Time to Spring Forward!

This upcoming Sunday, Daylight Saving Time will begin.  Before we all had kids, the only thing we had to worry about was losing an hour of our precious sleep (not that we shouldn't still be concerned about that!).  Now, lots of parents are concerned that they will lose the progress they've made towards a peaceful night of sleep for themselves and their children.  Luckily, that doesn't have to be the case!  Here are some tips for you and your children (courtesy of The Sleep Lady) to ease the transition:

For adults:

• Go to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual tonight.
• On Friday go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual (beginning to see the pattern?).
• On Saturday try to go to bed 45 minutes earlier than your usual bed time.
• Eliminate all caffeine before 1:30 p.m. this week in order to make it easier to go to bed earlier.
• Avoid alcohol this weekend which negatively effects sleep.

For children:

• For children older 2 years old you may be able to follow the adult directives of putting them to bed earlier each night. For younger children make sure they are well napped on Saturday and go to bed on the earlier side.
• When your child wakes up on Sunday morning (any time after 6am) make sure she gets some sunlight first thing in the morning. Do this on Monday also – it will  help her reset her internal clock. This will help you too! “Spring forward” can help some children who are having early rising struggles (waking before 6am) which is great news!
• Schedule your next day’s meals and activities according to the new clock time.
• Your bigger challenge will be to help your child get to the new (later) bedtime without being overtired! That means you have to make naps an absolute priority.  Have a comforting pre-nap routine and get her down for a good, restorative nap or two (depending on her age). Don’t forget an early enough bedtime!

Most of all, focus on making sure everyone gets enough sleep and stay consistent and you'll get through the change with minimal stress!