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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to ask how on earth you fill the first few hours of the day if you have very early risers?

76 replies

BettyFriedansLoveChild · 27/04/2014 09:29

2 year old DD up at around five or six everyday, without fail (aware this could be much worse - it was four or five am for a good few months). After breakfast (lets say around 6.30) we can either let her watch TV or do some kind of activity. This morning (after about an hour of TV) she has done painting, helped me hover the lounge and tied up her bedroom, and helped DP make a cake and bake some bread. Its only just gone 9am. It seems that either we take the first few hours of the day at a relaxed pace (which involves lots of TV), or we run out of things to do before most people are up and about. How do other parents of early risers get the balance right (and hopefully minimise screen time)?

OP posts:

Xihha · 28/04/2014 09:59

my 5 year old is an early riser, the morning is spent reminding her that we have neighbours who are probably still trying to sleep and could she please shut up. We've tried putting her to bed later but she still gets up at the crack of dawn and is then grouchy coz she's tired

LackaDAISYcal · 28/04/2014 10:09

same here Xihha. No matter what time DS2 is in bed, he is up with the lark and more often that not is up at some ungodly wee small hour through the night. Some nights it can take a while to get him to settle in bed again. Still it's an improvement on his baby/toddler days when he was up half the night and didn't nap in the day. DH used to sleep on his floor so that he could shush him back to sleep before he was fully up and awake.

We bought a gro clock as well, which is really just an expensive night light as he ognores it completely, or else presses buttons till the sun comes up.

It's utterly exhausting.

Trollsworth · 28/04/2014 10:37

I say I wouldn't get up because I WOULD NOT AND DID NOT get up.

Stair gate and ear plugs. Sippy cup full of water. I do not start my day in the middle of the night, the end. Ds2 tried to pull this crap, he gave up after a while. Babies can get up when they like, toddlers have to keep normal hrs, thanks!

ikeaismylocal · 28/04/2014 10:42

Troll were you not worried that maybe your child had hurt themself, been sick, got stuck somewhere and you had ear plugs in so couldn't go to help them if they needed you? I would never want to be incharge of a young child and have ear plugs in, you might as well just leave him in his bedroom with a cup of water and go out to the pub.

It is cruel in my opinion.

sarinka · 28/04/2014 10:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Trollsworth · 28/04/2014 10:50

No, I wasn't,because even with ear plugs in I can tell the difference between a "mummy I'm bored!" and "mummy I've hurt myself"! The earplugs were to protect my eardrums from screams of rage.

Leaving a child to be bored in the middle of the night is not cruelty, it's parenting. If you don't learn the difference, your child will make every single decision until he moves out.

ikeaismylocal · 28/04/2014 10:57

What if the child hasn't hurt themself they have hurt themself and are silent? I wouldn't let an awake toddler wonder around even the most childproofed room all alone with me with ear plugs in.

Why wouldn't you just sit in the room or just outside the room with the child and ignore them, that way you know they are safe and havn't learnt how to climb over the safety gate or choked on something from their room.

It comes across as lazy even neglectful parenting to me.

EatShitDerek · 28/04/2014 10:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Xihha · 28/04/2014 11:01

wow Troll, I hope you bought your poor neighbours some ear plugs too?

Trollsworth · 28/04/2014 11:01

Why wouldn't you have them microchipped? WELL??!!

Are YOUR children microchipped? Or are you a lazy and neglectful parent?

starlight1234 · 28/04/2014 11:02

My Ds was always an early riser no matter what time he went to bed...I would either put him in bed with me with Tv while I dozed. Or get up and drink Tea till I was awake enough...Read books...My days didn't start that early but he did need supervision...

It is a good time for free play which is really important for little ones

Troll my DS did decide what time we got up when he was a toddler and I can reassure he does not make every single descision in the house.In fact very few.What a ridiculous thing to say.. He now stays in bed reading books till I wake up...because he is older...

Trollsworth · 28/04/2014 11:03

Neighbours were bloody horrible, so no, I didn't.

He only yelled for about ten minutes, an absolute torrent of toddler abuse ("you are a poo and you made of poo and you are poo I hate you I HATE YOU MUMMY GET ME UP!!!!") then went back to bed with his ITNG pop up book. I know because I could actually see into his room from my bed.

ikeaismylocal · 28/04/2014 11:16

Are YOUR children microchipped? Or are you a lazy and neglectful parent? No my child isn't microchipped, he is a toddler so I know where he is and what he is doing at all times, why would I need to microchip him?

What is the point in ear plugs if you were awake and watching him from your bed?

When do you think a baby becomes a toddler? My ds was toddling at 10 months old do you think he should have been left all by himself so I can get some extra sleep?

CogitoErgoSometimes · 28/04/2014 11:26

One point to add. It was a big incentive to introduce DS to the concept of 'the clock'. He might not have been able to tell the time exactly but when the happy day arrived that he knew not to come and get me before the little hand was pointing at the 7, it was champers all round...

Trollsworth · 28/04/2014 11:46

Have YOU become immune to hyperbole and satire? Has sleep deprivation ruined YOUR sense of humour?

Fix it NOW with new, patented earplugs - guaranteed to neglect your children for you while you watch!

ikeaismylocal · 28/04/2014 12:02

Trollsworth there is nothing wrong with my sense of humour, unfortunately I didn't find your posts amusing, I think you might need to check you understand the concept of satire.

I am not sleep deprived, why would I be, my ds sleeps 12 hours a night.

Trollsworth · 28/04/2014 12:24

Obviously.

LiegeAndLief · 28/04/2014 12:44

Tv. iPad. Playstation.

I read a thread on here a while ago about how much tv does your dc watch - large amounts of tv was highly correlated with early risers. At 5:30 the most I am capable of is lying comatose on the sofa under a blanket to the gentle strains of CBeebies.

Thankfully mine are a bit older now and mostly stay in bed until 7am, but I am terrible in the mornings and they still get a lot of screentime on a weekend morning...

deemented · 28/04/2014 13:56

Leave him to it whilst I sleep? Oh, if only

It's only in the past six months that DS3 doesn't scream when he wakes up. At one point he'd wake up and start screaming, and I don't mean little whingey moans, I mean full on someone must be killing him belters. To calm him you would literally have to wrap yourself around him, holding on for dear life. Thankfully he now has a weighted blanket but he still needs to be near someone. Theres absolutely no way I could sleep and let him be.

I'm very lucky we have understanding neighbours. They've only called the police once. That was fun - 'Hello, we've had reports of a child in distress...'

For some children it's not as simple as not allowing them to get up or leaving them to it. By god, I wish it were.

FunLovinBunster · 28/04/2014 15:12

I'm with Trollsworth
Didn't you read the bit where she says she can see into her DC room? RTFP.

sarinka · 28/04/2014 16:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Shockers · 28/04/2014 17:11

When they were small and rose at 5am, they used to make Lego creations and bring them to show me. We have also played 'sleepy pontoon' on my pillow with me providing the sleepy part. Getting them to brush my hair as I slept was also quite painful effective.

Now it's me that's up at 5.30, walking the dog while my snoozing teens stay in bed till 7!

hazeyjane · 28/04/2014 18:12

Ds (nearly 4) has always been up every morning around4.30/5. Go downstairs (otherwise he wakes dd's) Ipad, books, TV whilst I doze on the sofa/drink coffee/cuddle. Everyone else gets up and has breakfast around 6.15 so it's not too bad.

Xihha · 29/04/2014 00:48

Neighbours were bloody horrible, so no, I didn't. I'm not surprised they were horrible, most people are a bit grumpy after 10 minutes of screaming toddler at silly o'clock in the morning.

I don't think you should necessarily get up and play with him, DD knows I don't do playing/entertaining til 7am, but I do stick my head round and check what she wants, tell her to go back to bed and go through and remind her about being quiet every so often. Ignoring a child completely seems wrong to me at any time of day or night, plus with ear plugs I'd be terrified I'd doze back off and not hear if they were choking/needed me urgently.

QueenMeerkat · 29/04/2014 01:08

Mine are 7 and 4 and tend to get up about 6ish. They know not to come through and wake me up before 7, there's a clock in their room. They just play or read to each other.

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