How to move toddler bedtime earlier with clock change?

[wishIwasonholiday10]

Any tips on how to move my 2.5 year olds bedtime earlier with the clock change this weekend? We are already struggling to get her down for 9pm and she wakes about 7:30am then we rush out the house to get to work and nursery on time. If she won’t sleep until 10pm after clocks change we will be struggling to get out of the house next week. I feel so guilty when I have to wake her to go to nursery as I don’t want her to be tired and grumpy all day - feels like I have failed with bedtime.

We have already tried moving it earlier but bed times just seem to take ages - endless requests for more books, trips to the potty, more milk and false starts. She still naps in the middle of the day but is often very tired by lunchtime so don’t think we can drop the nap yet.

Ahhh the clocks change?! 😬

Adjust by 10 minutes each day for six days.

You don’t have to do it all in one go. With my two I did it over several days in 10 minute jumps.

Thanks all for the advice. Seems easier said than done. We had an early dinner tonight and tried an earlier bedtime but it’s not working and it’s now 9:10pm and DH is now trying but she’s still not asleep.

I used to do it by 15 mins a week when dd1 was a toddler, drove me nuts keeping track of the times but it helped a lot.

I have literally no idea how anyone does this. I’ve had two kids and neither has ever had a bedtime so precise that it could be adjusted by 10 minutes in any direction with any consistency. Are there children out there who do fall asleep at the exact same time every day?

Yes, mine do. We do the 10 minute thing too.

Same for my DD. We go up for bath at roughly the same time (+/- 10 min) but actual sleep time varies a lot. We would like it to be around 8pm but it’s usually much later.

If you can, you need to move the morning nap to an earlier time or shorten the amount of time she naps for. So if she normally has an hour then ask the nursery to shorten her nap. If you can shorten the morning naps she will feel tired earlier in the evening.
Even if she is tired and grumpy for nursery because you are waking her earlier - it will be short lived and may work in your favour as you can move her bedtime earlier as she will be tired.

Yeh around 9 for actual sleep onset is generally about right for both of mine (4 and 2) they wake around 7/7.30. I’ve yearned for more evening but I think it’d mean getting up at 5am and I don't want to! They’re natural night owls. We’ve never noticed much with clock changes though, just tried to keep the day things happening at the same sort of times and it’s evened out quite quickly.

My 3 year old is in bed by 7 on the dot every day and asleep within 5 minutes. We’ve always had a solid bedtime routine. I never worry about clock changes though, I just make sure he’s extra active for a few days, run the legs off him and it rights itself within a few days.

Fascinating. Genuinely.

Just goes to show how they’re all different really. When does he wake up in the morning?

I think the issue is her nap, messing about this clock changes isn't going to change anything long term. I found that you just have to push through the tiredness for a week or so and then it's fine.

You can't control how long it takes to fall asleep, but you know what time you say 'it's bedtime'.

He wakes up at half 7 or 8. Sometimes he takes longer to fall asleep and likes to listen to a Yoto card in bed. He’s always in his bed and lights out regardless by 7. Doesn’t ever take him longer than a half hour to fall asleep so I don’t mind him winding down listening to Winnie the Pooh or whatever it is as he drifts off.

Is she still having a nap during the day? If so that's what you need to change to get her to go to sleep earlier.

Probably need to start the day gradually earlier. 10 min increments does work. Then it won’t feel like such a rush either.

God OP, I sympathise so much, my little girl is just the same and I too can never understand how people just move bedtime earlier by 10 mins a day in the lead up.

If I move bedtime earlier, she just stays up longer until her usual 'sleep time', which is about half 8 😭 So I just end up more frustrated than ever.

Focus on when you wake her, not when you put her to bed – that's the bit you have more control over. So wake her earlier (in small increments or in one big chunk, as you prefer), and then try to shift nap and bedtime forward by a matching amount.

I find this all very strange. As a toddler can’t tell the time they don’t even know that the clocks have changed. Just announce bedtime and put them to bed.

Wake her up earlier tomorrow and Sunday by 30 mins each time and you'll be sorted!

I was just thinking this too. Glad it’s not just me!

The clock changes have never affected us. The kids fall asleep when they fall asleep, and wake up when they wake up.

We aim for a “routine”, as in quick snack before bed, wash haands and face, brush teeth, into bed for story, then lights out.

But the time that this process starts varies wildly, depending on extracurricular activities, how quick and easy dinner was and how much washing up there is, how tired they are, what time husband gets home from work etc.

The length of time it takes them to get ready for bed also varies wildly as well.

Not a chance we could ever be precise enough to adjust by 10 minutes.

Different people prioritise different things. We like to have an evening to ourselves and not have long drawn out bedtimes. Lights out at 7 is non-negotiable apart from the odd special occasion that keeps us up and out later.