How to Support Your Child With the Spring Clock Change
On Sunday 27th March, we go back to British Summer Time, meaning the clock's will skip forward an hour at 2am in the morning. This also happens to be Mother's Day, depriving us mum's with an hour of sleep... someone did not time this right!
What it does mean is lighter evenings and darker mornings for a little longer. So if you're little one has been waking a little earlier than normal due to the light coming through the curtains, it'll go back to being dark for a little while longer (and will give you a little bit more time to invest in some good black out blinds ready for the summer!)
So what can you do to support your child's sleep (and yours) through this clock change?
1. A gradual time change of 15, 20, or 30 minutes.
For example, if your child goes to bed at 7pm usually, then you want to aim for a 6pm bedtime on Saturday night. With a gradual time change, you want to change the time gently over a few days. So for 15 minute changes, aim to start on Wednesday.
Wednesday 6:45pm bedtime
Thursday 6:30pm
Friday 6:15pm
Saturday 6pm
(You can do the same with 20 minutes over 3 nights, or 30 minutes over 2 nights)
2. You can also do the opposite and gradually bring the time back to the normal sleep time after the event has happened. So put your baby to bed at the normal time on Saturday 26th March, then gradually adjust the bedtime over the next few days. So for the 15 minute changes:
Sunday night 7:45pm
Monday night 7:30pm
Tuesday night 7:15pm
Wednesday night back to 7pm
(Again you can do the same with 20 minutes over 3 nights, or 30 minutes over 2 nights)
3. Make a gradual change in the morning instead - this can work well for older children who use a Gro Clock. Just adjust the time on the clock for the morning. You can do the full hour! But you also want to make it achievable for your child. So try 15-20 minutes per day (obviously remembering to change the time each night on the clock!)
4. Just wing it! You could put them to bed at the normal time and just see how they go! Sometimes a 'go with the flow' mentality can just keep everyone calm! You can always adjust the time over the next few nights if it doesn't go well!
Either way, try and remain relaxed, look after yourself and hope that someone will bring you breakfast in bed on Mother's Day on Sunday with a strong coffee!
