To think this was a nice day for toddler …?

[Owlatnighttime]

Wakes at 5.

Comes in bed for cuddle with parent a, won’t go back to sleep, Parent a puts tv on. Has breakfast around 8, goes out with parent a at 9. Toddler group, then a run and play on the park. Home for lunch, naps 12:20-2:20, watches some tv for maybe an hour, plays outside in the garden for an hour. Now playing with toys until tea at 515, will then watch another hour of CBeebies then bath and bed.

My son used to get uo from 4am onwards, killed me as went on for many years so don't blame you using the TV. I am jealous as he wouldnt really watch any!

@Theelephantinthecastle so that’s essentially what the OP wrote however everyone is saying she was wrong for that 🤔.. regardless if it was 3hrs, more or less it sounds like everyone else does something else that doesn’t involve the TV for however many hrs it takes for them to wake up.. why is why I asked what others do as it must be something different?

No, I said "a bit of TV" which isn't 3 hours.

Mine would get 30-60 mins of TV first thing and then we would play. You know, like you would at 10am or 3pm, it's no different? Like with toys, puzzles, books, play dough, do I really have to spell it out?

Laughing at the screen time comments. Sounds absolutely fine OP.

Fair play, I made mine an actual work day (8-5) and if the TV stays off between those times, I consider it a job well done in the winter.

This is such nonsense. My toddler goes to a fully outdoor Scandi style nursery, so she gets 6+ hours outdoors in all weathers. She wakes up at 5am.

The irony of this thread 🤣 full of people calling the no screen time parents judgemental, while also name calling and making nippy statements about “Earth mother types” among other things in the very next sentence! We are all different - some people use screens, some don’t, and the OP asked for opinions! If someone’s opinion is that screens are being used too much, it’s just that, an opinion, which was asked for. Not necessarily a judgement!

If he wakes so early, could you look at a morning nap, then maybe a shorter one in the afternoon. Worked for my twins.

Sleep advice for early wakers is low interaction and not to give an early breakfast, so you are doing that bit right. Keep lights off and volume on low. Then either take them outside (even on a cloudy day) at the time you want them to start waking up, even if just for 10 minutes, or use a daylight replicating lamp. This is the advice to help adjust their circadian rhythm.

That's a long time between waking and breakky.

I think it's also way too much tv time. Maybe s9me playdough, painting, crafts or reading time could be put in there.

The other stuff sounds great.

If you're worrying about screen time what about an audio book in the morning? They might even snuggle in and go back to sleep! (I know that's a long shot)

OP you've said yourself this isn't every day and other days you have to be up and ready by 7am. You've mentioned feeling absolutely exhausted, honestly don't sweat it you're outdoors, engaging with DC during the day and DC is presumably happy. Don't break your back to start playing with Play Dough at 6/7am if it's at the detriment to your own wellbeing, I'm sure your child will be fine. If you're worried about the screen time I'd maybe cut out the midday screen time and potentially play and audio book or something on Alexa to have on whilst you sort lunch or something.

Sounds lovely

@NameChange30 makes sense but sadly mine doesn't nap anymore, he dropped it just before turning 2.

Although even when he did, I still needed a bit of toddler tv to get me through a day!

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5 hours of tv sounds a lot….

5 hours of tv for a toddler is far, far too much. Yes you are tired. Parenting is tiring. But 5 hours in front of mindless tv at just turned 2 is just simply not helping the child.

put toys out and let him play. Learning to play is far more beneficial.

and i agree with pp that three hours to wait for breakfast is too long.

It sounds like a perfectly good day for a toddler to me! DD was also an early riser & still is, whereas DS is permanently on the badger shift. I spent years being woken up before five with her, and she STILL gets up every morning before six (she's 14 now). It doesn't sound as though you're parking a toddler in front of the telly with no interaction at all, just more a 'give me ten minutes to have a cup of tea and put my head back on'.
I used to rely very heavily on CBeebies on BBC Sounds when she came to wake me up. I'd just doze in & out whilst she listened to Old Jack's Boat & played with her toys by the side of the bed. I sometimes look back on those years & think 'how the hell did I navigate that?' Mostly with thanks to Bernard Cribbins & me mumbling 'yeah, hmm, good.'
You sound like you are doing a great job. Early risers can make your nerves stretch to the point that your brain twangs, especially if you've got another DC who operates on an entirely different timetable.