TIPS FOR DEALING WITH SPRING FORWARD

Yay Spring is here! That’s right, you’ll be getting an hour less in bed the following morning. Fortunately, many of you are hoping for goods things to come out of this time change, if your baby is waking too early and you are excited of the thought of ‘sleeping in’.

Spring Forward Sleep Strategies

My first recommendation to all parents is to change all the clocks the night before. Won’t it feel nice to think that your little one slept to 7am/8am rather than 6am/7am

Just like the Fall, split the difference rule applies. So, if naptime was usually 9.30am, it’s now 10.00am, the same goes for the afternoon nap you push it 30 minutes later for the three days following the time change. It will be a bit of a push for your child, but not so much that it will cause much damage to her schedule.

Let’s say your child usually goes to bed at 7pm. I recommend putting your child to bed at 7.30pm for the first three days following the time change. (This will FEEL like 6.30pm to your child.) It will take about a week for your child’s body to get used to this. It takes everybody’s body roughly one week to adjust any kind of change in sleeping habits. It may take him a bit more time to fall asleep since he may not be as tired, but in a week’s time he will be back on track again.

On day and night 4, move to the correct time on the clock again.

Give it time and know that your baby will get back on schedule within a week, possibly two.

Extra tips:

Create a night time atmosphere, as the evenings will be brighter. Help the body to realise your child’s nature sleep hormone.The mornings will be brighter I would recommend in investing into black out blinds, a tiny bit of light can arouse you child to wake up from their sleep, you baby will not understand that it’s not morning time yet. I like the Gro Anywhere blinds or Easy blinds.For older children invest into a digital clock, tape up the minutes and teach your child the magic number 7 (if that is your household morning time) and encourage them to stay in bed until they see that magic number 7.