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    For parents

    Explaining the clock change to children

    Twice a year something happens that rightly puzzles children: all the clocks suddenly show a different time, yet nobody touched the day. The clock change needs explaining, but it is also an opportunity: few occasions lend themselves better to talking with children about clocks and time.

    What happens that night

    In Switzerland and its neighbouring countries, clocks go forward one hour on the last Sunday of March (summer time: 2 a.m. becomes 3 a.m.) and back one hour on the last Sunday of October (3 a.m. becomes 2 a.m. again).

    Important for children: time itself does not change, only the clocks: the sun rises and sets as always. Only that one night is an hour shorter (spring) or an hour longer (autumn); from the next day everything runs normally again, just with different numbers on the dial.

    Explained child-friendly, with memory hooks

    The abstract rule becomes tangible when tied to everyday life: "Tonight everyone puts their clocks forward one hour. That's why bedtime is earlier tomorrow, but in return it stays light longer in the evening."

    For remembering the direction, the classic English hook does the job: spring forward, fall back. Or with a picture: in spring the garden furniture goes OUT in front of the house and the clock goes FORWARD; in autumn the furniture comes BACK inside and the clock goes BACK.

    The best clock-learning occasion of the year

    On the changeover weekend, children get to do what is usually forbidden: fiddle with the clocks. Use it!

    • Let your child reset all the analogue clocks in the house themselves: one hour forward or back, clock by clock. There is no better hands-on practice.
    • Hunt together for the clocks that adjust themselves (phone, computer, radio-controlled clock), and discuss how they "know" the new time.
    • Compare before/after: "Yesterday it was dark at 6 p.m., but today it's still light at 6 p.m. How come?"

    Cushioning the mini jet lag gently

    For the body, the change is a small jet lag; children with a steady rhythm feel it more than adults. The spring change ("one hour less sleep") is the harder of the two.

    For a gentle transition, shift bedtimes and mealtimes three or four days in advance by 15 minutes a day: in spring 15 minutes earlier each day, in autumn 15 minutes later each day. And afterwards: a few days of patience, because grumpy children in changeover week are normal and not a parenting problem.

    Frequently asked questions

    Why does the clock change exist at all?

    Summer time was introduced to make better use of daylight: lighter evenings, less energy use, so the idea went. Whether the sums add up is disputed to this day. For children this is enough: "People agreed on it so that summer evenings stay light longer."

    Will the clock change be abolished?

    The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end the change, but the EU states have not agreed on how to proceed since, so nothing has been implemented. Switzerland introduced summer time in 1981, after a referendum in 1978 had said no and the country risked becoming a "time island". Which is why it still holds: as long as the neighbouring countries change their clocks, Switzerland changes too.

    Which way do the clocks go again?

    Spring forward (2 → 3 a.m., an hour "missing"), fall back (3 → 2 a.m., an hour "gifted"). The English mnemonic says it all: spring forward, fall back.

    Turning the hands can be practised too

    In the Zeitlernen app, children set and read interactive clocks, with selectable difficulty. Free, ad-free and in four languages.