30 minute shift anyways! Get your pen and paper out if you decide to do 15 minutes! 🙂

With Daylight saving time ending, I can't let you go without reminding you to make sure your children's rooms are VERY dark!

What is 7am now will soon be 6am so go into your child's room 1 hour after they currently wake up and see how dark it is. Shut the door, turn off the lights, cover your windows however you typically cover them, and put your hand out. Can you see your hand? If you can, it's probably not dark enough! Any light that streams in acts like a signal to your child's brain that it's time to wake up.

If we don't want them waking too early, we have to troubleshoot to get that room nice and dark. Aluminum foil or garbage bags over the window are a great solution! If you are looking for a more permanent and aesthetically pleasing solution, I highly recommend BlackoutEZ window covers. We personally use them and they are awesome! You can read more about them HERE.

Got a toddler who already struggles with early waking? Check out these 2 toddler clocks I recommend:

The Kidstible Toddler Lamp- This sleep trainer lamp is designed that a battery and gradually fills up as the night goes on. When it's wake up time the battery is fully charged- just like your child! To read more about my personal review of this product (I own 3 and use each one in my home) check out 5 reasons I love this toddler sleep trainer lamp.

The Mella toddler clock- This sleep trainer clocks alerts your child with a green light when they can wake up and start their day. Take 10% off your purchase with my code: allthesleeps10