to think my children are the earliest risers in the nation?

[megandraper]

3 DCs, ages 1, 3 and nearly 5.

Every morning, without fail, at least one of them gets up before 5am, and usually wakes up the others in the process.

This morning it was 4.30 (thank you DS1). Yesterday it was 3.30 (DD not entirely to blame as still suffering after MMR jab). Day before that it was 4.15 (DS2 with temperature.)

But every single morning, it is one of them. And has been for years. Six am is a lovely lie in for me. And the worst of it is that I know when they are all finally teenagers and snoring till lunchtime, I will have turned into one of those bonkers parents who gets up at the crack of dawn and roams round the house muttering about the best part of the day.

Poor you. What time do they go to bed?

You poor thing. Mine wake each other up too, without fail. Although not until the comparatively late time of 6.15am most mornings.

DSs go to bed about 7pm, DD (15 mths) going through a stage of not settling tilll 8pm -9pm). The bedtime doesn't seem to make a difference though - in the hols we moved it back to about 8pm, and they still got up at exactly the same time. DS1 has started school and needs his sleep, so have moved bedtime forward again.

Nope, mine were the same but as they got older the earliest they woke was 5.30. Never mattered what time they went to bed either.

BTW, my teenager is still up at 5.30 - 6 so she can do her hair!!! Even in the holidays, no teenage lie ins yet!!1

Oh goodness. Poor you

Is the 5yo at least able to understand about staying in bed til an hour closer to actual morning time? And not disturbing siblings? Might get you a tiny stretch if he/she is the one usually waking the others.

Otherwise, I'm guessing you've tried earlier/later bedtimes to see if it makes a difference. Our 5yo used to be a 5am girl, but slowly grew out of it. It's a positively late 6:45 these days

I miss being able to sleep til noon...

I feel your pain!
Mine used to wake up between 4 and 5 every morning too; thankfully it's now between 6 and 7 (they're now 6 and 3).

I hope they start getting up later for you soon.

I feel your pain OP!

DD2 (5 mo) wakes up hungry at around 4.30 most mornings, which is fine but by the time she goes back to sleep its almost 6am.

I sneak back into lovely warm bed and drop off....

To be woken by DD1(2.8) approx 7 mins later!

the zoolets are all ridiculous risers too!!
aged 8,6 and 4 the only time i am still in bed at 6am is coz they are unwell
over the years ive tried everything from stickers and reward charts to bribery and threats--
at the end of the day some people are naturally early risers,kids included

i agree with the when theya re teens thing too.i suspect i will still be up before dawn when thet are kipping til lunchtime!

always thik winter is the worst,its not so bad getting up when its light;being dragged from sleep when its dark and cold is not at all inviting!!

The nearly-5 year old doesn't stay in his room when he wakes up, no.

He tends to hear the baby (I am sleeping on the floor in her room in order to try and get her to sleep the night in her cot - unsuccessfully so far) when she wakes in the early hours - even if she only squesks for a moment, and then come in to us. He has a thing about hating to be 'on his own' and gets shouty and panicky if left.

I am holding on to the hope that school will tire him out. He did sleep till 6am a couple of times last week (of course, the others didn't, but still, it is a start.)

btw it is lovely to hear from others with the same problem. Everyone I know in RL seems to have to shake their kids awake at 8am...

Ugh, that's just not cricket.

We've got gro clocks for ours (5 and 3. One year old still wakes whenever it suits!) could they work for yours? We set them for 7:30am and they know not to get out of bed until it's morning. They can get up to go to the toilet obviously and are allowed to read if they wake up early. You could start with 5am and gradually move it to something civilized.

Good luck!

X post sorry. Not sure how to solve the alone problem. Maybe the older two could share a room?

And the worst of it is that I know when they are all finally teenagers and snoring till lunchtime, I will have turned into one of those bonkers parents who gets up at the crack of dawn and roams round the house muttering about the best part of the day.

LOL. Yes, I have a nasty feeling that will be too.

DS2 is being a nightmare at the moment - I think it's teething - but I haven't had a good night's sleep recently and it's killing me. I'd just got him into a good routine too and last night he woke up and yelled three times and was then awake from 5.33am, waking DS1 in the process (who's a brilliant sleeper).

DS1 has always been an early riser, used to be 5am but has gradually extended to 6am. He started school a couple of weeks ago and I was hoping it would tire him out but still 6am!! We've tried all the usual later/earlier bedtimes but makes no difference.

My problem now is DS2 is not an early riser, rarely wakes before 7.30am so its a pain to time breakfasts and I usually end up having to feed them separately! Does mean I get a nice bit of time just with DS1 though.

No ideas just sympathy xx

Mine are slowly getting better, they are 7, 5 and nearly 3. We rarely see any time before 6 now, or if we do they go back to sleep, not me though. Sometimes we even get to 7 (not often though). The 7yr old sometimes even needs to be woken for school - I remember when she used to come down and wait with the black screen for Cbeebies to wake up. Now though they stay awake at night instead, rarely asleep before 8, dd1 sometimes up until 9:30 or 10pm!

I also feel your pain, for 6 years I was always up around 5 with one or more of my 3 DC's. Thankfully they now sleep until at least 7. It is amazing to stay in bed until then for years I walked around in a sleep-deprived fog. Hopefully they will grow out of it (they are now 8, 7 and 4)!

I don't have a problem with my early riser any more. I bought a clock, marked 7am on it with bright permanent marker, and I told him that if he wakes up before then, he can read. Nothing else.

Before then isn't morning in my house, and as he shares a room, he is only allowed to read. He also hated being 'alone' at 5yo. By 6yo though, I had got fed up of the early starts and set this rule in place, for the sanity of everyone else in the house, as he is (well, was) the only early lark to the rest of our night owl!

I solved it with him, only to promptly forget just how eeeevil early mornings are, and have another baby. Who also wakes for the day at sparrow's fart.

Reading. And a set time that they can't come out of their room before. It's the only answer!

Fought I th

Couthy I thInk you are right. I' think I will concentrate on getting Dd to sleep through first so that nights are less disrupted and then think about instituting a morning curfew. On past performance of DSs tho, sleeping thru could be some time off. Congrats on new baby.