Children's Hospital Colorado shares advice for parents with daylight saving time happening this weekend
This weekend is the weekend to set your clock forward for daylight saving time. We all lose an hour and gain another hour of sunlight, which can make things tough on kids' bedtime routines.
Bedtime routines can already be difficult, and Children's Hospital Colorado recommends that you move your child's bedtime and wake time earlier by 15 minutes. They say to do this for five to seven days before the time change occurs.
Another option is to make sure that your child's bedroom is as dark as possible and to also shut off all electronics and lights at least one hour before it's time to go to bed.
"Being in dark light or dim light before bed helps our body to produce that hormone melatonin. That helps us to feel sleepy and to know when we should sleep. So, decreasing those household lights, turning down the brightness on electronics, or -- even better -- shutting off those electronics altogether an hour before bedtime can be really, helpful," said Dr. Stacey Simon, who is the Pediatric Sleep Psychologist at Children's Hospital Colorado.
Children's Hospital Colorado also recommends that if your child's room gets a lot of sunlight in the morning, try adding blackout curtains to make sure that your kids stay asleep. Also, try to stay consistent with your kid's bedtime routine and make sure they're getting enough sleep overall. Simon suggests that if your child is still struggling with sleep to visit your pediatrician.
"If parents can start to gradually shift bedtimes earlier by 10-15 minutes, so, just putting their kids down for bed a little bit earlier every night, then they are going to line up in a great position once daylight saving hits."
After your child wakes up, expose your child to a bright light, ideally sunlight. That helps to turn off your child's sleeping hormone melatonin.
