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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

I’ve been one that always rolls with the punches of daylight saving time, and usually I feel a little off for the first day and then I can snap back on track.

Dealing with daylight saving time with children can make things a bit more challenging.

The last month I’ve been enjoying my weekend mornings because it hasn’t gotten light very early. Some Saturdays and Sundays I still wake up somewhat early out of habit from the rest of the week, while other times I like to sleep in a little until maybe 7:30 or 8 a.m.

You see, I have to take advantage of sleeping in an extra hour or two while I can because the minute my son, Landon, notices it’s daylight outside, he springs up out of bed — and of course the first thing out of his mouth is “Mom!”

Most of the time if Landon wakes up and sees that it is dark outside, he’ll just lay back down and fall back to sleep. But if there’s any bit of sunlight streaming in around the edge of the curtains — and he sees that all too well — it’s too late and there’s nothing I can do. He’s up for the day.

The last few days I’ve been reminded why I dislike this time of year — getting dark at 6 p.m. or earlier and then getting light so early in the morning.

Landon is also thrown off by the earlier sunsets at night and starts asking if it’s time for bed the minute he realizes it’s dark outside. He hasn’t been able to tell time, but, boy, does he know the time of day based on other factors — light being one of them.

Too bad we can’t have longer days year-round.

To my fellow parents of young children, I hope you’re making it OK through the week. Just remember, we’ll all settle in to the new time before we know it, and life will go on as before.

To those of you who dislike daylight saving time, did you know that in the United States, Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation), Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Marian Islands and the U.S. Virgin Island all do not participate in daylight saving time?

I’d be curious to see how that goes over with the people there.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.