So the clocks are changing this weekend. Time to dust off the patio furniture, tune up the bikes and enjoy those long summer evenings….BUT WAIT! Where I live I have three more months of snow, slush, and mud to look forward to before I set foot on my patio, and last I checked my kids still have three months left of school!
Sorry to be the buzz-kill on your spring fever, but as much as I love having the sun around a little longer in the evenings I know it is going to wreak havoc on my ability to get my kids up and out the door on Monday morning.
When we spring forward it often can throw a wrench into some of our routines that we, parents and kids alike, have worked so hard to keep. Our circadian rhythms don’t always change as easily as the clock on our nightstand. We have grown accustomed to a pattern, and patterns are hard to break. So if you think it is tough on us grownups, you better believe it can be difficult on our kids as well. With this in mind, here are a few bits of advice to help keep that precious bedtime routine in place this weekend:
- On Sunday morning, wake the kids at the normal time. Bode always gets up by 7:00. As tempting as it will be to let him sleep in (read as let ME sleep in!), to ease the transition, I need to wake him up at the “new” 7:00.
- During the day on Sunday.
- Run them into the ground. Plan multiple physical activities and wear those little buggers out! I want them to have gotten some good exercise, played a bunch, and had a lot of fun before bedtime on Sunday.
- Make certain that dinner is at the normal time. Easiest thing is to push dinner back because it is still light out. BUT GUESS WHAT HAPPENS THEN?? Yep, if dinner gets delayed, the bedtime gets delayed, and then you might as well not have even read this post! Dinner starts the bedtime routine, it’s the signal that things are winding down, so don’t push it off on Sunday night.
- Get to your kids’ bedroom a little sooner than you might normally, and make certain the room is ready for bedtime (draw the shades early and try to create a peaceful atmosphere to help them unwind). Make this in-the-room time really relaxed. Read a couple of extra books, enjoy some meditation together, whatever it takes.
Again, changes like moving our clocks can be hard on our little ones, so let’s plan ahead and be ready for it, to make it as easy on them as possible. Two more things before ending that are not related to sleep. It is typically a good idea to use the two time changes that take place each year to do a quick check on your fire and carbon monoxide detectors. This simple exercise, twice a year, can save lives.
And one more thing just for me… pray for a short mud season 
