Clock change sleep planner
The clocks are changing and your child’s body clock isn’t. Enter their usual bedtime and wake-up, and get a night-by-night plan that moves them to the new time in small, gentle steps.
Working out your next clock change…
How the plan works
Instead of asking your child to jump a whole hour in one night, the plan nudges bedtime and wake-up by 10 or 15 minutes a night in the direction the clocks are heading. When the clocks go back, bedtime creeps later; when they go forward, it creeps earlier. By the time the clocks change, your child is already on — or close to — the new time.
Starting before the change is easiest, because the awkward days happen while the clock still reads normal. If you’ve left it late, catching up afterwards gets you to the same place, just with a few more off-kilter mornings.
When do the clocks change?
| Where | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| UK & Europe | Last Sunday in March | Last Sunday in October |
| US & Canada | Second Sunday in March | First Sunday in November |
| Australia (states with daylight saving) | First Sunday in October | First Sunday in April |
| New Zealand | Last Sunday in September | First Sunday in April |
Not everywhere observes daylight saving — Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and most of Arizona don’t, for example. If yours isn’t listed, choose “Somewhere else” and enter the date.
Making the week easier
- Let the wake-up time lead. Holding mornings steady pulls the rest of the day into line fastest.
- Use light: bright light first thing, dim and warm in the hour before bed. Blackout curtains earn their keep this week.
- Keep the routine’s shape — same order, same wind-down, same story — even while the clock times move.
- Give it a week or so. A good night followed by a rough one is normal while it settles.
There’s more on getting through it in surviving the clock change with your toddler’s sleep, and once you’re settled, the bedtime calculator will check that bedtime suits your child’s age.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start adjusting my child’s sleep for the clock change?
Three to four nights before, moving bedtime 15 minutes a night — or six nights before if you use gentler 10-minute steps. By the night the clocks change, your child’s body has already made most of the shift.
Should I move naps and meals too?
Yes. Shift the whole day by the same amount each day — wake-up, naps, meals and bedtime — so your child’s body clock moves as one piece rather than in bits.
My child still wakes at the old time. What now?
Treat the early wake-up as the start of the day rather than trying to coax more sleep, keep bedtime on plan, and get bright light first thing. Most children take five to ten days to fully adjust, and it’s rarely a straight line.
Can the clock change help an early riser?
In spring, yes. When the clocks go forward, a child who wakes at 6am wakes at what the clock now calls 7am — so some parents of early risers skip the gradual plan and simply switch to the new clock times.
I missed the days before. Is it too late?
Not at all. Choose “Catch up after” and the planner shifts your child’s schedule in the days after the change instead. It means a few more days of an off schedule, but you get to the same place.