Many parents who work very hard to establish a healthy sleep routine can dread daylight savings time. Parents worry about how this one hour change in time will alter their well preserved sleep schedule. The good news is the change in time should not significantly alter your child’s sleep habits. The even better news is the “spring forward” time change is easier on children’s sleep than the “fall back” time change.

Since the time change occurs in the wee hours of Sunday, March 9th this year, I recommend beginning making changes to your routine starting Saturday, March 8th. If your child does not nap then put her down 15 minutes earlier at bedtime starting Saturday evening and continue to do this nightly until she is at the appropriate bedtime. If your child is still napping then put your child down at her normal naptime on Saturday, but wake her about halfway through her final nap. For example, if your child naps from 1pm to 3pm then wake her at 2pm. If your child takes a morning and afternoon nap then put her down normally for her morning nap, but wake her from her afternoon nap after 45 minutes of sleep if she typically naps for an hour and a half. That evening put your child to bed 15-30 minutes earlier than normal. How much earlier you are able to do is dependent on your child, but the earlier the better.