Parenting expert: The start of daylight saving time this weekend may cause children to struggle in school
The online homework help company “Brainly” says there are steps you can take now to make the transition easier.
By: Tim Studebaker
Facebook: @TStudebakerABC6
Twitter: @TStudebakerABC6
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – Pushing the clocks forward an hour this weekend might have you excited for those later sunsets, but on the other side of the coin, losing an hour of sleep can make things difficult as our bodies adjust, even more so for children.
Patrick Quinn is a parenting expert with the online homework help company Brainly. Quinn says, “The kids, because their brains aren’t developed as much, it’s hard for them just to shrug it off. It throws off their whole day. So, it’s really important to try to take as many steps are you can to mitigate those changes for them.”
According to Quinn, losing an hour of sleep can make children seem sluggish or grouchy, and they may lash out, start running behind schedule, or struggle with homework. But, he says, they usually recover quickly.
Quinn says, “At the most, 3 days. If after 3 days you’re still having a big issue, then you have to maybe take a step back and see if there’s something else involved that’s making the kids seem thrown off.”
He says there are steps you can take now to make the transition a little easier.
Quinn says, “One of the best ways is, if you can, if you have the opportunity, just to ease into it. Maybe start getting the kids to bed earlier a few nights before daylight saving so it’s not quite such a big shock. Even though it’s happening on Sunday, it’s Monday when they’re really going to feel it, when everybody needs to get up and get to school.”
He also suggests keeping wake up times consistent, shutting off screens an hour before bedtime, and staying away from junk food in the evening.
Quinn says, “That will just help them to sleep better throughout the night so even if they do have to get up a little bit earlier, they’re not quite so thrown off and their brain’s not quite so loopy.”
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