The thought of getting an extra hour of sleep when daylight saving time ends on Nov. 6 sounds amazing, but perhaps you have found reality looks a little different.
In the past you might have looked forward to waking up feeling rested and refreshed after extra sleep. Yet as you enjoyed your sleep, you were suddenly awakened at an extraordinarily early hour by the sound of the kids rushing into your room wide awake and ready for the day. The dream of an extra hour of sleep evaporated, and you realized it was going to take days to get the kids adjusted to the new schedule.
Sound familiar? So how do we help our kids adjust to the new time? There is an ongoing debate about whether we still need to practice daylight saving, but as it is something we still observe, we offer these tips to make the transition easier:
- Make small changes in advance.
The week before daylight saving ends, consider keeping the kids up for an extra 10 minutes each night and let them sleep in slightly later than they normally would. This will gradually shift their internal clock. The more time they are given to adjust, the less likely they are to get tired too early and wake up too early once the time has changed.
- Set expectations and help them understand the time change.
Talk to the kids about what daylight saving is and how it impacts our schedules. Consider setting the clock in their room with the “new” time the day before the change to help them begin thinking on the new time.
When they go to bed on Oct. 31, set the expectation of what time you want them to come out of their rooms in the morning, and let them know they aren’t to come out of their rooms until the designated time.
- Have indoor activities ready.
The actual loss of time isn’t the only big adjustment when daylight saving ends. The loss of daylight itself can be quite difficult.
For a child who enjoys playing outside after school, there will be significantly less time to run and play before dark. Finding ways for the kids to expend energy during winter is going to be essential, so perhaps that means getting a mini trampoline for the basement, finding some workout videos you can do with your kids or getting a membership to an indoor pool.
Less daylight also has well-documented impacts on overall mental health. To combat the winter blues, make sure you have other fun activities for the kids to do indoors all winter long. This might include more board games, puzzles and art projects.
As it will get light earlier, you might also consider window coverings in the children’s rooms to block out sunlight.
- Make it a fun time!
Have a special daylight saving activity the evening of the time change. Whether that involves watching a specific movie, making a certain meal or playing a favorite game, if the kids associate daylight saving time with an enjoyable family activity, they may be more apt to cooperate with the guidelines you give them for the new schedule.
With these tips, we hope you actually find yourself sleeping in the extra hour we lost in the spring. Enjoy!
Allison Gibeson is a Lee’s Summit writer and mom who adores fall but wishes it did not mean diminishing hours of daylight.