Daylight savings time begins on Sunday, March 10th. This was a bummer before I had kids, as it meant losing an hour of sleep. I would feel pretty cruddy for about a week afterwards. Then, my kids were early risers, so I liked it. Why? The beginning of DST shifts their apparent wake time a bit earlier. So a kid who was waking up at 5:30 AM was getting up at 6:30 AM literally overnight. (A "later" bedtime was the cost of this but I'm not a morning lark, so it was a fair trade-off). However, I think it will be painful again as I now two teenagers in my house. It's hard if if someone in your house (be it an older child, teenager, or ahem yourself) struggles to get up in the morning. If you know someone who is already struggling to get up in the morning, here's an article I wrote on avoiding trouble when "springing ahead". PS Sorry to be getting this out a bit late this week-- had some unexpected issues to deal with this week. |
I'm a pediatric sleep doctor, author, and in my day job I run the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center. I've been writing about pediatric sleep issues for tired parents since 2012. Join my newsletter to get the best information about sleep problems (and solutions) in children.
Honestly, I can't remember what holidays were like before I was a dad. I vaguely remember them being less stressful, but maybe less meaningful as well. It's really fun experiencing the magic of the holidays through your children's eyes. HOWEVER, if you have a little one, all of the travel, family time, and holiday excitement, can be stressful. REALLY stressful. And, if your kid's sleep is disrupted, it can result in tantrums, chaos, and conflict. In the latest episode of The Sleep Edit...
When parents think sleep training, the often think about extinction or CIO sleep training. Although CIO sleep training works well for infants and younger toddlers, I prefer gentler methods for older toddlers and preschoolers, especially if they are anxious. The “Excuse Me Drill” and “Taking a break” are two simple, gentle techniques which work well for children two and up who need their parents to fall asleep. These are two of my favorite techniques, and in my book It’s Never Too Late To...
When parents think of sleep training, they are often just imagining extinction sleep training (commonly known as "cry it out" or CIO). Thus, they imagine lots of crying, tantrums, and battles when trying to change the status quo. The fact is, CIO doesn't work well for older kids anyway. That's why I love the Bedtime Pass. A simple yet effective tool for managing nighttime interruptions. Instead of battling wills, your child can use a "Bedtime Pass" for a trip out of their room or to call for...