Parents are being urged to enforce a 30-minute bedtime adjustment on their children from Friday, October 23, ahead of the clocks going back on Sunday, October 25. The change from British Summer Time (BST) to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) means early risers will wake an hour earlier, disrupting established routines.
Routine is important for children's independence, and the clock change can wreak havoc on mornings. While a 15-minute rule could have been started from Monday, parents who missed it can still adjust their child's body clock by taking action on Friday.
Health Visitor's Advice
Ruth Watts, a registered health visitor in England, shared her advice on Instagram, where she has 200,000 followers. In a clip posted on Wednesday, she said: "The clocks are going back so if your little one is waking up at 6am, that's going to become 5am."
She added: "And if they're waking up at 5am, that's going to be 4am, so what do we do? First things first, I want to reassure you that just because the clocks has changed, the time isn't going to feel different to you."
Three Options for Parents
Watts outlined three options, including the 15-minute rule which should have started on Wednesday. For those who are late to it, there is still time to prepare before Sunday.
Alternatively, parents can "do nothing" and adjust their routine accordingly, which Watts said was her own approach. For those who prefer to be prepared, the 30-minute rule starts on Friday.
Watts explained: "Option number three and we'll continue using 8pm as an example. Friday night you're going to put them down at 8:30pm, half an hour later than usual, Saturday night you're going to put them down by 9pm and then by Sunday, that'll be 8pm again. Again doing the same with their naps and meal times if they're eating."
Managing Early Rising
Watts also addressed early rising, noting that many babies and toddlers only need 9-10 hours of nighttime sleep. She said: "A lot of babies and toddlers only need 9-10 hours of nighttime sleep, so if you're putting them down at 7pm and they're waking up at 5am, well that's a good solid 10 hours."
She concluded: "So actually if want to see them wake later, they likely are going to need to go to bed later or have less daytime sleep."
