The Daylight Saving Clock Change Has Triggered a Negative Change for Her

Dear Dr. Wallace: The clocks just recently changed for daylight saving time, and my youngest sister is having a hard time with it. She doesn’t like it getting dark so early in the evening and she constantly tells me she’s afraid, even at bedtime. In the summer, she never worried about going to bed. Our parents just tell her there’s nothing to worry about and they’re very dismissive in the way that they nonchalantly act like it’s not a big deal. But I can tell, to her, it is indeed a big deal. Is there anything I can do to help calm my sister down, and why in the world are small kids so worried about the dark anyway? She’s now talking about monsters in the dark, but she never said a peep about any monsters all summer. — My Sister Struggles With Early Darkness, by email Dear My Sister Struggles With Early Darkness: The best thing you can do is to stay positive and calm when discussing the topic with her. Try to tell her a funny story or something that might make her laugh and change her mind’s focus. One thing not to do is to take her over to her closet or to any other location in the house to open closet doors or drawers and show her that monsters don’t exist, because by validating that they aren’t there, you might subliminally be conveying to her that there was a possibility they do exist and that’s why you checked. Let her know that the sun comes up and goes down for many millions of children each day, and they all wake up, have breakfast and go to school or whatever activity they normally participate in. Let her know that it’s just part of life, and that the sunlight goes through various cycles during the year. And as to your question of why younger children typically struggle with this issue, it’s a combination of their imaginations beginning to work as they generate advanced thought patterns, but sometimes they unfortunately project things forward that aren’t there. You can also install a dim nightlight in her room and establish a repeatable bedtime routine that will help to keep her calm. Following a ritual bedtime routine provides psychological comfort to most children.