How to Prepare Your Little One for the Spring Time Change

Before having a baby, time changes probably weren’t really a concern for you, but now that you have kiddos it can bring about some stress wondering how they are going to adjust & what this is going to do to their sleep. But don’t worry! I’m going to give you all the tips on how to make this transition a bit easier. 

Preparing for the time change will depend on your child. 

If your little one is easy going (meaning they typically do perfectly fine when their schedule is thrown off a bit) you don’t necessarily need to do anything! Just follow their same routine/schedule the next day with the new time & give your little one time to adjust on their own. 

But if your little one isn’t so easy going & you want to help them adjust slowly, you can start shifting their whole schedule (sleep times, meal times, bath time, everything!) by 15 minutes at a time. I would recommend doing this for a few days then shifting it again by 15 minutes for a few days, and continue doing this leading up to the time change. You can do this as gradually as you would like! I would recommend starting a week or so in advance but do what you feel is best! 

With the spring time change, the time will move forward 1 hour (so the old 7pm will now be 8pm) which means we'll want to start shifting your little ones routine back 15 minutes at a time.

For example, say your little ones usual routine is: 

7am wake up, 9am nap, 12pm lunch, 1pm nap, 3pm snack, 5:30pm dinner, 6pm bath, 7pm bedtime 

You would shift their routine for a few days to be: 

6:45am wake up, 8:45am nap, 11:45pm lunch, 12:45pm nap, 2:45pm snack, 5:15pm dinner, 5:45pm bath, 6:45pm bedtime 

Then continue to adjust their routine by 15 minutes every few days so that their routine before the time change is: 

6am wake up, 8am nap, 11pm lunch, 12pm nap, 2pm snack, 4:30pm dinner, 5pm bath, 6pm bedtime 

Then when the time change comes, they'll be back to their usual schedule! With wake up at 7am, bedtime at 7pm, etc. 

Now, if you have a child that is an early riser, this time change may work to your advantage! You could potentially leave their new routine as is with the new time & see if they continue to sleep in an extra hour (meaning if they normally woke at 6am, had a nap at 9am, etc. you would now have them wake at 7am, nap at 10am, etc. So their entire day would shift an hour later in hopes that they would keep their wake up an hour later than usual). Many will revert back to their normal wake up time if you adjust the rest of their day to the new time. 

Other Tips

• Blackout curtains ~ this time changes means their will likely be sunshine still when it’s time for your kiddos to go to bed which can make it harder to settle if it is bright in the room as any light will inhibit melatonin 

• Be patient ~ it typically doesn’t take long for your little ones to adjust but they may be thrown off a bit for a few days. Give them extra time at bedtime to wind down & know that they will adjust!

• Fresh air & sunlight ~ get outside during the day as much as you can. The fresh & sunshine will help regulate their circadian rhythms

• Avoid talking about the sun as a cue for bedtime/wake up time. The time for sunrise/sunset is constantly changing & this can be confusing for our toddlers & preschoolers. Stick to something more permanent like a sleep clock instead

Hope this was helpful!