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Tired Parents Freaking Out After Congress Votes To Make Daylight Savings Time Permanent

Kaitlin Stanford

American parents let out a collective groan on Sunday when they woke up even more bitter and sleep-deprived than usual. Thanks to the biannual torment of Daylight Savings Time, we once again had to "spring forward" last weekend — losing an hour of precious sleep and then running around the house with one eye open as we reset all the clocks. Of course, the true hell of the time change doesn't end there when you have kids. It continues on for several days, as you struggle to get your kids back on the sleep schedule you'd so meticulously perfected after the last time the clocks changed. (HAHA, ISN'T THAT SO FUN?!)

Luckily, though, there may finally be some light at the end of this tunnel (Literally). On Tuesday, the US Senate unanimously passed The Sunshine Act — Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida's longstanding bill to implement Daylight Savings Time all year. And as soon as the news began to spread, parents everywhere seemed to say, "Wait, WHAT?!"

When the bill first passed, even some members of Congress seemed surprised.

In fact, as Rubio announced the results aloud on Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona looked noticeably psyched.

By the time social media caught wind of things, most Americans weren't just excited — they were also in stunned disbelief.

"Wait, are you telling me the government did something useful and nobody overcomplicated it, attempted to exploit it, or needlessly stood in the way?" tweeted one person. "This is hard to believe ..."

Honestly, it WAS hard to believe (and still is).

The concept of Daylight Savings Time was first introduced during World War I as "a way of conserving energy and providing more usable hours of daylight," according to the Wall Street Journal. Germany was the first country to start using it (in 1916) but the US quickly adopted the practice as well.

That said, it wasn't officially turned into law until 1966, when the government passed the Uniform Time Act. By then, the annual switch was still seen as a positive way to help conserve energy during the winter. (And, as an added bonus, experts also claimed it helped lower crime rates.) But after several decades, the time-changing craziness got, well, kind of old.

For several years, lawmakers have been trying to ditch the practice, without much success.

Arizona and Hawaii have both opted out of DST and now operate in standard time all year long, and Florida's state legislature has expressed interest in doing the same. But in 2018, Rubio introduced the Sunshine Protection Act in hopes that the whole US would get on board. Remarkably, it seems we finally have.

To be clear, the bill still has to clear the House before it makes it to President Joe Biden's desk. But presuming it does — and that the president signs it — switching clocks twice a year would go away forever.

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On Twitter, people were jubilant.

"The end of daylight savings time hell is near!" tweeted writer and mom of three Sarah Cottrell.

via GIPHY

"Rubio’s bill making daylight savings time PERMANENT. No more switching the clocks!" tweeted Tim Swain, a dad of two who's running for a Senate seat in South Carolina.

"Wow! Unanimous consent!" tweeted another parent in Texas. "NO ONE likes switching the clocks back and forth."

"Finally something everyone can agree on!" another dad tweeted.

Many parents were openly giddy about not having to rejigger their kids' sleep schedules anymore.

"I’m all for the Sunshine Protection Act," tweeted one dad. "Especially as a newish parent cause my kids sleep schedule has been even more erratic since the time change."

"Okay, but the best thing about this Sunshine Protection Act is seeing our government all finally agree on something," shared another mom, "(and also … not having to switch our clocks and sleep behavior twice a year anymore yesssss)."

Heck, even PET parents seem happy about it.

via GIPHY

"On behalf of watches, microwaves, 100's of thousands of clocks in schools, my 2005 Toyota 4Runner, other timekeepiing devices that must be adjusted by hand and most importantly DOG PARENTS across America; thank you, Senator Whitehouse, for passing the Sunshine Protection Act," tweeted one person.

"Parents, caregivers and pet owners ... anyone who has something or someone on a schedule needs the Sunshine Protection Act to become a law! Let this be your legacy," added someone else.

But aside from just switching clocks back and throwing off sleep schedules, parents are loving another upside of the bill ...

... the very real possibility of having more hours of daylight in the afternoon and evening.

via GIPHY

For one thing, it would give kids more time to play outside after school, meet up with friends, and just be kids. But for adults — and especially working parents — it also means they won't be ending their work day in total darkness for much of the year, which can often lead to feelings of exhaustion or even depression.

via GIPHY

"The Sunshine Protection Act, which still needs the backing of the House of Representatives, would mean no more losing an hour in bed every spring and fewer journeys home in the dark for school children and office workers," tweeted the handle @latenightparent.

"I would 1000000000% take a dark morning over a 4:30 pm sunset as someone with seasonal depression," added someone else.

Of course, not everyone is a fan.

Some people were annoyed that Congress moved so quickly on the legislation when other important issues seem to die on Capitol Hill.

"Paid maternity leave? Healthcare? Voting rights? No???" tweeted one mom. "Oh ok, let's talk about how important sunshine at 8 pm is for people ..."

“Of all the problems going on right now around the world, THIS is what we do now?” someone else chimed in.

Others argued that changing the practice would actually do more harm than good.

"Just thinking about all of those rural elementary students standing in the dark next to the road waiting for the school bus throughout the fall and winter," one person tweeted. "Not real safe."

"How many kids getting hit by cars while waiting in the dark for school buses will it take to understand this is a BAD idea!!" argued someone else.

But in response, a lot of people pointed out that kids already have to do that in most parts of the country — in part, because the winter months have less daylight in general and because school starts so dang early.

Some people even wondered aloud whether this bill might push for later school start times.

For now, people seem to be waiting with bated breath to see whether the bill will actually pass the House. (And if it does, it won't actually go into effect until November 2023.) In the meantime, we're sure they'll continue to argue about it on social media — where no one ever seems to agree on anything anyway.

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