Daylight saving 31st March…help your child’s sleep

3rd March 2024 0 Comments

What impact will the clock change have on your child’s sleep?

The clocks will spring forward on Sunday 31st March 2024 and we say goodbye to the cold dark winter evenings and welcome longer brighter days.

Losing an hour of sleep may not impact parent’s sleep too much, but it could play havoc your baby or child’s sleep patterns.

Your little one may not seem ready for sleep at their normal bedtime and struggle to fall asleep and then when the morning comes it’s hard to get them up and they seem tired and groggy, just not ready to start the day.

Here are our top tips to avoid bedtime battles and morning meltdowns when the clocks spring forward on 31st March…

For about a week leading up to the clock change start putting your child to bed 15 minutes earlier every 2 days.
You will need to move the start of their bedtime routine, nap times and just as importantly meal times too.
The aim is to advance your child’s body clock so they are able to fall asleep an hour earlier than before.
And just as importantly you will need to wake them up 15 minutes earlier in the morning.

Bedtime:

In the run up to bed give your child clear signals that bedtime is coming with a focused winding down routine.
About an hour before you put your little one to bed, help them wind down with some quiet calming fine-motor play or cuddly story time.
After about 15 minutes of quiet time take them for a 5 to 10 minute bath.
Try to keep the bath more like a spa than a water park; having a lively bath just before bed could over stimulate them and give your cild a second wind.
After the bath it’s best to go straight to the bedroom to get them dressed for bed.
Read them a quiet story, have a lovely cuddle and then get into their cot or bed.
It’s best to keep the bedroom darkened to help promote the sleep hormone melatonin and just use a small nightlight with a red or amber bulb to help prepare your child for bed.

The morning:

As soon as you can in the morning get the whole family into daylight, this will help suppress the sleep hormone and wake your little one up.
If your child is already an early riser and 5.00 am is their usual wake up time, there is nothing you need to do to prepare other than enjoy a lie-in.

Then you can embrace the lighter mornings and longer days!

Written by Mandy Gurney RGN.RM.DIPHV- Founder of Millpond Children’s Sleep Clinic

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