SLEEP: Clock Change Tips with Catching Little Dreams
Sleep expert, Naomi Hilliard, from children’s sleep consultancy Catching Little Dreams, Southampton, shares her top tips on how you can navigate the spring clock change with your little ones this March.
The spring (forward) clock change is fast approaching. In the early hours of Sunday 31st March our clocks go forward by an hour, signalling the start of British Summer Time (BST) and that summer is on its way with better temperatures and longer evenings. But this can also fill parents of young children with dread as the time change and lighter nights can be disruptive to children’s sleep patterns and bedtime routines.
Naomi Hilliard from Catching Little Dreams sleep consultancy gives some guidance on how to manage this.
Naomi says “If you have an early riser this is the clock change of dreams as 6am suddenly becomes 7am. If this is you, then you don’t need to adjust your little one’s schedule at all. Simply enjoy a later wake up time!
But to avoid overtired children going to bed an hour later than usual, this clock change means putting your little ones to bed early so they can navigate this change more easily as we are not keeping them awake longer which can lead to them becoming overtired and harder to put to bed.”
Tips to move bedtime earlier:
Option 1: For a sensitive child or younger baby who is still on several naps during the day: Start on the Wednesday before and move bedtime 15 minutes earlier each night.
Option 2: For young toddlers: Move bedtime by half an hour earlier the night before and then half an hour earlier on the night of the clock change.
Option 3: For older toddlers or children: Do the full hour change in one go. Put them to bed an hour early.
Remember if you have a ‘gro-clock’ or toddler clock you will need to change the time on the clock the night before too.
If your little one/s don’t quite adjust from the first night, keep to the new schedule and they will soon adjust nicely.
If your family isn’t getting the sleep you want, get in touch with Naomi for a free 15min consultation.
Call 07799 141 034 or email naomi@catchinglittledreams.co.uk and see her website for lots more sleep tips www.catchinglittledreams.co.uk
