Three year old waking at 4.30am

[Yemenite]

Hi
My son is 3 yrs and 8 months and we got rid of the dummy 4 months ago and he dropped his nap at the same time.
His sleep is insane now. He falls exhausted into bed around 7.30 and sleeps surly usually til 4. Then he won't go back to sleep.
I've tried everything I can think of but despite him being still tired I can't seem to soothe him back to sleep.
Can I leave him to cry it out?? Is it bad to do that to a child? I did CC with him at 11 months and it worked almost instantly- changed all of our lives.
But I'm not willing to wake up at 4.30 nor am I willing to see my son tired and grumpy all day.
Help!

Sympathies! I think you have to go the firm strict route with this, unfortunately. They are being controlling and badly behaved and we would never accept that in the day in quite the same way but we're too tired to deal with it because it's the hellish hour of 4.30 am! Can you tell that my daughter has a tendency to be a v early riser?! Every time we relent on firmly putting her back to bed and taking the ensuing tantrum it gets worse. None of the "softer" measures we try work. If we bring her into our bed she is an appalling (though often hilariously inventive) nightmare who will do anything to get our attention and make us get up. She has learned how to bypass the child lock on the sleep training clock thing. Reasoning with her about how grumpy everyone gets when they're woken up far too early works not a jot. If we are strong enough to be strict and return her to bed it gets gradually better over a few days. If we do the opposite because we're not feeling strong enough to be firm it gets gradually worse! I would definitely let him cry it out/ do a form of controlled crying if I were you.

I would also try an earlier bedtime, it may be that 7.30 is too late now he's having no nap & he's got overtired - in our house that always leads to early waking. I'd try more like 6 or 6.30 for a few days, he may still wake at the same time initially but he'll have had more sleep, as he becomes better rested you may be able to push bedtime slowly back to 7pm.x

Thanks for the replies! My hubby gets home at 6 so I can't make bedtime any earlier, much as I'd like to. I need to get strict and stop the co-sleeping I think. This sleep issue is so tough

Have you tried a special clock? my dgs was a 5am riser until they bought a 'sheep clock' You set it at night and there is a dull glow showing sleep asleep.You choose a time in the morning when sheep wakes up and tell the child that that is the time to get up.
My dd started with 5.15 and gradually built up till now [aged 3.11 having started at 3.2] he is in bed from 7 till 7 when he proudly carries his clock into parents room declaring ,"Sheep's awake!"
He does take himself for a wee if he wakes earlier and he has water by the bed.