E12: The Extra Hour – A Clock Change Story for Kids

Welcome to E12 of Zeepy Sleep: Calming Bedtime Stories for Kids – a perfect episode for the night the clocks fall back and bedtime feels a little… longer.

In The Extra Hour, Kip the Kitty is thrilled by the idea of a bonus hour and tries to fill it with snacks, games, and stories. But with the gentle guidance of Slumber the Sloth, she discovers that the gift of extra time isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing less. It’s about cozy moments, slow breaths, and simply being still.

⏰ This story gently supports children through the clock change transition, helping them feel calm, safe, and settled at bedtime.

👉 Visit the Zeepy Sleep Hub for more help managing the Autumn clock change with your children, including our useful Clock Change Schedule Builder.

💜 What your child will experience:

– A calming bedtime story for toddlers, preschoolers, and children aged 3–8

– Gentle guidance around the clocks changing and bedtime feeling different

– Soothing narration, breathing cues, and a dreamy night-time journey

– Positive messages about rest, slowing down, and emotional balance

Chapters

• 1:25 Welcome And Sleep Club News
• 2:53 Kip Discovers The Extra Hour
• 5:04 Overdoing Fun And Feeling Frazzled
• 6:49 Seeking Slumber’s Gentle Wisdom
• 8:56 Time As Space, Not Stuff
• 11:03 Stars Teach Stillness
• 14:06 Floating River Of Slow Time
• 17:44 The Lantern Of The Lost Hour
• 20:11 Return To Cozy Rest

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Hello dear friends and welcome to the ZP Sleep podcast, where dreams begin and gentle lessons unfold. Tonight's story is perfect for when the clocks go back and the nights feel longer. Kip the Kitty is excited to have an extra hour and tries to fit in as much as she can. But with gentle guidance from Slumber the Sloth, she discovers the gift of extra time is really about slowing down, resting, and feeling cozy. By the end, your little one will be calm, settled, and ready for sleep. And just before we begin, a little something for the grown-ups. We've launched the ZP Sleep Club, a cozy place to enjoy all our stories without intros or ads, with extra long endings that fade into dreamy soundscapes. Plus a growing library of soothing sleep soundscapes and window music. It's just$3 a month for early subscribers, with a free travel available through Apple Podcasts. Or find the feed via the link in the show notes. And if you're in the UK, our new Kip the Kitty four-phase sleep clock is now available on Amazon, loved by thousands of families. It uses calming lights to guide children gently through wind-down, bedtime, and wake-up, making routines calmer and easier. Now, let's settle in together. Take a soft breath and join Kip as she discovers the magic of an extra hour. At the Moonbeam Cat Cafe, twilight sparkles through the windows, fairy lights twinkle, and the smell of warm honey biscuits drifts through the air. It feels like any other evening, until something unusual happens. Kip the Kitty blinks her bright green eyes at the clock above the counter. Her whiskers twitch.

SPEAKER_00: 2:06

Wait a minute.

SPEAKER_01: 2:08

She purrs softly.

SPEAKER_00: 2:10

That can't be right. The clock just ticked back.

SPEAKER_01: 2:14

The clock has turned back by one whole hour. The night suddenly feels longer, wider, as though it's given a little gift of extra time. Kip gasps.

SPEAKER_00: 2:27

An extra hour? That means I can do everything.

SPEAKER_01: 2:33

First, Kip dashes to the kitchen. She paws at a basket of biscuits, crunches one down, and swishes her tail.

SPEAKER_00: 2:41

Mmm, delicious. One more biscuit won't hurt in an extra hour.

SPEAKER_01: 2:46

Next, she scampers to the book nook. She stacks three picture books in front of her, her eyes darting from page to page.

SPEAKER_00: 2:54

If I read really, really fast, I can finish them all.

SPEAKER_01: 2:59

But her whiskers twitch nervously. She isn't really enjoying the stories, just rushing through them. Before she can pause, Kip darts to the toy basket. She tosses the balls, bats feathers, chases shadows all at once.

SPEAKER_00: 3:14

Playtime, reading time, biscuit time, everything time.

SPEAKER_01: 3:20

She tumbles into the garden, chasing fireflies. She tries to climb the beanbag tower in the cafe corner. She even attempts to curl up for a nap, only to spring awake seconds later, remembering she still has more to do. But soon, Kip's paws feel heavy, her whiskers droop. She sits in the middle of the cafe floor surrounded by half-red books, a crumbled biscuit, and toys scattered everywhere. Her heart beats fast, but her tummy feels tight, and her eyes sting with sleepiness.

SPEAKER_00: 3:54

I thought more time would mean more fun. But now I just feel tired.

SPEAKER_01: 4:02

The extra hour hasn't felt like a gift at all. It's felt busy, rushed, noisy, like trying to chase too many butterflies at once. Kip curls her tail around herself and looks out of the window. The night is deep and calm, the moon spilling silver across the garden. Somewhere in the starlight forest, her friend Slumber the sloth is surely moving slow and steady, not rushing at all. Kip tilts her head, her eyelids heavy.

SPEAKER_00: 4:36

Maybe slumber will know what to do.

SPEAKER_01: 4:39

And so Kip pads softly into the night, paws tapping lightly on the cafe path, ready to seek slumber's wisdom. But first, let's take a long, slow breath in. And out. Kip's journey to understanding her extra hour has only just begun. Kip pads quietly along the moonlit path, her paws brushing over moss that feels cold and springy. Above, the branches sway, whispering secrets to the stars. Soon she spots a familiar figure curled up on a low branch. Slumber the sloth. His fur glows faintly silver in the starlight, his eyes half closed but warm. Slumber Kip calls softly, padding closer.

SPEAKER_00: 5:50

The clock went backwards. I thought it was amazing. I had a whole extra hour. So I tried to play and read and snack and chase moon beams all at once.

SPEAKER_01: 6:05

Her whiskers droop.

SPEAKER_00: 6:07

But instead of fun, I just got tired. My bonus hour didn't feel like a gift at all.

SPEAKER_01: 6:16

Slumber lifts his head. Hmm. You had more time. And you filled it with more doing. How did that feel in your body? Kip tilts her head, thinking.

SPEAKER_00: 6:35

Heavy, busy. Like the owl was squishing me instead of helping me.

SPEAKER_01: 6:43

Slumber nods slowly, the way only a sloth can. Sometimes, little one, more time doesn't mean more doing. It means more space. Space to rest, or to notice the stars, or to listen to your own purr. Kit blinks, surprised.

SPEAKER_00: 7:10

So an extra hour isn't for stuff. It could be for slowing down.

SPEAKER_01: 7:17

Slumber smiles, eyes twinkling. Exactly. The sun rests longer in autumn. The forest grows quiet earlier. Nature reminds us that time is not something to fill. It's something to feel. Can you feel your own quiet right now? Let's take a slow breath in. And a gentle breath out. Kip curls beside Slumber's branch, her body relaxing. The bonus hour suddenly feels different, calm, spacious, and full of peace. Kip settles down on the moss beneath Slum's branch. The forest feels hushed, like it too has paused to listen. For a moment, Kip twitches her tail, tempted to dash off again.

SPEAKER_00: 8:39

But what if I waste the hour?

SPEAKER_01: 8:42

Slumber stretches one slow paw, pointing towards the sky. Look up, he whispers. Kip tilts her head back. Above them, the stars shine brighter than she remembered. Clusters of silver dots like glitter spilled across velvet. A gentle hush fills her chest. Do you see how the stars are not rushing? They twinkle. They glow. They simply are. Kip breathes out slowly.

SPEAKER_00: 9:27

They don't cram things in. They just shine.

SPEAKER_01: 9:33

Slumber nods, eyes heavy with sleep. This bonus hour is like that. You don't need to use it. You can simply be in it. Can you imagine lying beside Kip right now? The moss under your back, the cool night air on your whiskers, the stars twinkling above. Let's breathe with Kip. One slow breath in, and a gentle breath out. Kip closes her eyes, listening to the rustle of leaves, the distant hoot of an owl, the soft rhythm of slumber's breathing. Her heart feels lighter, her body feels calm.

SPEAKER_00: 10:33

This extra hour, she whispers, isn't for more playing or more doing, it's for more peace.

SPEAKER_01: 10:42

Slumber smiles, drifting towards sleep. Yes, little one. And when the sun rises, you'll feel the gift of rest. Kip snuggles close, the hour stretching before her like a cozy blanket. For the first time, she feels grateful that time has slowed, teaching her that sometimes less is more. As Kip closes her eyes, something magical happens. The forest around her seems to stretch and melt, as though time itself has become soft and golden. She blinks and finds herself floating on a giant leaf, drifting slowly down a silver river. A current doesn't rush. It moves like honey, smooth, steady, calm. Kip stretches out her paw and touches the water. Ripples bloom in slow circles, spreading wider and wider, carrying starlight across the surface. Each ripple whispers, There is no worry. Overhead, the moon glides gently, like a lantern being carried through the sky. Fireflies hover in lazy spirals, their light pulsing like heartbeats. Kip sighs, her whiskers twitching.

SPEAKER_00: 12:28

Ah, so this is what it feels like when time slows down.

SPEAKER_01: 12:37

The leaf carries her past towering trees that bow gracefully, as if their branches are moving in time with her breath. Even the cricket's song is slower, like a lullaby stretched out to soothe the night. Slumber appears beside her, not walking, not climbing, just being. He drifts along on his own leaf, eyes half closed, a smile soft on his face. See, Kip, he murmurs, when we move slowly, we notice more. We feel more. Can you imagine floating with Kip now? Rocking gently safely on the leaf. Let's take a soft breath in and a slow breath out. Just like the river. Kip closes her eyes, letting the leaf carry her. She no longer worries about the bonus hour. She simply rests, wrapped in the wonder of slow time. As Kip drifts deeper into her dream, the river bends and opens into a wide shimmering pool. In the very center floats a glowing lantern, brighter than the fireflies, softer than the moon. Kip's eyes widen.

SPEAKER_00: 14:41

Slumber? What is that?

SPEAKER_01: 14:46

Slumber leans closer, his voice like velvet. That, Kip, is the hour you thought was lost or maybe gained. Time doesn't disappear, it just changes shape. The lantern glows gold and lavender, pulsing like a heartbeat. As Kip gazes at it, she feels warmth fill her chest. She remembers rushing, trying to squeeze in too much, and how empty it left her. Now, looking at the lantern, she feels something different. Stillness, peace, the gift of a slower rhythm. The lantern drifts towards her leaf. Kip gently touches it with her paw and it bursts. Not into sparks, but into soft ripples of light that spread across the pool, across the sky, across her own sleepy whiskers. Kip closes her eyes, whispering.

SPEAKER_00: 16:12

I don't need to chase the hour. I just need to rest in it.

SPEAKER_01: 16:17

Slumber nods, his slow smile glowing like the lantern itself. Exactly, little one. The extra hour is not for doing more. It's for being still, for being safe, for being loved. The fireflies swirl around them in sleepy dance. The river hums its lullaby. The lantern's glow fades gently into the stars above. Can you imagine holding that glowing hour close to your heart? Let's breathe in its warmth and breathe out all the rushing away. Kip snuggles into her leaf, drifting toward the dream's edge, where cozy sleep waits. Kip feels her eyelids grow heavy. The glowing river fades, and the cafe wraps around her once more. Safe, warm and still. She stretches once, twice, then curls into her softest cushion. The extra hour isn't for rushing or filling. It's for resting, for dreaming, for simply being. Slumber's calm voice drifts through her mind like a whisper carried on the breeze. Time is a gift. Let it hold you. Let it soothe you. Kip sighs contentedly, her whispers twitching with a sleepy smile. She doesn't need to do more or be more. She just needs to close her eyes and rest. And so the cafe grows quiet. The fairy lights glow like stars above. The night hums gently, holding Kip and you safe and sound. But now, dear friend, close your eyes. Take a long soft breath and let yourself drift into your own extra hour of dreams when the sun rests.