Time change

How do you communicate "fall back" or "time change" or "daylight savings time is over" to a small child?

We work so hard to get them on a sleep schedule, and then twice a year, we have to change it.

It really isn't all that bad...for the first week! Saturday night we kept the kids up until 8 pm (they normally go to bed at 7 pm) to start the transition. As Tom and I went to bed that night, also an hour later than our normal time, I started to wonder whether it was such a good idea for US to go to bed later. I said to Tom, "Five bucks says Lukas wakes up before 6 am" (the NEW 6 am, which is really 7 am by Lukas' internal clock).

Sure enough, we went to bed later, but Lukas woke up at 5:40 am. I think we got him to be quiet on the couch for another 30-45 minutes while we dozed again.

But not only is the sleep schedule upset, but also the feeding schedule (we eat on a very regular schedule, both for Tom's GERD and for the predictability of the children). It's easy to tell an adult to wait an hour, but it's hard to tell a young child that.

We brought leftover pizza and after church went to a local park to eat and play. That worked well, since Natalie's tiredness and hunger was manifested in a park instead of at the Taco Bell. We played for a short while and then went home (to try to get naps a little more on schedule).

For dinner we had neighbors over (of course, I didn't think about the time change when we invited them), but the kids couldn't play outside before dinner because it was already dark.

Natalie got tired early again and went to bed before her "corrected" bedtime. Lukas stayed up until the guests left (who also had young children, so they were dealing with the same issue!) and then zonked out immediately.

This morning, both kids are almost on their normal schedule for waking, but I'm sure the next few days will still be an adjustment, just like it is for adults! The difference is, the kids can't understand why they are so hungry and tired!