For many people Tax Day is the worst day of the year. However, if you are a parent I would bet my return that you are dreading March 13th more than you are April 18, 2011.
I’ve whined about it before and I’ll complain again now: I despise Daylight Saving Time.
Springing ahead is a nightmare for parents with young children (falling back I love) who are used to a routine… especially a sound bedtime routine that has the kiddos hitting the hay at 7: 30 p.m. and waking up at 6:30 a.m…. ahem!… my 6-year-old.
Daylight saving time is lurking like a troll under the bridge, or in my case, like a ravenous lion looking to devour what exists of my child’s circadian rhythm.
As parents, we work tirelessly to get our kids into a routine that helps them thrive, and then like a masked thief, daylight saving time sneaks up in the middle of the night and robs us of more than just an hour of sleep. Rather, we are scourged of the normalcy that preserves our sanity.
On the second Sunday in March you will put your kid to bed at 7 p.m. and his body will think it’s 6 p.m. Likewise, on Monday when the alarm goes off at 3 a.m. (oh, wait, that only happens in my pathetic world) or 6 a.m., your body will think it’s 5 a.m. So, if your child typically gets up at 6:30 a.m. on a school day, thanks to daylight saving, his body will think he rousing at 5:30 a.m., and he will be even grumpier than normal.
Then, there’s the whole issue with extra daylight. Great for farmers and during summer vacation, not so much in March when you are dealing with a 6-year-old who maintains that she shouldn’t have to go to bed when the sun is still shining.
How do you deal with daylight saving time?