Babies and toddlers can get confused by the time change (stock image) (Image: Getty)
A mother-of-two has revealed her top recommendations on how to help your toddlers and babies adapt to the time change, as the clocks spring forward one hour.
In the UK the clocks advance one hour at 1am on the final Sunday in March, and retreat one hour at 2am on the final Sunday in October. The clock changes in spring and autumn can cause disruption to your little one’s sleep routine.
The next occasion the clocks change will be on Sunday 29th March at 1am. When we rise on Sunday morning the automatic clocks such as phones and tablets will have already adjusted, but you will need to alter the time on manual clocks, watches and other devices such as ovens and microwaves, moving them forward one hour.
Parents will also encounter another challenge, which is to assist their little ones in adjusting their sleep patterns, as even one hour could trigger disruption and over-tiredness.
To assist, one mother-of-two named Daisy Woods, better known online as Muddle Through Mummy, has revealed tips she discovered when her own children were young babies and toddlers that helped them adapt to their new sleep time more smoothly.
“Here’s how to adjust your baby or little one’s sleep routine when the clocks go forward,” she stated at the beginning of her video.
She went on to explain she initially received the advice from a sleep consultant when her children were babies, but noted it still worked equally well as they’d developed into toddlers and younger children.
“On the night that the clocks go forward, […] you would put your child to bed at a normal time, and they’ll just magically sleep for 12 hours and wake up at the normal time, which will technically be an hour later,” she explained.
She continued to clarify that if your children typically wake up at 7, they would now be waking up at 8, despite having slept for the identical amount of time.
For the first day of British Summer Time, the sleep consultant had then outlined the youngsters won’t notice a half an hour difference, so you should schedule your child’s nap time half an hour later, and then have bedtime occur half an hour later as well.
“Do that for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and come Wednesday, go back to your usual time settings,” Daisy said.
CBeebies have also provided additional guidance on how to help your children adapt to the new time, which includes ensuring you stick to your same familiar ‘wind-down’ routine every evening, as this will help them to settle down for the night.
If the extra hours of daylight are a problem in the mornings (during early autumn) or evenings (in spring and summer), they also suggest installing blackout blinds in your little one’s bedroom can help to make it feel like night time.
