Daylight Saving Time With a Toddler: How to Fall Back Gently on November 1

Daylight saving time with a toddler: what we always did

I live in British Columbia, and this is the first fall in my daughter's life that we will not change the clocks. BC made its last change in March and is staying on daylight time all year. So this year I get to skip it, but for everyone else in most of Canada and the US, the clocks still go back on Sunday, November 1.

Before this year, we never did the hard switch. We moved to the new time gradually, a little at a time over a few nights, so that by Sunday morning the change was small enough that nobody really noticed.

What held it together was the routine. The clock moved. The routine did not. Pyjamas, teeth, potty, a cuddle, a story, in the same order every night. I made that routine for my own daughter, and it became Finn's Bedtime in our app, which I hope helps other families the way it helps ours.

Why falling back is hard on small children

An hour does not sound like much. The problem is that a toddler's body does not read the clock on the wall. If your child wakes at 6:00 now, on Sunday their body will still wake them at 6:00 old time, which the clock now calls 5:00. Dinner, bath and bed all arrive an hour later than their body expects, so by late afternoon they are running on empty.

The good news: this is the easier of the two changes. Dr. Craig Canapari, a pediatric sleep doctor at Yale, is very clear that no plan is strictly necessary and your child will be fine. A gradual shift just takes the edge off.

A gradual plan you can copy

Dr. Canapari's version is simple: for the three nights before the change, put bedtime and wake time 30 minutes later. On Sunday, go back to your usual clock times. Your child's body has already met the new time halfway.

Here is what that looks like for a toddler who usually wakes at 6:30 a.m. and goes to bed at 7:00 p.m.:

• Thursday, October 29: wake up 7:00, bedtime 7:30.
• Friday, October 30: wake up 7:00, bedtime 7:30.
• Saturday, October 31 (Halloween): wake up 7:00, bedtime 7:30, or a little later.
• Sunday, November 1 (clocks go back): wake up about 6:00 on the new clock, bedtime 7:00.
• The week after: wake up 6:30, bedtime 7:00.

On Sunday morning, your child's 7:00 is the clock's 6:00, so they are only half an hour early instead of a full hour. Over the next few days it settles back to 6:30. If your toddler will not sleep in on the later mornings, do not worry about it. The later bedtime is the part that matters most.

If your child is sensitive to any change, go slower: start about a week before and move 10 to 15 minutes every night or two. Shift naps by the same amount as bedtime. Meals can move too, if you can manage it, since a hungry toddler at a new bedtime is a toddler who stays up.

You will not hit these times exactly. Nobody does. Close is enough.

Halloween is the night before, and that helps

This year Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, the night before the clocks go back. Trick or treating with a toddler usually means a later bedtime than you would like, and normally I would say protect it. This year a later Halloween bedtime pushes your child in exactly the direction the clock is about to go. Let it be a little late, keep the routine the same once you get home, and Sunday morning may be easier than you expect.

If you are taking a little one out for the first time, we wrote about whether you can take a 2 year old trick or treating.

The week after: early mornings

Even with a gradual plan, expect your toddler to wake earlier than usual for a few days. The research Dr. Canapari cites found young children woke earlier for about one week after the fall change before settling back. A few things make that week easier:

• Keep the room dark until wake time. If your child wakes at 5:30 in a dark room, there is a chance they drift back off. In a bright room, the day has started.
• Do not start the day early. If you can, keep the morning quiet and the lights low until your usual wake time, so their body learns the new start.
• Get outside in the daylight. Morning and afternoon light helps everyone's body clock catch up.
• Hold bedtime steady. It is tempting to put an exhausted toddler down at 6:00 on Sunday. A little early is fine. An hour early pulls them straight back to the old time.

Keep the routine exactly the same

This is the part I would underline. A toddler cannot tell time, but they know exactly what comes after teeth. When the clock moves, a routine that does not move is what tells your child that the day is ending and everything is still normal. Same steps, same order, same words. The only thing that changes is when it starts.

If you would like help holding the routine steady through the change, Finn's Bedtime is free in the FableFleet app on iPhone and iPad, for ages two to four, with no account needed. Finn walks your child through pyjamas, teeth with a two minute song, potty, Teddy and a cuddle, and a few lines you say together, then finishes with a calm story that says your child's name. You can download the app today and try it on one of the shifted nights this week, so it is familiar before Sunday.

If your little one needs something quiet to listen to as they settle, our calming bedtime stories are short, slow and made for exactly that.