Great tips on how to prepare your child for the clocks going forward soon
In the wee hours of the 25th March on Sunday morning we will be springing forward which really means one hour less of precious sleep. But how will it affect your child?
Daylight saving time 2018 in Republic of Ireland will begin at 01:00 on Sunday 25 March.
It's potentially good news for those with early risers in the house as they may adjust to waking a little later in future as 6am now becomes 7am. However if this is not then case and you want to some assistance in how to prevent your child waking earlier for the future, here are a few simple pieces of advice that will help.
- Try to stick to the original routine as much as possible. Settle your child for their naps as near to the time as possible. If the go for their morning nap at 10am , their body clock is telling them it is 9am but put them to bed as near to this time as you can. If you keep to this same routine throughout the day, including bedtime, they will fall into the new times over a couple of days.
- From today or tomorrow, to the routine in advance, by putting your child to sleep putting your child to bed 10 minutes earlier each night increasing by 10 minutes every night until they are going to sleep about half an hour earlier than their normal bed time. Don’t be concerned if they are waking a little earlier than normal as soon the clock change will mean that their wake up time will be the same as usual.
- On the day before the change (Saturday), encourage your child to have a busy, energetic day. Get them out doors and moving. Put them to bed a little earlier than usual which will mean an earlier waking time
Investing in black out blinds can be helpful in helping children go to sleep easier in these longer bright evenings.
- It can take between 7 – 10 days for children to adjust to the new routine, so if all else fails, you should be back to normal in no time.