6.40am is an acceptable time for a 4yo to get up?

[elainesummers]

My DD just turned 4. She is always asleep by 7pm, sometimes earlier.

She's up for the day at 6.40am. My parents think this is far too early and don't believe me when I say many of her peers get up even earlier especially in the summer months.

They're also aghast that we use a gro clock and keep asking when we will 'wean her off it'.

my 10 and 7 yo's are normally up about 6. But they take themselves downstairs and make themselves breakfast these days and then just play until we get up.

the 12yo on the other hand...

At four my children took it in turns to wake at 4am. 6.40 sounds very civilised. Also my 10 year old still uses his Gro-clock.

Ignore the well-meaning advise. It will have been at least 20-30 years since the grandparents had an actual 4 old to look after full time so they will have totally forgotten what life is actually like with small children.

Mine (8,5,5) got to bed at 7pm school days and 8pm weekends and holidays. They’re up between 6.30 and 7.30 almost every day in the holidays. I can guarantee non of them will wake up on school days though and I usually have to shake them awake!!!!

Sounds within normal range.

I think waking times are so unique that it doesn't even warrant a comment from anyone outside of your unit... I know families with kids who are 5am risers without fail, and others with 7am-ish. What difference does it make to anyone else, as long as your child is getting enough sleep and functioning/developing as they should?

The gro clock thing though... We still use ours for our DS and he is nearly 6. At weekends/holidays we set the 'up time' for 7.30 or 8am, and if he wakes up earlier he will just lie in bed with a toy or book until it turns to the sun! He's never, ever, ever got out of bed until we tell him it's day time, and is so happy doing that in bed so we figured why not buy ourselves an extra hour at weekends, and he gets a 'lion' as he calls it (a lie in) evil laugh

(but omg should we not be doing this if 4 is considered too old for a gro clock?)

My ds is asleep by 7.30-8.00pm and awake at between 7.00-7.30am. We use black out curtains which help
I think. He will usually happily play in his room or look at books for a while if we are not fully awake yet.

Yes that is normal!

6.30 in winter and earlier in Summer. That’s great in comparison to their cousins!

6.40am is a lie in.

Surely it depends on the lifestyle of the family? Mine used to get up at 6:30 and be at the childminders' for 7.30, suited us. Childminders' own child didn't get up til 8, in plenty time to take the big kids to school. My husband has always got up fairly early for work, so early bed early-ish up worked for us. In lockdown with no commutes people are doing things differently. If you don't like it, change it. If 9am school is the first appointment of the day you might want to stay in bed late, but you can always get on with your day!

I think when you get to that age you have to start deciding whether you want them to bed later or are happy with the early waking. But that isn't early! My 5year old wakes naturally at 6am in summer, even with blackout curtains! But I've trained her to "rest" until 6:30am. She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 but we are trying to get her to bed later now.

Basically 6:40am is a perfectly normal time!

You put her to bed early, she gets up early. 🤷 If you are happy with that, not sure whats' the problem for your parents.

It's only in Britain that some kids will get up at 5am ^whatever the time they go to bed", so that does make me laugh. But again, if their parents are happy with it, it's nobody's business. It's far too early for me, even during the school year, so mine get up much later, but it's a personal choice.

There is a massive bonus of pushing back bedtime and wake up time I have to say: no rage against noise late afternoon or early evening, and you don't have to keep the kids quiet or entertained for hours in the morning.

Unless you are on a group holiday and refuse to join all afternoon activities because you want to put the kids to bed early and you moan because people are noisy after 6pm, again, not your parents business. Some adults love getting up really early too!

Early bird catches the worm. It's a totally normal time. Two of mine were crack o' dawn risers. My youngest is 6 and wakes around 7-7:30am now, but at 4 years old, he was up by 6-6:30am. My middle DC was a very late sleeper, which is much harder when you've got school to get ready for. I'd take the early bird, any day.

It's not a BU / NBU question. It's just a fact. The sun rises, the sun sets - is it BU? No, it just is.

Are you BU to be bothered about what your not very helpful or sympathetic parents think? Yes, probably.

Surely you will stop using the gro clock when he can tell the time well enough to use a "proper" clock?

Why would you have a gap of a year or two in which he doesn't understand the expectations as to whether or not he should go back to sleep purely for appearances sake?

Wean off the gro clock? Why?? What a silly thing to worry themselves about. Ignore

When hours were little we would be thankful if their wake up time began with a 6! After 7 was a blissful lie-in.

Your parents sound like a couple of drains. Ignore them .

*ours

I think your parents might have rose tinted glasses OP.

We have 3, the eldest is 8 and has a Gro Clock and normal clock in her room (in the winter she wouldn't be able to see the time on the normal clock to be up in time for school as her room would still be dark).

The other 2 have Gro Clocks and the youngest is 4, mine are usually all up by 6.30am and asleep by 7.30pm (sometimes a bit later for the 8 year old).

Ignore your parents comments.

Totally normal in my opinion and far better than my one's 5AM appearances.

Say too early. My kids would be sent back to bed at that hour.

Think I would just use it as an excuse to not visit 😂

May shut up the constant drop of criticism!

oh god just ignore them. When my youngest was 4 his set waking time was 5.30am.
It has gradually gotten later, and now he is 10, its about 6.50am.
It doesn't matter when I put him to bed, he wakes the same time every day.
DS1 on the other hand is 13 and rose at 12.30 the other day....

Omg I'd love 6.40! We are 6am here, sometimes earlier. DD is only 2 though, so doesn't quite get trying to stay in bed longer. Going to introduce a gro clock soon.

When I was little I remember not being allowed to get up until 7am! My dad put little stickers on the clock!