MOMally Guide to Navigating the Time Change
The arrival of Daylight Saving Time in the spring often brings a sense of dread to parents. While the rest of the world laments the loss of an hour of sleep, parents of young children worry about the disruption to carefully crafted routines.
The "Spring Forward" transition typically means that if your child usually wakes at 7:00 AM, their body will feel like it is 6:00 AM. While this can sometimes help with early morning risers, it often leads to bedtime resistance and overtiredness as the week progresses.
The good news is that there is no "right" way to handle this. You are the expert on your child. Some families prefer a proactive approach to minimize overtiredness, while others prefer to let nature take its course. Both are perfectly valid options.
Strategy 1: The Ultra-Gradual Shift
(2-Week Lead Time)
If you have a child who is particularly sensitive to schedule changes or prone to becoming overtired quickly, starting early is the best way to protect their sleep. By moving the schedule in tiny 10-minute increments, the body hardly notices the change.
Strategy 2: The Moderate Shift
(1-Week Lead Time)
This is a great middle-ground for families who want to prepare but do not want to spend two weeks tracking minutes. This involves 15-minute shifts every two days.
Strategy 3: The "Wait and See" Approach
(No Prep)
You also have the full permission to do absolutely nothing. You do not have to prep for the time change if you do not want to. You can simply change your clocks on Sunday and jump right into the new schedule.
While this might result in a few "off" days where your child seems a bit more tired or stays awake later in the evening, the human body is designed to adapt. Within a week or two, your child’s internal clock will naturally synchronize with the new light-dark cycle of the sun.
| Timeline | Ultra-Gradual | Moderate | No Prep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 to 7 Days Before | Shift 10-20 mins earlier | No change yet | No change |
| 6 to 5 Days Before | Now 30 mins earlier | Shift 15 mins earlier | No change |
| 4 to 3 Days Before | Now 40 mins earlier | Now 30 mins earlier | No change |
| 2 to 1 Days Before | Now 50 mins earlier | Now 45 mins earlier | No change |
| Time Change Sunday | Fully Adjusted | Adjust last 15 mins | Full 60 min jump |
Environmental Control
Regardless of which strategy you choose, the environment plays a huge role in how quickly the brain adjusts:
- Prioritize Darkness: As the evenings get lighter, use high-quality room-darkening shades to signal to your child’s body that it is time for rest.
- Morning Light: Get outside in the sunlight as soon as possible on Sunday morning. This helps reset the circadian rhythm and tells the brain the day has officially begun.
Troubleshooting: When Real Life Happens
We know that even the best-laid plans can go sideways when you add toddlers, daycare, and life into the mix. Here are the answers to the most common "hiccups" parents face during this week.
What do I do if my child is in daycare?
This is the most common stressor for working parents. You can control your home clock, but you cannot ask a center to shift their entire lunch and nap schedule by 15 minutes just for your child.
- The Fix: Focus on what you can control. Shift your morning wake-up time and bedtime at home according to the schedule. Accept that daycare naps will happen at the "old" times. Your child is resilient; they might be a little extra tired in the evenings, so offer a bedtime that is 15-30 minutes earlier on daycare days to compensate.
Does this apply to naps too, or just bedtime?
Yes, move everything. If you are shifting bedtime 15 minutes earlier, shift the nap 15 minutes earlier too. If you keep the nap at the old time but try to move bedtime earlier, the wake window (the time they are awake before sleep) will be too short, and they simply will not be tired enough to sleep.
My baby is only 3 months old. Do I need to do this?
No. Newborns (0-4 months) generally do not have a mature circadian rhythm yet. Their sleep is driven by hunger and sleep pressure, not the clock. You can simply jump to the new time on Sunday and follow their usual wake windows.
I have an "Early Riser" who wakes at 5:00 AM. Will this fix it?
This is your lucky week! If your child wakes at 5:00 AM, on Sunday morning, the clock will read 6:00 AM.
- The Fix: Do not shift their schedule in advance. Just let them wake up at their biological time on Sunday. It will now be a "socially acceptable" hour. Keep them on that new clock schedule moving forward.
I started the gradual shift, but my toddler is just lying in bed awake.
The "bedtime fading" or shifting logic assumes the child will actually fall asleep. When they do not, parents often panic.
- The Fix: If they are not tired enough to sleep at the earlier time, you cannot force it. Pause the shift. It is better to have a later bedtime with a child who falls asleep easily than an earlier bedtime with a child who cries or battles you for 45 minutes. You might just be a "Strategy 3" family, and that is okay.
What if I completely forgot to start preparing?
If you are reading this just a few days before the time change, do not panic. You can switch to a condensed version (shifting 30 minutes over the weekend) or just choose the "Wait and See" method. Your child will adjust eventually, regardless of prep.