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'.

I'm a bit confused about your parents attitude. So your daughter gets up to early but you shouldn't use a gro clock. Surely without it she'd be up even earlier? Not that it's anything to do with them.
When my older two were little they were usually up between 6 and 7 so fairly normal I'd say.

6.40 is very good my 4 year old often gets up earlier!

6.40 is a hellish time for anyone to have to get up because mornings are horrible and I hate them and I don't feel human until closer to 11am.

But 6.40 is a perfectly normal time to be up. When I went back to work after ds3, 6.40 was a lie in; I had to have him with his cm by 7.30am and then be on the bus to ds1&2's school by 7.37 to get them into breakfast club and be on my next bus to work by 8.07 (the times are emblazoned into my brain!!) and much as I hated it, we all had to be up at around 6.30 and ready to leave by 7.15 latest.

I used to get a lot of 'advice' from MIL about how to make DD sleep later (always woken around 6/6.30) but nothing worked, no matter what time she went to bed she's always been an early riser.

Plenty of adults are larks so why should kids be any different 🤷🏻‍♀️

My 8 year old still gets up at 5.30. 6.40 is a lie in in our house.

I didn't have THAT problem. I had little owls. It could be as late as midnight to get them to sleep as babies. I tried to change it to earlier but DD1 was (and still is at 11yo) just a late sleeper.

Of course I got criticism (to the point it's one of the main reasons I'm NC with PIL). But then my DDs used to sleep in until 10am and I got a lie in every day (and still do at weekends now). No matter how many times I pointed out that sleep is sleep and the actual hours you do it for don't matter within reason as long as there's enough time for all the sleep cycles to happen - people don't get it.

6.40am is fine for your family. The bedtime is early enough for that to be a full night's sleep - over 11 hours. How much longer does anyone think a child should be out for? As long as it works for you and your family routine just crack on and ignore all comments.

Ds 7 here. He used to get up at 4am for the day until he was approx 5. Now anything after 6am is acceptable. He goes to bed at 9pm. Always been an early riser. His older brother who is 10 usually gets up around 7am

Laugh and tell them lightly to give it a rest.

@PligityPolopity

I tell my children, from about 2, it’s still night time if they wake before 7. 😬

Me too. They've all got clocks in their rooms and they know they're not allowed to wake us before 7am (unless it's important). We show them what a 7 looks like, where it needs to be on the clock before they can come get us for breakfast. If they're awake before 7 they have to play quietly in their rooms.

Our youngest is 4 and follows this rule.

But! If 6:40 works for you, even though it's still the middle of the night , then it works for you and it's none of your parents' business.

Apart from in lockdown (for some reason) our 13 year old is up at 6am every day and has been since he was able to get out of bed on his own. In fact, 5am was normal when he was 4 years old (argh....)

Before the point of him being able to get out of his bed on his own, he'd be up at 4.30am.

And going to bed later made no difference. We were at a party once when he was 5 years old. He was one of the last off the dance floor so we got to bed at 1am. 6am there he was at the foot of the bed...

6.40 is a fairly decent time for a 4yo especially in summer

Our house rule is you aren't allowed downstairs until after 6am
Currently 4yo wakes anytime from 4.30- 6.30 but is sent back to bed if before 6am

12yo used to get up at 6.15 like clockwork but has now moved to 6.30/7am as he's been staying up later since he hasn't been at school.

DS has woken at 6 or before every morning since he has slept a full night. He's 8 now. He is not allowed out of his bedroom before 6, because he will get up earlier and earlier otherwise, but he is frequently awake around 5.30. Goes to bed at 9. Your parents are just being stupid.

Your child is sleeping nearly 12 hours which is amazing! I think your parents are forgetting that she's going to bed at 7pm!!
Its completely normal and id have been quite happy with that at that age.

I would kill for 640 wake up,my ds is 3 he has ALWAYS woken up between 430-530, mostly 5-530, doesnt matter what time he goes to bed ... would love an extra hour op.

I have a 14 year old with ASD who has never slept later than 6.30am unless she’s really unwell. It’s the norm for us, doesn’t make any difference what time she goes to bed. TBH I would rather they were up early and in bed early.

My dd is 13 now and I have to drag her out of bed most days but when she was that kind of age, before 7 was very common. I don't see the issue at all.

I remember the 5 - 5.30am starts weren't much before then 😫😴

Anytime after 6.30 is fine in our house.

DS was 7 when he stopped using his gro clock (only because he passed it onto his little sister)

How does your DD getting up at that time affect your parents?
How does her using a gro clock affect your parents?
Are your parents pushing for your DD to be up later in the evening for their benefit? (Had similar with my mum so just wondering what your parents motives are)

Three children aged 3,7 and 9 all up between 6-7 on a usual day, 5 o'clock on a bad day.....I can't wait until they are teenagers

Completely and utterly normal.

My 2 were both early risers, now as teens I have barely seen them before midday for months!

My daughter gets up at that time since she was a baby. We have a long commute. If she feels like it she can steal a bit longer in car or stroller. She is fine.

"ooooh that's early, you and your brother didn't do that"

What they meant was they didn't get up with you..

DS would be up at 4 every day, wide awake and full of beans. This happened for years. In fact - even before he was born he would wake me up with a swift kick/punch to the bladder around that time (weird huh?).

My four year old gets up at about 9 BUT he doesn't go to sleep until about 10 at night, sometimes closer to 11.

I would've been so happy if my ds slept until that time at the same age. 5am every flippin day!

Definitely sounds normal to me, especially if she's sleeping by 7pm, I'd say you have her sleep pattern to a T, you've nailed it And that's perfect for nursery/school