Why NJ clocks need to change now instead of November

It's now mid to late October, and just recently the principal of our kid's elementary school sent out a note to all the parents. The subject is quite simple. It was about arrival time in the morning.

Now before I get into this, let me first point out that this particular elementary school does not have bussing. It's because it's a small, localized school where most students are never more than a 15-minute walk from home.

The message was about tardiness and how kids are suddenly being dropped off later. Drop-off time, by the way, is around 8:05 a.m. for this elementary school. By 8:10 a.m., they would like to have all the students already at school and ready to start the day.

Yes, it's on the earlier side when compared to other elementary schools, but it is what it is. But in regard to the sudden challenge of getting kids to school on time, I think I know part of the reason why.

Has anyone stopped to realize how incredibly dark it is outside first thing in the morning this time of year? Especially from mid-October all the way till we change the clocks the first week of November.

And it's going to keep getting darker and darker in the morning until then. And yes, that's even on a clear day. One of the problems with this is it's just a lot harder to get started for the day when it's so dark out.

I don't know about anyone else, but I personally believe that the fallback to Standard Time happens way too late in the New Jersey region. And no, it wasn't always this late.

At one point, the fallback happened in October, which, in my opinion, was much better for all of us. Yes, it got dark earlier, but that continuity in the morning with when the sun comes up just seems so much more important to how we start our days.

I get that we prefer light in the evenings, but it's going to get dark early either way, so what's the difference? I know in my house it's a lot harder for anyone to get moving in the morning when it's dark out. And, after talking to some of the other parents, they said they feel the same way.

Now I know there's an argument to scrap the annual changing of the clocks, and I get it. I used to think that too, but as time goes by, the more I believe having consistency with daylight in the morning is more important than it is having it in the evening.

Without that time change, that consistency wouldn't exist. With that said, if we had to keep one, I would say Standard Time, instead of Daylight Saving Time, is the way to go. But I'm also sure I'm in the minority here.

Until then, the clock changes don't seem to be going anywhere. So for as long as we have it, let's move to falling back by the third weekend of October. Yes, it'll be darker in the evening sooner, but it'll help us out in the morning.

Not to mention, we'll finally have more nighttime for Halloween.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.