How do I get my dd4 to sleep in past 4am?!

[Thedarksideofthemoon30]

I’m at breaking point.

For the last year my dd4 wakes anywhere between 3-4.30am snd is ready to start to day. Doesn’t matter what time I put her bed. She started school in September and I thought it would help her sleep in but nope, it’s just made her awful. She’s absolutely shattered by the time she finishes school which means evenings have been horrible because she’s moody and grumpy. She’s falling asleep by 6 but we keep her up until 7. Although she has been known to go to bed at 8.

It’s killing me. I’m exhausted. My husband is on early shift this week and he alarm goes off for 4.30, she’s been up before him.

I normally try and get her back to bed or to lie with me but she’s wide awake and wants to her up. I have been known to bribe her with my phone to go back bed but even then she doesn’t want it.

I don’t know what to do! :(

Have you tried a Gro clock? She has to stay in bed until the sun comes up on her clock. You could set it for her usual wake up time and then add 5 to 10 minutes on it everyday until it’s at an acceptable time for her to be up.

When we introduced one to DSS we explained clearly if the stars were still on the clock he could not get up, he could lay in bed with a book to look at or a cuddly toy to play with but he wasn’t allowed up. Didn’t take long for him to fall back to sleep!

Second the gro clock! The rule in our house is if you wake up before the sun comes up you can play quietly in your bed with cuddly toys/read a book/go back to sleep but can’t get up until the sun comes up. This if further incentivised with a reward sticker everyday you stay in bed until the sun comes up and every 15 stickers get traded in for a treat. My DS has just turned 4 and this has worked since he was about 3.5 he sleeps 7.30-7 roughly. If any one is listening in at our house though we quite often get woken up to him shouting ‘the suns up on my cock’ 🤣🤦🏼‍♀️

I’m guessing you’ve done the basics: no screens an hour before bed; make sure she has eaten and drunk well and used the loo; room not too hot or cold etc. If you do use a groclock please make sure you explain that she can come through earlier if she is unwell / needs you. We forgot to do this with our son and he had a night time nosebleed which he attempted to deal with alone as it wasn’t time to get up yet