to expect 6 year old and 4.5 year old

[wildmutt]

to be quiet and amuse themselves on a Sunday morning until at least 7.30am?

Last night I told them both that if they wake early in the morning they must go back to their bedrooms and play or read quietly until mummy and daddy are ready to wake up. So 5.50am both wake up and call for me and come in to our room. I send them back out - they come back in make lots of noise, jump on the bed. This goes on til I finally get up very grumpy at 7.30am. It's been a horrible morning with me shouting at them and constantly nagging about every little thing.

They have always been early risers and I keep telling them there is no need to get up so early on the weekends. I think I'm really hacked off today as struggling with a horrible cold. It was the same thing Saturday morning and that was after me and dh had been out on a very rare late night. It's got to the stage now where we really can't be bothered to socialise any more as we know there's fa chance of any sort of lie in.

ok next weekend I'm getting the chocolate brioche in and tv downstairs on standby. They get to watch tv in our room during the week in the mornings when I'm having my shower but think I'll stop this so they'll be suffering withdrawal symptoms come Saturday.

I have DD 7YO (just turned 7) and DS1 4.5 YO and they both know on sat and sun morning they are not allowed to come into our room or make any noise etc until 8am.

We generally allow a slightly later bedtime on fri and sat night (eg 8.30pm).

Both have clocks in their rooms, DS1 (4.5) has a dot above hour number - both know they have to wait for that to be 8.

We went though stage with a star chart for weekend mornings, and also left treats eg cadbury fingers beside TV. If they get up early (eg before 7.45am) they are taken back to their bedrooms and told its still the middle of the night.

Sorry I think you are hoping for a bit too much there. 6 year old yes. 4.5 year old, IMO, no.

4.5 is plenty old enough to get to grips with "go downstairs and watch TV" ime

Absolutely old enough - play quietly or go downstairs and watch TV - 4.5 = plenty old enough.

lock your door and ignore them

or march them firmly back to bed and tell them tv is banned that evening if they come in before you go in and get them

at this age they are QUITE capable of entertaining their-selves with a book/quiet play or even bribe tv time :)

NBU at all. Best thing is to get an alarm clock like others have said, then they know if it's an ok time or not. We have quiet reading time on weekend mornings at our house, it takes a while to settle into a routine but has worked wonders. DH or I read the newspaper while the other one fixes breakfast, and they are usually already reading by the time we actually get out of bed (shouted over for eating). I think it's important that you set that EXPECTATION that they don't make lots of noise or disturb you at that time - I found the promise of getting to choose what was made for breakfast (well, not entirely, out of two or three choices) bribed them well at first. Then it just becomes routine.

I do think that since yours are veyr young you need some visual sign, the alarm clock - relatively cheap and will be a massive help with establishing this :)

oh, forgot to add, we actualyl get up at 9.30 on weekends. ours are normally awake for about 8 or 8.30, but they know they shouldn't be wondering about downstairs without us getting up. if they do, they dont' get to choose breakfast - good incentive!

1 more thing - we don't have a TV in our house so just wanted to point out that you dont' need to placate them with Saturday TV to get them to be quiet.... it's perfectly possible without it!

4.5 you could be pushing it with the "getting them to read"

Depends on how quickly they've got on with their reading.

Neither of my 2 older DS's would have been able to sit down and read at 4.5 - they just hadn't "got it" at all and were completely clueless and "reading" involved lots of questions and being read to. And once DS1 was reading and DS2 wanted to, but couldn't yet, "sitting down quietly reading" was a bit of an oxymoron in this house as it usually involved a lot of fighting and tears as DS2 wanted DS1 to read to him, and DS1 wanted to read on his own.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I know it is our doing as we have allowed this to go on. We keep waiting for the day when they will stay in bed later (7am would be wonderful) but I don't think it's going to happen. They're up before 6 most days and are full on from start to finish. The 4.5 year old is the real culprit as I'm sure his older sister would sleep longer if she didn't hear him getting up. Everyone told us he'd sleep longer once he was at school full time but this has made no difference. They're in bed asleep 7.30 on school nights and 8.30 ish weekends but still wake the same time.

The only time he has ever slept til 8 was when we went to disneyland paris when he was just 3. They walked all day and went to bed at 10. I remember it so clearly as it was the best (and last) night's sleep we've ever had.

I am so of 9.30 weekend start.

I have dcs aged 3 and 6. Dd, aged 3 will come and wake me. I will take dd back to bedroom where they have a tv and dvd player. Put in DVD, tell dcs if you wake me up again DVD will be stopped. If you put DVD on at least you know what they are watching and they can't mess the recordings on the Sky up!
Works fine, especially since I am a lazy sod.

get an alarm clock for them and set it for 7.30. reaward if they manage to keep out till them.

My DDs (just turned 7 and 4) get up at 6am, but are not allowed to wake us until 9am, and have been doing this for over a year now.

We have a TV and DVD in their room. However, it is not linked up to a cable. On Saturday nights, they choose a DVD before bed. When we go to sleep, we put in the TV buttons, so when they wake in the morning, they are able to watch a DVD. This usually takes them to 7:30 ish.

Then we put out cereal. We buy the individual boxes of cereal (sunday treat), so that they can open their own cereal. Bowls etc all laid out. Enough milk is put into a jug, so that doesn't get spilt everywhere.

Then the girls are allowed to play quietly downstairs until we get. The downstairs is a complete mess, but we get the lie in and consider it a small price to pay.

I think at 6 and 4, they should be able to play alone. Mine were doing it at this age!

Our 2 get up - well, whichever wakes first goes into the other's room, gets into their bed and they sit and share stories until we get up. 'Tis very sweet.

Oh, sorry - they are 7 and 5

This is what tvs and biscuit tins were invented for :o

You are putting them down at night too early, so they are getting enough sleep. Try putting them to bed later at night i.e 9pm and see if that helps.

My DSs are a similar age. We're finding Lego Universe a great help!

Classdiva - not always, My children went to bed at 11.30pm on Saturday night, were still up before 7am the next day. For some children it makes no difference what time you put them to bed, they still wake early! Unfortunately, I include my children in that category.