Some would say that this coming weekend, on March 11, when time springs forward is one of the most dreaded weekends of the year for parents. When I had little ones I dreaded this weekend like the plague. Everyone was so grumpy and tired after the time change I remember it usually taking a week or two for everyone to resume normal sleeping patterns. I don’t know how you feel about it, but I really hate losing an hour of sleep. Why do we do this every year again? I dug up some tips to help parents survive this time change, read on for more information.

1) Have darkened curtains or blinds to keep the room dark. With this time change the outdoors is brighter when little ones go to bed, it’s important to be able to keep their sleep routine consistent so darkening the room can be a good option.

2) Some experts suggest putting kids to bed 15-30 minutes earlier a few days leading up to the change and waking them up 15-30 minutes earlier, this way when the time changes they won’t feel as much of a change.

3) Maintain their normal sleep routine; bath time, storytime, snuggles etc.

4) Perhaps try and be more active leading up to bed time so that they are tired a few minutes earlier – go for a spring walk before bed or have a game of hide and seek or hey, have them run around the house ten times (just kidding if your kids are like mine this last option might rile them up).

5) Have patience. It may not be easy getting your toddler to bed 15 minutes earlier, they may not adjust quickly but the time change really is only 1 hour and eventually things will get back to normal – remind yourself of that.

6) Remember the days are getting longer and that is something to look forward to.

Enjoy some later hours of sunshine. At the end of the day, as inconvenient as this change is more hours of daylight can bring about some happiness, I’m anxious to get out for evening walks again.

Until next week enjoy some family time!