Tips for shifting your schedule. This post outlines how to change your child’s schedule for the time change or for traveling to different time zones. You can also use these tips to change the schedule to fit your needs better.
There will be many times as you go throughout your years as a parent that you will find you want to shift or tweak your schedule somewhat. You might want to move what time your little one wakes up in the morning, goes to bed at night, or takes a nap each day.
There are many reasons you might want to shift your schedule. You might be faced with a time change where you are moving your clocks forward or backward one hour. You might be traveling to a different time zone, either for a visit or for a move. You might be welcoming a new baby to the home. You might just want it changed because shifting it some would make more sense in your family at the current moment.
No matter your reason for shifting your schedule, strategies for doing so are the same.
Different Ways to Shift the Schedule
Here are some strategies for you to try to get your schedule shifted to where you want it to be.
If you have early time constraints in the morning (you work, your child is in school, your child has a lesson of some sort), be sure to take that into consideration when deciding on a method to use. Cold turkey might be best for you in this case. This might also be true if you have evening time constraints because shifting the schedule means a changing bedtime.
Slow and Steady Shift
If you are in a situation where you can shift the schedule slowly, this is a really easy way to approach the time change. I find this to be the best method with babies, pre-toddlers (12-18 months), and young toddlers.
If your child is one who doesn’t handle change well and you know waketime length is crucial down to the minute, this is also the best strategy for you even if you have an older toddler or young preschooler.
This method likely will not work for you if you have your schedule designed to work around your work schedule or an older child’s school schedule.
The benefit of this method is that it is pretty low-impact on the child. The change are so slow and minimal that the child easily and slowly adjusts.
The downside to this method is that your normal schedule is totally off for about a month–at least two weeks will be really off. That can be hard to manage for some.
If you can do this method, though, it is the method that disrupts sleep the least. This keeps babies and toddlers still taking a solid nap and sleeping well at night.
Here is how it works:
- Decide on a timeline. The whole thing takes 3-4 weeks, so you can start 3-4 weeks before your change or start two weeks before and work on it two weeks after, or one week before and work on it 2-3 weeks after…it is up to you. Divide the timeline you have into four sections.
- Week one (or section one): Move your schedule by 15 minutes. So if you are changing so your clocks are moving back (what is now 7 AM will become 6 AM), and your child wakes at 7:30, during this week, wake your child at 7:45 instead. You can slowly move it back during this first week or fully move it back. If your child wakes at 7:30, slowly move the time the child eats closer to 7:45 so the metabolism shifts to expecting that time. Shift the rest of the day, also. So if nap typically starts at 9:30, move it to 9:45. Move bedtime back, also.
- Week two (or section two): Move it by another 15 minutes. You are now 30 minutes off of your original schedule.
- Week three (or section three): Move it another 15 minutes so you are 45 minutes off of your typical schedule. An alternative is to take the full plunge and just move it 30 minutes this week. If you do, plan on a couple of weeks to adjust fully.
- Week four (or section four): Finish the move by moving it another 15 minutes. You should now be at your goal and will have shifted your schedule.
If you have a more flexible child, you could try doing this in two weeks with 30-minute intervals, or even 15-minute intervals every few days. This is for you to decide.
This is the method I used with my babies and toddlers. I have never had any major issues with the time change. My kids have all done well with my slow and steady approach. If you have the patience for it, it works really well.
Slow and Steady Shift Sped Up
You can also speed up the slow and steady shift. You can fit the idea into whatever time frame you have. Do you have a week you can be flexible with? Then change things every two days. Maybe you only have the weekend. Then shift things over the two days.
For two and older, I usually take this faster approach. I will do one week before the time change and one week after the time change, adjusting 30 minutes each week as I go.
Cold Turkey
Cold turkey often works okay for older children. It is often also necessary with older children because of school schedules. You can try the slow and steady sped up approach with older children, but sometimes you just go all out and cold turkey.
It is often necessary to go cold turkey with older children because they have a school schedule that they have to follow, so you can’t shift their days slowly.
To do the cold turkey method, you just wake up that first day of time change and do the new schedule.
If you have children old enough to tell time or who use an “okay to wake clock“, be sure you set your clocks the night before.
Tell your child the time is changing and it will feel like it is time to get up before/after it is. Tell your child to stay in bed until the appropriate time. You can let older kids look at books in bed if needed.
You need to be prepared that if you do cold turkey, there will be some time of adjustment. There will likely be 2-4 weeks where your child is tired because the schedule just got shifted.
Your child will have a hard time staying up late enough, going to bed early enough, waking up in the morning, or staying asleep in the morning–all depending on which way clocks shifted for you.
Metabolism will also be off as meals are at different times. Take that into consideration as you are adjusting your schedule.
>>>Read: Time Change for Older Children
Shifting the Schedule for Travel
So how do you apply this to travel? Personally, I don’t usually try to shift things on vacation with my babies and toddlers. I usually just keep our same schedule on vacation as would have at home. This means if we are visiting a time zone earlier than ours, then we are waking up an hour earlier while there. I have done this even since Brayden was a baby.
For example, if I am visiting a time zone one hour behind mine, and we typically get up at 7 AM, then I will just get everyone up at 6 AM local time while there. If we were in a time zone one hour ahead of ours, I would wake everyone up at 8 AM local time.
This doesn’t always work if your activities for the day do not allow you to sleep later for the local time.
It is worth noting that studies have found it is easier for the body to travel west than to the east. The body adjusts more easily to Western travel than Eastern.
If you really need to be on the local time zone, you can try any of the methods listed above for shifting. If you are moving to a time zone that is drastically different than your own, you have to just do your best to move your kiddos to the local time zone.
Tips for Adjusting Time Change Quickly
However your schedule is changing, there are things you can do to make your adjustment as fast as possible (though some say you never really can fully adjust to artificial time).
Manage Light: Light has a huge impact on sleep. Light tells your body when to make melatonin. Have exposure to light as early as possible when you wake up and keep the light low when it is time to sleep. You can also help your body adjust by getting direct sun around noon each day.
Read: The Sun and Sleep and Regulatory Sleep Systems and Circadian Rhythm for more on how light impacts sleep
Sleep Routines and Environment: You want to have a good sleep routine as a signal to the body that it is time to sleep. Rituals are powerful signals to the brain. You also want to avoid foods or drinks that make it hard to sleep. It is also super helpful to have a very consistent morning wakeup time and consistent bedtime.
>>>Read: The Importance of a Consistent Bedtime
Conclusion
You will often have reasons for needing your schedule shifted. When this happens, just apply the strategy of your choice listed above. You might need to start your day at a different time to fit the schedule around a sibling, a school schedule, or a new work schedule. Whatever the reason, adjust in the way that works best for your family.
I do get a lot of questions following a time change that start “everything was perfect until the time change….”, so do take the time to think through and plan ahead. Having a game plan, or at least being mentally prepared for disruption, helps so much!
Related Posts on this Blog
Reader Time Change Questions and Comments
TIME CHANGE DIFFICULTIES
- Heather said… So sorry to be off the subject, but my question pertains to my 13 month old. She has been greatly affected by the time change, and is getting at least an hour less of sleep at night, as well as taking short (45 minute) naps in the morning and afternoon. Any ideas? Do you think it is all is b/c of the time change, or is something else going on?
- Katherine said… Heather I am dealing with the same thing with my 5 month old. He’s waking up 1-1.5 hours earlier in the mornings (I just leave him but I hate that he’s awake) and his naps are ridiculous. He’s waking up 45 minutes into them, fussing for about an hour, and then finally falling back asleep for 45 min-1hour. He used to wake up at 45 minutes and fuss for maybe 5-10 minutes, now it’s literally an hour. Will this work itself out if I continue to “ignore” him? I watch him on the video monitor so of course I know he’s fine…
- heather said… Katherine-Don’t you love your video monitor? I don’t know what I’d do without it! 🙂 Any luck for you this morning? We were still over an hour early. Will this ever work itself out???? I’m hoping for better naps today.
- Katherine said… Oh I really don’t know what I’d do w/o the video monitor. It’s such a sanity saver! Up early this am, but he actually took a pretty decent morning nap. Working on nap #2 right now. He’s in there squealing like a little girl 🙂 It’s his newest “skill” haha.
- Rachel Stella said… My son always “squeals like a girl” and my husband and I always joke that we have a cat in the other room!
- Babywise Mom said… Heather, I would bet it is the time change. The short naps are likely because she is getting less sleep at night. See this post Time Change Troubleshooting
- Babywise Mom said… Katherine, I suggest the same post to you 🙂
- C. said… This is not at all related to time changes and be prepared, it’s a big long question: my son is almost 5 weeks old. He was 8 lb 11 oz at birth and is now over 10 lbs. He is feeding an average of 10 times per day. He wakes himself for each feeding, so he is basically on a 2.5 hour schedule, except at night when he tends to go longer. I’m not sure how to stretch him out longer. I try to get him to eat as much as I can at each feeding, but past a certain point he flat out will not eat anymore, even if I force the bottle into his mouth. I don’t let him go more than 3 hours between feedings during the day. I’m not sure if just waiting for the 3 hours to lapse before I feed him again is the answer since he does seem to wake up hungry or if there is some way to get him to eat more at each feeding. Help! After reading over my logs a little more, I realized the issue is not that he’s hungry that often… it’s the 45 minute intruder that makes him wake up every 2-2.5 hours. Not that this makes things any easier, but it’s nice to know what I’m dealing with. I thought 4 weeks was a little young for this issue, but I’m looking over everything else on the site for ideas. At this point all that helps is a pacifier, but the only way he can keep it in his mouth is to lay him on his stomach… yikes!
- Babywise Mom said… C., it just requires time for him to be able to make it longer.If he is waking after 45 minutes, that means he is staying awake for more than 1.5 hours at a time. That is really too long for a baby that age. Even now that he is 8 weeks, that is a long time. I would take him back to about a one hour wake time and see how he does. See the blog label “optimal waketime” for more.
- Heather said… First, thank you SO MUCH for this blog! As a first-time mom, there is so much information out there that it’s hard to know who to trust! And since this information is coming from a fellow BabyWise mom, I know that I can at least use it as a guideline for my own little girl! My question has to do with a time change, but not the Daylight Savings end this Sunday. We just found out that we will be moving to England next April, and while we’re thrilled we obviously are concerned about the wrench it will throw into our daughter’s schedule. She will be about eight months old when we move, and we’ll be going ahead six hours from our current time zone (Central). What would you suggest we do to make the transition as painless as possible? Obviously, adjusting her schedule too far in advance will not work because we’d be waking her up at 1:30am for her first feeding (YIKES!). Would you suggest just waiting until we get there to adjust her schedule, or do you think there is something we can do while we’re stateside to help ease the transition for her?
- Babywise Mom said… Heather,I suggest you read through the traveling posts. Many moms have shared experiences with time zone changes. Most just wait until they get there and change. The sun helps change your body’s rhythym, so sun exposure is good. 6 hours is a big enough difference that I bet she will adjust rather quickly.
This post first appeared on this blog in November 2013