To wonder why my child wakes up so fucking early?

[Nothingworsethan]

Annoyance at being tired not at child personally but I’m a bit baffled at it. I know it won’t be forever and should embrace it but I’m so tired!

What times early? My child woke us up at 5am today. We were out at a Christmas event last night and they went to bed 3hrs after their normal time. I thought they'd at least let me lie in until 6am :(.

It's all relative to the time you usually get up but if your child is an early riser. I'd suggest an earlier bed time for you its probably not going to change anytime soon.

Mine did a 5am bounce out of bed from 18 months until 4. It was exhausting. Then he went to school and slept until I woke him.

Now he's a teen and it takes a bomb going off to wake him 🙄

It is exhausting but it will pass eventually. Can you go to bed when he does? I did that two or three times a week just to stay sane.

I think you just get used to it OP. My oldest would wake at 5am for years, now he's a teen a lie in for him is 7am. He was also crap at napping, it just didnt happen. He does have ADHD though which explains a lot.
When DD came along it was amazing to have a child who took long naps and loved their sleep. Took me three attempts to wake her up this morning.
For most it's just a phase, this'll be a distant memory soon so hang in there!

Sending you sympathies and strength - relentless early mornings are brutal, particularly in the winter. I had an early riser (4.30am aged 2-3, 5.30am aged 3-4 and 6.30am aged 4-5). She’s now 5.5 and slept in until 7.40am this morning! Her bedtime has gradually gotten a bit later (currently around 8pm whereas it was more like 6.30pm when she was tiny because she was always shattered) but I’d say that’s happened as a consequence of her sleeping later, rather than the other way round.

good luck and hang in there - you’re a champ.

Yeah I probably should just go to bed when he does, it’s just I don’t know how to get stuff done then! We had a long stage of 530 wake ups then it stopped abruptly and now has started again 😭

It's a matter of perspective, I get up at 5:45 so to me it's normal. But I go to bed at 10.

I go at half nine usually. I know it’s probably normal but I am currently finding it very exhausting. I’m also struggling with lack of ‘me time’ but also know that’s normal too.

And to be honest it isn’t so much the early wakes that are brutal, it’s the fact the day lasts so long.

The times mine would get up that early, i put them back to bed explaining it wasn't morning. Otherwise it is habit forming.

I know that can be effective for some but the problem is it IS morning. Albeit early morning!

How old are they? Mine were taught to play in their room until later - I think it was 8 at weekends. Would also plonk them in front of Fireman Sam occasionally. DS1 would regularly wake up around 5. I remember that going to bed/waking with them was hard work and soulless.

What time do you put him to bed?

DC1 has always been an early riser, by early I mean anything between 4:30 and 5:30 latest irrespective of bedtime. He’s only very recently started sleeping any later than this now he’s almost 14 but even now, it’s rare he’s in bed past 7 and I usually think he must be sick if he is! I think some people are just wired to wake early, my Mum does too.

It’s usually between 720-740 @Madamlulu . I don’t think it’s that he’s going too early because on the occasions he’s been later he’s still woken early.

We tried pushing back bedtime later to make DS more tired but he just woke early anyway and was cranky and overtired and then slept too long at nap time. We tried the opposite, cutting naps short and putting him to bed earlier. It's something to do with sleep cycles, if your child's waking part of a sleep cycle is 3.30 they will briefly wake but sleep again til the next cycle is over but if its 4.30 they may have enough to wake fully. It's been a few years so I can't remember the info but look up typical sleep cycles for a child that age and track it a bit, then manipulate it. Our DS always woke early but there is a big difference between 5.30 and 6.30 starts