Preparing Your Child For Daylight Savings Time
The Academy of Arts and Knowledge aims to be Fort Collins’ premier performing arts elementary school. With a curriculum that emphasizes the arts, creativity, literacy, and more, our staff is committed to helping our students excel and grow in a wide variety of academic areas. We are proud to serve Fort Collins with a high quality and unique learning environment, providing our students with an education that promotes development and excellence. Contact us today to enroll your child in our Fort Collins performing arts school.
Daylight savings time is less than two weeks away, and unlike the fall when we gain an hour of sleep, spring forward makes the transition slightly more difficult for people of all ages. While young ones have an especially difficult time with adapting to this slight change, there are a handful of things that you can do to help make the transition easier for your child. In this blog post, we will look at a few helpful tips to make daylight savings time easier on your child.
Take Gradual Steps
Daylight savings time begins on Sunday, March 11 at 2:00 AM. Having it fall on a weekend makes the process easier on us, but expecting your child to be able to make a smooth transition in just one night is somewhat unrealistic. With this in mind, one great way to help your child adjust to daylight savings time is by taking small and gradual steps to pushing up their bedtime. Starting a week earlier, start sending your child to bed 15-20 minutes earlier each day. Doing this at the beginning of the week will ensure that by the time Sunday comes, they’ll barely be able to notice the change at all. From there, they’ll be able to start school on Monday feeling little to no difference in their sleep schedule, refreshed and eager to return to the classroom!
Talk About The Purpose Of Daylight Savings Time
Children sometimes have a tendency to question any straying from the norm, and pushing up their bedtime may supply you with an array of questions from your child. Another great way to help your child adjust to daylight savings time is to explain its purpose to them. Children love to play outside, and by explaining to them that the process of daylight savings time is designed to help them be able to enjoy as much sunshine as possible, your child will have a better understanding as to why they are going to bed earlier. Additionally, they’ll also appreciate the sunshine more, now having gained a better understanding of how seasons affect the amount of daylight that we receive throughout a day.
Cut Down On Screen Time
Whether if it’s for educational purposes, hobbies, or entertainment, many children use tablets, mobile devices, and laptops for extended amounts of time throughout the day. While this is common among most children, the effects of blue light on our eyes has been linked to an array of issues, from digital eye strain to retinal damage to sleep-related difficulties. These can affect people of all ages, including children. Many professionals suggest that we stop using devices between one and two hours before going to bed. Making this suggestion to them in preparation for daylight savings time will make it easier for your children to fall asleep earlier, as their eyes will not have to adjust to having stared at a screen for an extended amount of time immediately beforehand. Additionally, using this rule of thumb with your child will help them receive a better quality of sleep at all times, not just in preparation for daylight savings time.
Have Patience
At the end of the day, like any other adjustment that your child will have to make, adjusting to daylight savings time will be something that requires an amount of patience from both you and your little one. The transition may be a bit difficult for them in the first few days, but they’ll eventually grow used to it after a few days of an earlier bedtime. The key is to be patient and understand that this won’t happen after one night. Patience will help make the transition easy for both you and them, and by the time Sunday arrives, they’ll be able to sleep soundly and with little struggle at their regular (though technically earlier) bedtime.
Attend a Fort Collins Performing Arts School
Those are just a few things that you can do to help your child better adjust to daylight savings time this spring. At The Academy of Arts and Knowledge, it is our goal to provide students in Fort Collins with a top-tier education that emphasizes arts, literacy, science, and more. We are committed to serving Fort Collins with a quality charter school education that encourages growth, allowing your child to reach their fullest potential, To learn more about our Fort Collins performing arts school, contact The Academy of Arts and Knowledge today.