Kiddipedia Sleep Support
It has come to that time of year where the weather is cooling down and the days are getting shorter. If you are a parent, then this isn’t as much about moving towards autumn leaves and more temperate days, but how are you going to tackle the move back from daylight savings. Your little one may have been waking at 7am but that will now become 6am and that isn’t such a welcome time! And if you have an early riser on your hands, 6am will become 5am!! So, we definitely need to make sure we make the transition in a way that will help our little sleepers and not see us going backwards!
I see so many clients and families who are unsure of how to best manage the transition. Often, they feel that if they just leave their little one as is, they will eventually adjust when the clocks change and nothing needs to be done. This rarely works and it can end up taking their little body clocks much longer to adjust. I find a gentle transition leading up to the change works best and allows your little one to adjust much more quickly than if done in the one go.
If you would like to follow my advice then I would recommend on the Thursday before the change, you start the gentle transition by simply moving their evening feed and bedtime 10 mins later to 7:10pm. On the Friday before the change, you will look to let them sleep in or encourage them to start their day later at 7:20am. Hopefully the later bedtime the evening before helps with this. If you just can’t get them to start later in the morning that’s ok. Just try to shift their routine later as the day goes on. So, aim for everything a full 20 mins later all day.
The next step on Friday evening is to add an extra 20 mins, popping them to bed at 7:40pm. On Saturday morning hopefully that later bedtime will help your little one to sleep later and you can get them up and start your day at 7:40am. Again, follow the whole day that 40 mins later until the evening when you stretch it out again and aim for an 8pm bed. Hopefully, this does the trick and you see your little one waking at the new 7am on Sunday!! If you have followed this transition you should find you have little to no disruption to normal sleep patterns. If your little one doesn’t adjust this easily, it may take a few more days but I guarantee they will adjust so much better than if you make no changes and just ‘wing it!’
I find families actually enjoy this transition back as they may have little ones who get really sensitive to a later evening than usual and it can mean there are not many family outings that extend into the evening. With these later bedtimes on the Friday and Saturday, it can be a great chance to get out to a restaurant you like as a family that perhaps isn’t open as early as the ones you usually go to! That 6pm opening time can be a killer with a little one! So, it’s nice to be able to relax more as a family.
If your little one is an early riser then the end of daylight savings can be a worry, as you fear they will be up earlier than usual. Don’t worry too much. The transition often takes care of this and if not then it is important to check the most obvious causes this time of year. Check the room is fully blacked out now, as the sun will be up earlier. Also, it is starting it get colder, so you may want to ensure you have an oil or panel heater to come on as needed. Or do a recheck of your little one’s clothing, bedding and sleeping bag tog to make sure it’s appropriate for the current weather, as cold is a common cause of early wake-ups.
I will always be honest with parents as there are unfortunately other little ones who will keep waking early or even begin, despite the transition. This is because there is a deeper lying issue. Something else needs to be addressed and honestly, there are multiple things that can be at play. This is where I would look through the rest of their environment, their feeding or diet and their routine. Dream Winks is a holistic approach, so if the daylight savings time change-back sees issues, give it a couple of weeks and if that doesn’t do the trick then the overall picture needs to be looked at. Once other issues are addressed that’s when it all comes together and parents will see great sleep.
| Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Wake Up | 7am | 7:20am | 7:40am | New 7am |
| Day Routine | As normal | 20 mins later | 40 mins later | As normal |
| Evening feed | 10 mins later | 40mins later | 60 mins later | As normal |
| Bedtime | 7:10pm | 7:40pm | 8:00pm | As normal |
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