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Daylight Savings Time - It's Back!

Writer's picture: Caroline PavlinikCaroline Pavlinik


Guess what week it is ... Daylight Savings Time!

We will be “springing forward” one hour Sunday, March 8th.

What does this mean for you and your kiddo(s)? We lose an hour of time! To our bodies it will feel like 7 am, but with the time change it will really be 8 am.

Until I had a child, and a child who consistently slept through the night, I had no idea what horror these biannual time changes caused in parents of babies and young children.

One hour is A LOT to adjust to as a baby or toddler - heck it’s hard for us as adults!

My advice: handle this time change slowly in 10-15 minute increments daily (for babies), or 15-20 minute increments every other day (for toddlers on one nap a day). If your kiddo is in daycare and he or she has to be up at a certain time each morning, it will be very helpful if you start adjusting the Monday or Tuesday before the time change kicks in.

What does this look like? Wake your child in the morning 10-20 minutes earlier, put him down for nap(s) 10-20 minutes earlier, and put down for bedtime 10-20 minutes earlier.

Make these small adjustments every day (or every other day) until you are back to your regular schedule with the new time come Sunday! (See Option A)

If you prefer not to even hassle with this until Daylight Savings time is in effect, you can start making the adjustment on Daylight Savings Sunday (see Option B).

What would that look like? Starting Sunday morning of the time change, wake your little one 40-50 min after his or her typical wake up time, put your child down for nap(s) 40-50 minutes later than normal nap time, and make bed time 40-50 minutes later than typical bed time. Continue to make these small shifts daily (or every other day) until you catch up to your previous wake up time/bed time.

What if you are embracing the change because you want your child to sleep in later and don’t mind a slightly later bedtime? In that case, do nothing!

I modeled Options A and B for my own daughter, age two. I am going with Option A because she goes to school three days a week and we hustle to get out of the house in time to make it to school by 9 am.

Feel free to follow my examples calendared below and adjust based on your child’s schedule and age.


If you have any questions on the Daylight Savings time adjustment, or any other sleep challenges, please reach out to me at: Caroline@bedtimeboss.com.



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