daughter screaming from 6am - advice needed!

[MiniPharm]

For the past week my 2.5-year old daughter has started screaming the house down when she wakes at 6am. She's always woken at this time but until recently was happy enough playing with her toys and books until we got up (about 7.30am). The new behaviour coincides with us finally getting rid of her dummy. She makes so much noise that our upstairs neighbours have complained, and obviously it's awful for my partner and me having to listen to her. She just screams/shouts/cries until we finally get up. We've tried lots of things - going through to her room to explain that she needs to be quiet, giving her books to read, taking away her toys, giving her milk etc etc - but nothing has worked and it's creating a really unpleasant situation where we're all exhausted and fed up before we've even started the day. She's definitely old enough to realise what she's doing and I just don't know how to stop it.

has anyone got any ideas? i'd be very grateful.

Isitmeor - I think that's when most do CC, it's not the first thing you think of, as it's so bloomin hard! Can work great as a last resort though.

Of course lukewarmcupoftea .

I can only comment on the children and families i've worked with and some have this arrangemnet and it works. You're right lukewarmcupoftea I'm surprised by the number of responses that have said it can't be done. I'm sure the children would rather be up and playing than entertaining themselves, but I don't think there's any harm in them learning that isn't possible all the time and you have to look at book by yourself for a while sometimes. I did say in my first post though, and i do agree, that 90 minutes is a bit excessive. It can be done for 30/45 minutes though. I

I think you're being pretty unreasonable and inflexible. 6am seems to be quite normal for toddlers. My DD woke up between 5am-5.45am every day for about a year, and although it certainly wasn't always happy days in our house, we learned to adapt, and hoped that it would change at some point (and finally, it has done). I find it wierd when people expect their children to sleep until, say, 7am or 7.30am....its not as if your DD has any idea what time it is when she wakes up!

I'd lie down with her, snuggle up to let her know it's not time to get up yet. I couldn't function waking up at 6 am. Toddlers need to fit into the family routine if it's reasonable.

It's interesting reading all the responses on this thread as I was about to start an almost identical thread myself - only difference being is that my 22 month old DD is waking between 5 and 5:30am screaming whereas she always used to sleep until 6/ 6:30am, and wake up happy, talking to her toys.
I hoped there would be some advice on here on how to encourage her to go back to sleep until e.g. 6am (which I think is a very reasonable time to start the day). I am going to try the Gro-Clock next. Tried CC but she doesn't go back to sleep. I wouldn't mind so much if she was waking happy and full of beans. (P.S I also have 3 month old twins so these 5am starts are killing me)

Monkey , I think yours is a diff situation - you're not expecting your child to keep quiet of a morning, you're trying to work out how to get them to sleep longer as they (and you, quite reasonably), are not happy getting up so early. Might be worth starting a different thread - you could look at daytime sleep, nap timings, bedtime, maybe they are getting chilly in the morning now, maybe molars are coming through, any changes like starting nursery, etc etc etc?!!

For anyone who's interested - it seems the problem has solved itself . For the last 2 mornings my daughter has returned to her usual routine, ie, waking well before us but playing/singing/talking to herself happily enough until 7.15/7.30.

So, it seems it was definitely a reaction to losing her dummy, but she has now adapted and is back to normal (for her).

MonkeyMargot, I hope your DD's early-morning wakening is just a phase too. There are lots of useful suggestions on this thread for encouraging them to settle until a bit later, so I hope some of them work for you.

OP 6am is a relatively normal time for a toddler to wake, my DS never slept through until 3YO and now at 4YO he wakes at between 5.30 and 6.30 but sleeps through.

I don't really know if there is a way to make her sleep/keep her quiet past waking time because generally once they are in routine that's it and a lot of the time that routine is dictated by them not us.

I work at night now and get up at 6am with DS and am normally shattered doing so but I find if I am just too tired I drag myself out of bed come downstairs with him, give him breakfast and if need be turn on the TV and have a nap on the couch for 30 minutes or so and I find that nromally helps. Would that be an option/ Yes, I realise it is lazy parenting but needs must sometimes :)

ps: to lukewarmcupoftea "I suspect she wasn't entertaining herself happily for 90 minutes though..."

Well, trust me, yes she was - and yes she is now, even without the dummy. Many times my DH and I have stood outside her bedroom door early in the morning listening to her chatting and singing to herself and her toys. It's absolutely delightful and feels like quite a special insight into what's going on in her head - when she thinks noone else is listening.

In fact I keep meaning to record it as it will be wonderful to listen to in the future.

poor child how about letting her into your bedroom and encouraging her to play quietly or give the dummy back if it solves the problem she is only 2.5 !!!!!!!!! god forbid the neighbours call social services. good luck

Minipharm - I was going to post earlier after your previous post, but the kids claimed my attention. I was going to say, glad it's sorted itself out, and glad she is happy playing by herself in the morning. Still think it's quite unusual, but then they are all different, and I'll happily admit I was wrong in my post and very glad she is happy.

It's difficult to tell what people are like from just a few words on the screen, and the tone of your posts will be one of the reasons why you got the responses you did, and why many posters were concerned that this child wasn't getting the comfort/attention needed. As I say, I'm glad that she's happy.

Good news Minipharm - what a relief. Can I also say our DD also used to chatter away quite happily to her toys, practising her words etc for an hour or longer. It is the loveliest thing to witness.
Thanks lukewarm I think I will start a seperate thread.

bit of a late response but i don't think you are unreasonable to expect to sleep later than 6am. We have a 7am get up time in our house, esp at weekends.

i have two DS's who are 2.5 and 3.11. they tend to wake anywhere from about 5.45ish to 6.30am. luckily because we have two they now amuse one another and play together which we let them carry on with until 7ish most mornings.

however when we just had one DS or when only one of them wakes early I let them come into bed with us which keeps them happy for a little while longer, although I don't sleep when they come in at least I am still resting!

Maybe let your DC come in with you when she wakes ? Like others have said, i'd do an early morning nappy change to make sure she is comfortable and also get her a drink if she wants one.