It’s that time of year again – the clocks are ‘falling’ back, and the longer, darker evenings are kicking in. How did summer go by so fast?
Now it might just be one extra hour, but even the smallest change can wreak havoc on our kids' sleeping patterns, particularly younger ones.
So to help you prepare them, here are seven tips to ensure their bedtime routines stay on track:
1. Change their bedtime in the lead-up
Prepare for the extra hour over a long weekend by changing their bedtime in 15-minute increments. This way, by the time the clocks go back they’ll be right on schedule. And for younger children, it might help to break it down into shorter amounts of time over a longer period.
2. Keep the lights on before bedtime
When you’re in the middle of the transition it helps to keep the room as bright as possible before bedtime. This will encourage them to stay awake that little bit longer. Keeping the lights on or the blinds open should do the trick.
3. Ensure the room is blacked out
Black-out blinds will keep the room dark in the morning, crucial to ensure your little angels don’t wake up any earlier than they need to – and of course, so they don’t wake you either.
4. Be snack smart
Cutting down on sugary snacks anytime is a good idea, so if your kids are hungry before bedtime a comforting glass of warm or cold fortified milk is a great opportunity to boost their vitamin D intake. Milks such as Avonmore Super Milk contain all the vitamin D they need which is especially important during winter when they can’t get it from the sun..
5. Stay flexible
Another option you could consider is to stick to your normal schedule up until the time change, and once it kicks in, be flexible and alter the schedule as much as your child can handle. Splitting the difference works well – so on the first night they would go to bed at 6.30pm, which would have been 7.30pm the day before.
6. Have wind-down time
In the hour or so before bedtime, change children’s activities to something relaxing, like reading or colouring. Turn off anything too stimulating, like the TV or iPad.
7. Adjust your schedule too
Make the routine easier for everyone to adapt to by changing your schedule in exactly the same way you’re changing the kids’. To make the transition as smooth as possible, it’s important the whole family is in sync.
Whatever you decide to do, just keep in mind it can take about a week, if not more, for the body to get used to changes in sleeping habits. So don’t worry if for a week or so things are a little off.
