My toddler is broken

[QuilliamCakespeare]

My eldest was an early riser until he started school but my youngest is next level. He's up before 5 every day, most days between 4.20 and 4.40. He'll be wide awake and shouting 'go downstairs!'. I do try to settle him back to sleep but 99 times out of 100 he's having none of it. It doesn't seem to make any difference whether he skips his daytime nap or sleeps for 2.5 hours.

I know it'll get better eventually. I know one day I won't be earth-shatteringly knackered all the time. But right now I want to whinge.

Is anyone else in the same boat? I need some company here. I have tea and mince pies on offer 😴

My 4yo is up at 6 on the dot. She's often awake before that but waits for the sun to come up on her gro clock.

Those of you thinking of trying gro clocks, I've got a little tip. Turn the brightness setting down to 0. The moon will come on bright but after a few seconds go dim. When it's 'morning', the sun will come up and the screen will light up yellow. I am saying this because if you have the brightness setting on even 1, the moon screen is far too flippin bright! Blue light is actually disruptive to sleep, and ain't none of us want that!! 😉

My 18mth old has recently started to sleep until gone 7... Curse the big one shakes fist and puts kettle on

Yes my toddler is usually up before 5. Sometimes he comes into our bed and goes back to sleep but only for a little while. I also have a baby who still wakes frequently. Can't remember what it feels like not to be tired!

Youngest DS is like this. However, sleeping with me helps. He doesn't settle in his own bed and never has. He likes warmth and a heart beat -have you checked the temp of his room?
Mine will sleep for hours if he is cocooned in the bed with me.

Is something waking him up -heating coming on etc?

Just thoughts -otherwise you have my sympathy.We have dogs here who decide at 6am that they are hungry -so I normally get licked in the face a lot!

I have had friends who used that gro clock thing and have sang its praises !!

Definitely try the gro clock it might not work but started working the very first night for my ds - he went from before 5 wakings to gone 6.15 (which I know is still early but at least reasonable)

One suggestion from an old timer, my youngest is 8 but what worked for us was making sure they had a good solid nap in the daytime, sleep Breeds sleep so a decent 2 hours between 12 and 2 and they were ready for bed at 7pm and often slept until 6am

I also had a good solid nap 12-2

Hi OP. I really sympathise - it's draining. My 4 year old springs out of bed at 5am or sometimes a bit before (earlier than 5 feels like middle of the night to me!). She's done this since she was about 3 (before that it was 6 which felt more civilised). My eldest DD is 13 and so I have the opposite problem of trying to get her off to bed at night or at least into her room by the time I go to bed.

It's bleak this time of year at 5am (CBeebies - couldn't ya start an hour earlier?). We have a dog, who to be fair to him would rather sleep til much later, but cause we're up he totters down the stairs at about 5.30 and then needs to go out so at the moment you can see me and my 4 year old walking the dog about half 5 in the dark 'n cold.

I have nothing useful to suggest, though have heard good things about Gro-clocks too. My eldest used to get up at the same time when she was this age and a normal v. simple clock with giant digits used to work with her. She knew that if it didn't say a big glowing 6 she wasn't to get up yet, but had a side light and toys and books she could play with in her room until then. My youngest def just wants to get up though and I can't see that working. She's so full of beans by 5am!

4 year old also still wakes about 3 times a night and have to go in to settle her each time, so all in all nights are not restful at the moment.

From what age does the gro clock work? My DS is only 20 months, but sleeping until 6am is a definite success here at the moment! (Today it was 5)

Mine actually slept through & I fell back asleep from 5am onwards.

Gro clock works well on 4yo but he loves rules anyway. The 23 month old will not respect the rules of the sun 🤣

Although sometimes the 4 yo will say the gro clock has only 1 star left so no point going back to sleep 😖

Groclock worked for us from about 18 months - once they can understand blue moon = sleep, yellow sun = getting up time. But you have to be boringly, consistent and persevere with it for the first week or so. No giving in and saying oh well, you can get up even though it’s blue. If you have to, get into their bed and demonstrate the correct approach for blue Groclock moments by sleeping (or pretending to).

BTW, I never required sleep (because, how can you). Just being in their room and quiet (ish, some pootling around, singing to toys etc was fine) during blue moon.

In bed by 9:30 😴
2 year old always slept 7-7 until a few weeks ago, now she's up at 5:30 wanting to go downstairs, if i bring her in with me she wiggles so much and whacks me in the face. Please let it be a phase!!!!

I feel your pain OP and all others suffering this.

Ds1 was always awake and ready to go well before 6 - he’s now 13 and has to be dragged out of bed for school every day.

I have no advice to give...he honestly nearly killed me, but you will get respite eventually.

Try reading ‘Raising your spirited child’ for a bit of explanation!

My Dd was like this - total nap dodger and extremely early riser - 05:00 every day for months ....but now she is 2 years 3 months and we get to sleep till 6.30. Christmas day was 7.30...me and DH even managed a bit of sheet rumpling before she awoke ....

So in my experience it does get better but until it does gave a ....its horrible, knackering and tedious.

There are so many of us. I love you all, my chronically sleep deprived sisters!

@bertielab the little monkey is in bed with me most nights at the moment anyway. By 4am he's flapping, wriggling and demanding milk and dinosaurs. We've fallen into a habit of moving him into our bed or me into the spare bed with him by the second (or sometimes first if I'm knackered and want a quiet life) wake up.

Some good advise there @RedCabbageStains . I have a 'no getting up before 5am' rule I'm trying to stick to, even if it mostly means me hissing 'lie DOWN' through gritted teeth every 8 seconds 😩

AdviCe

(I blame the sleep deprivation)

Can you go for a later bedtime? Until school age our two stayed up quite late - 10 or so if they weren't tired, and they used to get up at 8-9 so we all got a bit of a lie in.

@kiwiblue we introduced groclock at 18 months when we moved from cot to toddler bed. As long as you are very strict about not getting up for the day until the sun on the clock is up, it should be ok. Obviously for very young toddlers, you may still have them getting up / being upset and needing soothing in the night which is fine. Just soothe in quiet voices, no lights on / fuss / 'daytime' activities / usher them back to bed and reinforce the concept of nighttime. Lots of praise when they stay in bed until the sun comes up.
It's easiest to introduce in the winter months too as the 'real' sun doesn't make a sneaky appearance and confuse them.

@AllTakenSoRubbishUsername Not really. If he stayed up until 10 he'd be awake later than me! I want to have some grown up evening time to watch Suits in Netflix with DH too.

OP, I feel your pain. But the other way round. Mine are late teens. They get up at about 1 PM. But they are awake and clattering around at 2 effing AM (tiny house, with one bathroom, so no chance for me to hide). They think they are being quiet. And my work alarm goes off at 05.50. So there is not much sleep on offer for me. I.e. about 3 hours. I am a walking zombie. Roll on university and adulthood.

What time does he go to bed?

I constantly hear stuff from English parents about their kids getting up really early, but they do seem to go to bed super early too, tbf.

They think they are being quiet. And my work alarm goes off at 05.50. So there is not much sleep on offer for me

Have you tried earplugs? When I use them I hear pretty much nothing.

@WhiffOfBath Oh god, I hadn't even thought of the opposite end of the spectrum
Though I do look forward to hoovering outside their bedrooms at 7am!