For most people, Summer in Australia means daylight savings – lapping up the longer days, later nights and making the most of the stretching sunshine. Unfortunately, however, all good things must come to an end – and on Sunday April 3 2022, at 3am, the clocks will turn back one hour.
This will mean brighter mornings and cooler weather – both of which can disrupt your little one’s sleep. Babies and toddlers are creatures of habit, and love to know what is happening across the day, so sticking to routine is key to success.
How can we be prepared?
- Brighter mornings may mean early rising, so I recommend the use of black-out blinds in your little one’s bedroom – their room should still be sitting at a 9/10 in terms of darkness (even in those early hours of the morning)! Natural light tells us we are meant to be awake and it can stimulate babies and toddlers, waking them up and starting their day too early.
- Noise is also a crucial factor. The brighter it is, the earlier the birds will start chirping and the ‘outside world’ awakes. Continue playing your white noise so that in those early hours of the morning, they are hearing a constant low rumbling sound and again, not stimulated by external factors.
- If your baby has been going to bed at 7 pm (as an example), you may find that they are ready for bed a good hour earlier, which may be disruptive to both your routine and your little one. Toddlers’ body clocks are very clever and are heavily reliant on a regular cycle of going to bed at a certain time. I love to recommend starting to transition your little one’s bedtime slightly before the end of daylight savings, allowing their body clock adequate time to adjust.
Good luck – and don’t forget to change the alarms!
About the author
Lisa is the founder of Cherish Your Sleep, Co-Regional Director (Australia/Pacific) of The Association of Professional Sleep Consultants, an experienced certified baby/child sleep consultant and a mother to 3 young children.
She has always loved children and has worked in the industry for over 20 years as a qualified child care worker, working primarily with children aged 0 – 3yrs.
A successful outcome is not only good for the parents and children, but also giver Lisa a sense of satisfaction and happiness – there’s nothing better than hearing from a parent who finally got their first full night sleep since having a child.
Becoming a mum and meeting and seeing other mums struggle with their babies and children’s sleep made Lisa really want to reach out and help. She doesn’t see that there is a one size fits all to helping families – sleep is almost like a Puzzle – you need all the pieces in place to achieve the full picture and those pieces are what she shares with families.
Lisa uses a holistic approach to sleep, focusing on emotional wellbeing of families and ensuring the parent child connection in not only maintained, but enhanced. She knows how easy it is to become overwhelmed and frustrated, so it’s her passion to help find solutions that will work for you, your baby and the rest of your family.
Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels
