Time change...
sucredee
member
So every time the time changes here there are many posts on TB (and GBCN now) about people freaking out over the time change. My thought is, it is only one hour, it is no big deal. They must never travel out of their time zone if they are worried about one hour.
I guess it probably does depend on the kid a little but so far DD has not had any problems adjusting to the time changes. Our most common one is the 2 hour difference when we go to the East Coast, but even when we go to Europe it has not been a big deal.
When we go to the East Coast there really isn't much adjusting in either direction.
When we go to Europe she usually adjusts right away and is on her normal schedule. Coming back (8 hour difference) she is usually a little off for 3-4 mornings but that's it. Last year she would be up from 3-5 then go back to sleep til 7. She did this for 3 days and then was back to normal. This last time she was up from 3-5 the first morning then went back to sleep until 730. The next 2 mornings she was up at 530-545 (she is usually up around 615-630) and after that she was back to her normal schedule (she would go to bed at her normal time and nap at her normal time, just her getting up time was a little off).
So how do your kids adjust to the time changes when you travel? I am glad I have a kid that seems to adjust well without too much problem but it seems like worrying about the one hour difference every six months is just silly and shouldn't be that big of a deal. Sure, your kid maybe a little off for a few days but I wouldn't think it would be anything to stress over.
I guess some kids are very much into a strict routine and have a hard time deviating from that. Then I wonder if this is really innate or a taught behavior (or a combination of both?). I wouldn't have a clue because I only have one kid so I have nothing to compare it too. DD has always been on the go since she was a few days old (not just travel but at home as well) so I don't know if that helped her be a flexible travel baby along with probably being a relatively easy going kid.
That said, I do remember my mom complaining about the one hour time change for several weeks and I thought that was crazy too. I think with her it is just a mindset. She still converts everything to guilders after like 12+ years of using the Euro.
Re: Time change...
Maybe it's genetic? I take a really long time to adjust to big time zone changes (meaning 4 hours+). My DH has absolutely no issue with an 8 or 9 hr time zone change. He just stays up on the flight and gets right into the new time zone.
As for daylight savings and kids, I didn't worry too much because our DS usually wakes up after 7 and I just put him to bed a bit later. He was fine.
However, some of his little friends regularly wake up in the 5-6am window and their parents are having a rough week.
@sucredee How old is your DD? We didn't have issues with an 8 hr change for him when he was 19 months old but now... it's a tough go. He just turned three, doesn't nap most days and sleeps 7pm-7am most nights. So an 8 hr change, with all the variables of flights, etc (we have a few short flights, then overnight in hotel, then a 9 hr flight to get back) creates a for some strange sleep.
I do believe some of it is innate. I have a strong internal clock, it is hard for me to sleep in past 7am even if I have had a rough night of sleep. My DH could sleep for 12-14 hours at a time and has slept in so soundly he's missed flights before.
Same for us. When DD was younger the 5 hour time difference (UK to Atlanta) was no big deal. She barely even noticed it. Now that she is older and no longer naps it can significantly throw things off for 3-4 days. That's one of the reasons we always factor in a few days at the beginning of our trip with very little planned.
The time difference barely affects me. We usually land in Atlanta around 7pm, eat, go to bed and I am up the next morning without any problem. DH needs a lot more sleep to function and sleeps incredibly hard. He is better now about adjusting his schedule when we travel but it is very difficult for him initially. It is only sheer willpower that gets him up that first day. When we were younger and first living overseas he could easily sleep the first 24 hours of a trip! Honestly, I have never met anyone who when given the opportunity can sleep as much as he can.
The 1 hour time change doesn't really affect us in any way once we are past the first morning.
m/c at 13 weeks - March 23, 2011
For us the one hour time change did not have any affect on DD. The five hour time change travelling back and forth to the east coast....difficult.
We do not seem to have a problem travelling to the US (I remember hearing its almost always easier travelling east), it was the coming to the UK that is very hard for DD. It takes about a week for her to get back on a regular schedule. (She was 6 months and 8 1/2 months the two times we travelled)
I believe genetics might play a bit of a factor- I have a tough time adjusting as well.
For us, it seems to work best to gradually get DD back on schedule.
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sibling love
Going to the US with DD is brutal. We did it when she was 8 months and 12 months. Both times it took a good week for her to fully adjust. She would crash in the afternoon and wake up between midnight - 2am ready to go. I would get up with her and let her play with the lights dimmed down low and after a couple of hours would get her to take a really early "nap" and then she would wake up from that at the time everyone else was getting up for the day. It really took a full week, though.
Coming back when she was 8 months was no big deal. She was re-adjusted in 2 nights. Coming back a few weeks ago when she was 17 months... not so fun. That also took a full week.
In comparison, the daylight savings adjustment is a piece of cake.
I don't know about genetics. I have few problems going to the US but coming back to Europe I always find to be really difficult. Same for DH. For DD it seems to be the other way around.
BFP1: DD1 born April 2011 at 34w1d via unplanned c/s due to HELLP, DVT 1 week PP
BFP3: DD2 born Feb 2013 at 38w4d via unplanned RCS due to uterine dehiscence
dd gets thrown off by both the little and the big time changes, with daylight savings it took her about a week to get back to her normal sleeping/waking routine (was waking up REALLY early and not wanting to go to sleep at her normal time). For the big trip to the US, I think it has got easier as she has got older. Took her a few days to get over it as it was easier to distract her and time her naps/bedtime so that she was awake/asleep as per her normal schedule after the big time change from flying
DD is 29 months and we just got back from Europe a couple of weeks ago. When we go out there we are usually up by 230-3 am and get into Paris (or Geneva this time) at about midnight our time. It's last time she had a one hour nap on the way to DC and then slept for about 4 hours on the flight to GVA. Our drive was about 1.5 hours and she slept the whole way. Then when we took a couple of hour nap mid days she hung out with my patents and then fell asleep anyway for a couple of hours. That night she went to bed about 9-930 (at home she usually goes to bed around 730 and gets up at 630. We shifted her around to go to bed later but also sleep later) and was right on schedule. On the way back we got up at 8, our flight was at 11 and got to Chicago at 2. She slept for about an hour. Our flight to CO was at 6 pm and she slept the whole way and then the whole way home. We got home at 9 pm. She went straight to bed and then had a couple of earlier mornings but that was it. I think the long days of travel usually mess up whatever routine she has enough that it doesn't really matter.
So far that always seem to work well. I wonder if she will remain flexible like that as she gets older. I sure hope so.
And I would imagine going to somewhere like Australia would be a little tougher to adjust to for both kids and adults.