Time to move your clocks back one hour. This Sunday marks the end of Daylight Savings Time. Most of us look forward to this extra hour of sleep or plan to use the hour to accomplish something special. However, to parents of young children, this time change is dreaded as it means, at best, that their children will be waking up one hour earlier. At worst, it means that children’s schedules will be thrown off, and hard won sleep habits will be disrupted.

Here are some tips to smooth the transition. There are 3 basic ways of transitioning into the new time. Use one or a combination of these methods and your child’s sleep schedule should be back on track in a few days to a week.

Tip 1 – Cold Turkey: When the time changes, switch to the new time right away. Also switch meals, activities, and naps to the new time. Wake up times may be a bit off for a few days but they will adjust. Don’t start the day before 6am. If your child is fairly easy going, adjustment should be quick and painless with this method.

Tip 2 – Work up to it: This is helpful for children that may be more sensitive to being overtired, to changes in schedules, or who tend to wake up early. Start 4 days before the time change by moving bedtime and wake up time 15 minutes later each day. You can take an even slower approach if you want to.  At the new wake up time, make a big deal about morning, turn the lights on and expose your child to the outdoor light as much as possible.

Tip 3 – Fix it after: Wait until the day of the time change and adjust the child’s schedule over the following days. This method is good for children that tend to get over-tired, however it can make for some early mornings and can take longer. Most of us will naturally adjust to the new time within a week.

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Andrea Strang
Certified Gentle Sleep Coach and Child Sleep Consultant
www.HowToGetKidsToSleep.com

Just got an great report back from a family whose baby was having anxiety around his crib. I’ve worked with several families that have had anxiety issues and I continue to be amazed at the quick progress that babies and toddlers can have in melting away anxieties. This family mentioned that after 1-2 days of following the activities I gave them that they have noticed marked progress. I’m not surprized as I have seen it time and time again.

Simple routine changes can help with anxieties, parent attitudes and grounding exercises.

The family can spend more time in the child’s room during the day playing and doing routine tasks. Some families spend little to no time in the child’s room before they day they decide to start night training in there.

Be relaxed about the child’s anxieties. Try to take a matter-of-fact attitude and calm yourself first before attempting to calm the child. Children can pick up on the parents stress and feel unsafe. If you think this might be an issue at sleep time, try taking 2 deep, cleansing breaths before putting your child in the crib; on the second exhale lay your child gently into the crib.

There are a number of grounding techniques that I use with parents to melt away stress and anxieties. The goal of these activities  is to use simple strategies to calm the child from negative feelings. One activity that I suggest is to calmly take the child around the room and slowly point and name the objects in the room.

Another idea which most parents think sounds a little crazy is to post a life size head shot of  one or more parents in the room. Younger children can relate better if the size is more realistic. Research has been done showing this as helpful for children in dealing with separations, including specific research with children in daycare settings who are giving a picture of Mom to keep in their pockets. The children will take it out and look at it from time to time and be comforted.

I get excited and celebrate every success in this area!

Anyways, I better stop rambling on and get to bed as I was up all night helping a family with a 6 month old with sleep training.

Have a wonderful day!

Andrea

btw, Check out all of my upcoming workshops and free sleep clinics from Kitchener to Orangeville on my home page. I will be adding a new June workshop soon in Brampton and will have a separate event page soon.

Reasure Child that he is Safe.

Don’t just plunck child down and walk away. This gives feeling of rapture and activates lower brain fear system.

Make crib a familiar cosy place.

Give lots of Hugs and cuddles in the day and before bed.

Use the senses to help ground child and help him feel safe and comfortable:

Sound – use white noise, the sound of mother’s voice (or father’s), Consider using a recording of parents voice with messages such as: “You are safe, I love you” or storries or songs. Recording and white noise can be left on all night long.

Smell – Include items in the bed that smell like Mom/Dad or breastmilk. This helps child develop an emotional association.

Lovey/Blankie – a soft transitional object for child to cuddle up with. Item can smell like parent.

Consider massage as part of your bedtime routine.