I met Janeen Hayward, a parent consultant at Swell Being, at the New York Healthy Birth Fair last summer.  I was impressed by her and the list of parent services that her company offered: sleep, nutrition, feeding and toilet training help and more. They do a lot of seminars around the city, on the web and are starting to do some in Brooklyn. Janeen is doing a toilet training seminar on November 8th in Brooklyn that I am trying to get to – I just need to  put in a request for a babysitter through our babysitting co-op!

Daylight savings is coming up this weekend and this can be a disruption in your child’s (*and yours!) sleeping. Janeen was kind enough to share her daylight savings sleep tips to us. Here they are:

I know, I know.  Daylight savings time again.  It always comes too soon.  Fret not, these simple tips for babies (6 months and older) and toddlers will help you stay on track with your good sleep habits.  Give your children a few days to settle in to the new time.  After they adjust to the new clock, the only thing left to dread is the sun setting at 4 p.m.  Ugh.

1. Put your child(ren) to bed on Saturday night (11/1) at the regular time.

2. Wake up with your child(ren) at the normal wake up time on Sunday morning (11/2).

3. Set your clocks back one hour.  This is where you stretch out the time.

4. Put your child(ren) down for the first nap at the regular time per the clock.**  This will mean that s/he has been awake a full hour longer during this window and may need some help to stretch out the time.  Going outside and getting lots of sunlight and fresh air is a great way to keep kids awake when you’re stretching them.

5. Follow the clock for naps and bedtime from here forward. It can take a few days for your child to fully adjust, so be patient and consistent.

**Younger children may have a harder time stretching a full hour without becoming overtired.  In this case it may be better to stretch them 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon or to stretch them slowly over several days.

Related Posts:

1. How much sleep should my child be getting? (May 3rd, 2010)
2. Sleep- What it is all about (November 15th, 2009)
3. Sleep Consultants (November 20th, 2008)
4. Air Travel Tips (October 22nd, 2008)
5. Parenting Potluck on sleep, nutrition, cpr, etc. (September 15th, 2007)