Americans may spend an extra hour in bed this weekend as the clocks “go back” for daylight saving time, but parents of little ones may not be so lucky.
Luckily, pediatric sleep consultant Amanda (@dreamologybyamanda_) promises she has strategies to get your kids to wake up later this Sunday.
And bonus points if it means catching a few more ZZZs — or getting some extra quiet time in the morning — for mom and dad.
While you may not feel that one hour difference as an adult, children can be more affected by a change in their sleep schedule.
“Young children need more sleep and don’t tolerate sleep deprivation the way adults do,” Daniel Lewin, PhD, former director of sleep medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC, told Parents last year. “Losing just one hour can really affect a child’s attention span, appetite and overall mood.”
While it’s too late to implement Amanda’s first tip of moving a child’s wake-up time forward 10 minutes each day for a week, her second option comes up just under the wire.
“The weekend leading up to daylight saving time, you’ll want to extend your wake-up window by five to 15 minutes,” she told her TikTok followers. “The tricky thing about this option is that you don’t want your child to get overtired, so if your child gets tired easily, this may not be the best option for you.”
So tonight, the kids can go to bed about 15 minutes later, so that they get out of bed 15 minutes later on Saturday. That night, bedtime is pushed back another 15 minutes, with a later wake-up call on Sunday—and by Monday morning, they’re hopefully ready in time for school or daycare.
Dr. Lewin agrees that a gradual adjustment like this “isn’t that shocking to the system.”
Finally, Amanda’s third option is to do nothing at all. She noted that some children may be fine with the switch — and if not, they’ll catch up in a few days.
Implementing a good bedtime routine this weekend — and every night — will also make it easier for everyone to adjust, according to Dr. Mario Bialostozky, MD, chief quality officer at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
“Routine is really key,” she told Blue Shield of California. “Kids thrive on routines and consistency. They do better when they go to bed at the same time every day, including weekends.”
Dimming the lights and turning off screens at least half an hour before bed are all expert-approved ways to get ready for a nap.
“Both children and adults need a calming bedtime routine to quiet their brains to promote better sleep,” added Dr. Teri J. Brown, MD, medical director at Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan.
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