How to Handle the Spring Clock Change

- Laura Thompson | 22nd March 2022 -

Clocks spring forward this weekend, once upon a time that meant losing an hour in bed but now we have children that means 6am is 7am … magical! BUT it does also mean that we will be attempting to put children to bed at what feels like an hour earlier when the sun is still shining outside!

Let’s talk through your options for getting prepared and handling the change as smoothly as possible;

A Gradual Shift

This approach works really well for little one’s who are more sensitive to change. It means planning ahead and starting on the Wednesday or Thursday before the clocks change.

With this approach you will shift your child’s whole routine in small increments meaning that you are not having to wake them a whole hour earlier or try and get them to sleep a whole hour earlier! It means that by Sunday you will have already moved the schedule by a full hour and everything should just be far more seamless!

Don’t worry if you are reading this too late to start the gradual shift, you have other options below! You could also use the gradual shift after the clocks change. So on Sunday morning your child would usually wake at 8am (feels like 7am) wake them at 7:45am and shift the rest of your day accordingly. Do this by 15 minutes a day and by Wednesday you will be back on your 7-7 schedule!

Meet in the middle

This approach is a happy medium that doesn’t require as much prep but also allows the transition to be a little more gradual. It means splitting the difference so on the Saturday before the clock change you will wake your child 30 minutes before their usual wake time (6:30am if your child usually wakes at 7am).

You will move everything for the day 30 minutes earlier to start setting your child’s circadian rhythm. This means naps, mealtimes and bedtime all need to move 30 minutes earlier.

All in One

You could absolutely just roll with this clock change and not change anything! In my opinion this is slightly more difficult to do for this change than the Autumn clock change because you will be asking your child to go to bed what feels like an hour earlier to them. If you are going to do this I suggest you ensure they are awake at their normal time the day of clock change (which will feel an hour earlier). You’ll want to get in lots of physical activity and outside time to help them be ready for sleep (more on that later!)

You could also just shift to a later schedule for the spring and summer months so for example if you are currently on a 7am-7pm schedule shift everything to 8am-8pm if your life style allows.

Daylight & Darkness

This clock change means days are getting longer - lighter evenings! So if you don’t already have a blackout solution in your child’s room I urge you to get one now! You may very well be putting your child to bed when it is still light outside so we need to help those sleepy hormones along a little bit by creating a dark environment.

Whilst going through this transitional time where the body is getting used to the new times getting outside into daylight will be your best friend! Try and get outside into the natural day light first thing in the morning to signal to the brain ‘it’s awake time!’ which will in turn help it settle down at sleep times.

Get Active!

On the Sunday after clocks change try to plan for a day of plenty of activity, get outside and burn off plenty of energy … this is all going to help get your little one’s sleepy enough to go to bed earlier on Sunday night!

Early Risers

You can absolutely use the clock change to your advantage if you have an early riser! I would use the gradual approach to every timing bar wake time. So bring naps, meals and bedtimes earlier but don’t wake your 5am riser any earlier!! This means you will have adjusted their schedule so your 5am riser becomes a 6am riser instead (yes please!)

Equally if you have an early riser and that means you are having to put them to bed very early this could be just what you need to get things on track! A 5am - 6pm schedule becomes 6am-7pm … much more reasonable!

One word of caution with this is that you may want to consider the cause of the early rising … if there is an underlying cause that could creep back in again a few weeks down the line!

A few final words …

This can be a real source of worry for parents but just remember it’s a lot like jetlag and even if you do absolutely nothing everyone will still adjust to the new timings in 3-4 days.

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