Winter Time Preparation: Sleep Coach Douina's Essential Sleep Tips for Kids
It's that time of year again, winter is just around the corner. This not only means darker and colder weather, but also clocks going back an hour. Without children, this means an extra hour of sleep, but if you have children and an early riser, this isn't your favorite time of day. For parents with an early riser, it means getting up not at 6:00 AM but at 5:00 AM. A time that doesn't exactly make you happy as a parent.
I always describe winter time as jet lag. Your body is confused and often needs time to get back into its "normal" rhythm. This doesn't just mean your baby can wake up an hour earlier, but your baby can also react mentally. They might be a little more sensitive, get tired more quickly, and their stomachs might still get hungry at the usual time. These are all things you, as a parent, can keep in mind and also help you understand why your child might be a little more sensitive next week, get angry more easily, or push boundaries. Be kind to yourself, but also to your child. Winter time isn't easy for every child.
Now I can offer you some support. There are two ways to approach winter time. You can do nothing and immediately introduce your little one to the adjusted time. No preparation and you'll see how things go over the next few days, or you can do some prep work and hope this will prevent your little one from waking up too early and allow them to handle the transition more smoothly.
You start adjusting the routine three days in advance. You do this by shifting everything by fifteen minutes each day. Below is a sample routine. I used the sleep routine of a child who takes a nap around 12:30 and goes to bed at 7:00 PM.
Thursday |
12:45 - 19:15 |
Friday |
1:00 PM - 7:30 PM |
Saturday |
13:15 - 19:45 |
AFTER THE START OF WINTER TIME
Sunday |
12:30 - 19:00 |
So on Sunday, you go back to your old bedtimes, just like you did before winter time. As a parent, you often know what your child thrives on. Besides adjusting their routine, you can also help the process by spending a lot of time outdoors during the day, thus helping their body clock.
I hope these tips will be useful to you and that the transition will be smoother this way.
Of course, always keep an eye on your baby and stay alert for sleep signals. Don't keep your baby awake and stick to this schedule if your baby is really tired. You can
