The time change and switch to more daylight really messes with my little one. Tonight he cried when I told him it was 8:00pm. Through his tears he said, "I hate it being eight o'clock and still bright outside." Fortunately, by 8:30 the sun had disappeared and convincing him to go to bed was not as challenging as I anticipated. The key here is that I did anticipate the difficulty.
You know what helped the most? When I clued in to his distress, I didn't just shuffle him off to bed telling him it would be fine and ignoring his feelings. Instead, I took a few minutes to sit with him, get his book bag ready for school tomorrow, and read a story. After that, the move to bed time was easy.
I know as parents, we often are run by the clock and rush our children to school, sports, homework, bedtime... then do it all again. I challenge us each to slow down a bit. Take a few minutes to listen and respond to your child. Quit living by the clock. In the big scheme of things, what matters most?
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