At 2 a.m. this Sunday, November 1, clocks in most of the United States go back to 1 a.m. If your child wakes at 6:30 every morning, the first morning of standard time can start at 5:30 on the kitchen clock, because their body is still running on the old time.
The good news about daylight saving time and kids’ sleep in the fall is that you can start moving the schedule today, in small steps, instead of taking the whole hour at once on Sunday morning. We think the slow version is worth it for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. For kids who handle changes in routine easily, a weekend switch can be enough. In both cases, when your child gets light during the day makes a difference.
What “fall back” actually does to your kid’s schedule
Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 2 a.m. local time, when clocks move back to 1 a.m. Hawaii, most of Arizona, and U.S. territories including Puerto Rico and Guam stay on standard time all year, so families there can skip this whole article.
Everywhere else in the U.S., the clock moves and your child’s internal clock does not. If your child gets sleepy at 7:30 now, they are likely to get sleepy at 6:30 on the new clock, and if they wake at 6:30 now, they may be up at 5:30.
The fix is to move your child’s whole day an hour later, which matches the new clock. You can do that in one jump or in four small ones.
A day-by-day plan for daylight saving time and kids’ sleep
Pediatric sleep specialists suggest the same basic move in slightly different amounts. Connecticut Children’s sleep psychologist Lynelle Schneeberg, PsyD, lays out a week-before method that moves bedtime later in 15-minute steps, with wake-up times and naps moving along with it. Boston Children’s Hospital neurologist Dr. Kiran Maski told The Boston Globe to start a few days ahead and push bedtime 15 to 30 minutes later each night.
Here is what 15 minutes a day looks like this week, for a child with a 7:30 bedtime and a 6:30 wake-up. Use your own times and keep the same steps.
Thursday, October 29: Bedtime 7:45. In the morning, start the day at 6:45: lights on, breakfast, and naps all move 15 minutes later.
Friday, October 30: Bedtime 8:00. Start the day at 7:00, with naps and meals 15 minutes later than Thursday.
Saturday, October 31: Bedtime 8:15. This one happens to be Halloween, so if your kids are out trick-or-treating, a slightly later night fits the plan. Change the clocks after your child is asleep.
Sunday, November 1: Wake-up comes at 7:30 a.m. by the old schedule, which is 6:30 on the new clock, your child’s usual wake-up time. Bedtime is back to 7:30. You’re done.
If 15 minutes feels like too big a step for your child, Schneeberg notes that 5 to 10 minutes at a time works too. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests nudging naps and bedtime a few minutes each day in the direction the clocks will change, ideally starting about a week ahead.
Use light, and use it at the right time of day
The AAP notes that sunlight strongly affects a child’s internal clock, and timing changes what it does. The Circadian Sleep Disorders Network explains that light in the morning moves the body clock earlier, and light in the evening moves it later.
That matters this week because you want your child’s clock to move later. So for the next few days:
Get outside in the late afternoon. A walk after school or time at the playground before dinner gives your child bright light at the end of the day. Dr. Maski points out that bright light can keep a sleepy child awake until their usual bedtime, which is exactly what a 15-minute push needs.
Dim the house about 30 minutes before bed. Maski recommends dimming lights at least half an hour before bedtime, so the push later doesn’t turn into a child who can’t fall asleep at all.
Keep the bedroom dark until wake-up time. Michigan Medicine suggests blackout shades or curtains so morning light stays out of your child’s room.
After the switch, get morning light at the new wake-up time. Schneeberg suggests 30 to 60 minutes of morning sunlight on Sunday, along with breakfast at the new time, to help the brain wake fully and set the body clock for the next day. Dr. Kevin Gipson, a sleep medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, also recommends bright light in the morning and less bright light in the evening.
Starting Sunday, sunset also comes an hour earlier on the clock. If darker evenings drag down your mood along with the kids’ schedules, our guide to beating the seasonal blues as the days get shorter has ideas for the darker months.
Notes by age: babies, toddlers, and school-age kids
Babies. The same plan works for babies: move naps along with bedtime in the same small steps, and keep the room dark in the early morning. If your baby’s feeding schedule is tied closely to the clock, ask your pediatrician how to shift it.
Toddlers and preschoolers. We’d put toddlers and preschoolers first in line for the gradual plan. The AAP notes that after the fall change, younger children may crash before bedtime and wake earlier than usual, and a steady routine (brush, book, bed) helps. Dr. Maski suggests keeping naps to 60 to 90 minutes, depending on age, so your child doesn’t sleep too much during the day. If your toddler is up at 5:15 anyway, keep the room dark and the morning quiet until your target time, and praise them when they stay in bed a little longer. Michigan Medicine suggests celebrating and rewarding that progress. Our piece on what to know about your toddler’s sleep covers bedtime stalling and what helps.
School-age kids and teens. “Most kids will roll with it,” says Dawn Dore-Stites, PhD, a pediatric psychologist at Michigan Medicine’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. She suggests starting up to a week ahead for children who have a hard time with changes to their sleep routines. The AAP notes that falling back is generally easier for teens. For older kids, evening screens matter too. The AAP explains that blue light from devices can make the brain think it’s still daytime, so it helps to put devices away before bed. If screens are already a bedtime issue in your house, here are some ways to cut back on screen time.
Reading this on Saturday? Here’s the weekend-of plan
You haven’t missed your chance. Schneeberg’s weekend-of method works in one day:
Saturday night: Put your child to bed at the usual time and change the clocks after they’re asleep.
Sunday morning: Wake your child at the time they’ll need to be up on Monday, on the new clock. Get outside in sunlight for 30 to 60 minutes and serve breakfast at the new time.
The rest of Sunday: Run meals, naps, and bedtime on the new schedule, with your usual bedtime routine.
Schneeberg says to expect about a week of adjustment and some moodiness. She also recommends waking your child at about the same time every day, weekends included, since sleeping in more than an hour past the weekday wake time makes Sunday night harder.
What sleep doctors think of changing the clocks at all
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine wants the clock changes to stop, and it wants the country to stay on the time we return to this Sunday. In an October 2023 position statement, endorsed by 20 organizations including the National PTA, the AASM called for ending seasonal time changes and adopting permanent standard time. “Permanent standard time is the optimal choice for health and safety,” said lead author Dr. M. Adeel Rishi. The statement itself says standard time aligns best with human circadian biology.
We’re with the sleep doctors on this one. If the country ever settles on one time, families would stop shifting schedules twice a year and keep the schedule that sleep scientists consider the healthier one. Until then, the same small-steps plan works in March, with each step moving earlier instead of later.
This article is general information, not medical advice. If your child’s sleep is still off two weeks after the change, or you have concerns about snoring or breathing at night, talk with your pediatrician.
When does daylight saving time end in 2026?
Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 1, 2026. At 2 a.m. local time, clocks move back one hour to 1 a.m. Hawaii and most of Arizona don’t change their clocks.
How long does it take kids to adjust to the time change?
Connecticut Children’s says to expect about a week of adjustment with a one-day switch. If you move the schedule 15 minutes a day for a few days beforehand, the shift is already done by Sunday morning.
Should I keep my child up an hour later on Saturday night?
An hour in one night is a big jump for a young child. Splitting it into 15-minute steps over three or four nights is gentler. If it’s already Saturday, keep the usual bedtime, change the clocks after your child falls asleep, and start Sunday on the new clock with time outside in the morning.
If you start tonight, this weekend’s change can come down to three bedtimes that are each 15 minutes later than the one before, some extra time at the playground before dinner, and a dark bedroom at dawn. The goal is a Sunday morning that starts at your child’s usual time on the new clock.
If you know a parent whose toddler is already up before 6, send this their way so they can start tonight.
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