3 yr old waking early

[DanniiH]

Hi all,

Wonder if anyone has any advice for me. My son has always been a great sleeper but lately he wakes early, I got a gro clock which worked for a little while but now just gets ignored. He goes to bed at 7 and he's definitely ready for sleep by then, tried pushing him to 7.30 but he goes hyper and overtired then wakes even earlier somehow! He wakes between 5.30-6 and doesn't nap anymore. I'm pregnant and it's making me exhausted!

Any tips to push him on an extra hour or so would be much appreciated! x

No advice, sorry, but sympathy. My own 3yo also wakes at 5.30 - the latest we can get her to stay in bed (with a Gro-Clock) is 5.45. We've tried naps, no naps, later bedtimes, darker room, different temperatures - nothing makes any difference. I just go to bed at 9pm now.

You could get blackout blinds and a lighjt timer...try timing the light to come on at 7,00am and get it into his head that he can't get up till then but really...some kids just get up early and you have to grit your teeth until they';re big enough to go down alone and make some cereal! Would he come into your bed for a cuddle?

Ds is almost 4 and has been waking up at this time since he was about 2
Unfortunately I think children are either early risers or not
A few things that do help : make sure the room is dark so that when the sun starts to rise he doesn't wake straightaway, mothercare do travel blackout blinds that are good
Try to fill him up before bedtime, a bit of toast or cereal is usually enough, I find that DS wakes a bit earlier when he hasn't had supper the night before, also can you put a small drink in his room, not enough so that he might have an accident but enough that if he wakes up thirsty he can have a few sips
These are the things that work for my DS and I've managed to get him to sleep in till about 6.30-7
I second getting an early night though I'm in bed by 10 most nights rock and roll me

my DS also 3 is doing the same early waking for the past few months. He also has a gro clock which he was ignoring and coming into our bed at 5 or 6 am. So what i did was explain to him that when the clock is blue he is not allowed in mummy and daddys room until it turns yellow, I tell him he doesn't have to go back to bed but he must stay in his room and play with his toys. (his bedroom is also his playroom - you could leave some toys for him to play with if you have a different set up) this is now working well for us as I know that even though he's awake he doesn't disturb us in bed and I know that he cant come to any harm in his room so no worries there either. Once the clock turns yellow he is in out room faster than a bullet. Good luck OP being pregnant with a toddler is exhausting!

I'm no good at going to bed early! Have been going up at 10.30 most nights and that's early for me. Gro clock does work now and again but most
Y he just gets up when he's awake! He gets in our bed and says he wants to sleep, lies down for 10 seconds then he's off downstairs! He's never slept with us, that's where co sleeping could benefit us but I believe that creates co dependence long term so we never did it. I'll try blackout blinds and supper I think, worth a try! I do let him go downstairs, I put the tv on for him and give him dry cereal but then he goes and chases the cat around the kitchen and I just lie worrying he's going to do something stupid! He tipped the tv off the cabinet once and it smashed! It was an accident, he leant on the door and the cabinet tipped up! Trust hasn't never been restored! Also I know when I was about 5 I used to put things in the microwave including cutlery, it exploded! Thanks for tips, I'll definitely try the ones I haven't already tried. x

It really is steth! I just worry that once the baby comes it'll wake at like 5, have some milk and go back to sleep and then ds will wake up so I won't be able to go back to bed like when he was a baby! Most of his toys are in his room anyway actually, we're on 3 floors though and he is above us so when he's playing in his room it sounds like he's about to come crashing through the ceiling! I think I might get a gate for his door though as I get paranoid he's going to come flying down the stairs with a big pile of toys, he likes to mess about on the stairs. What a pain! Thanks. x

I'm also pg, and have two early risers, so I'm resigned to 5.30 starts for the next few years.

DT2 used to wake at 4.30 regardless of bed time, dark room, warmer pjs etc. He is now old enough to realise he cant come into me til 7-oh-oh and will read or play with his farm until then. He now wakes at 6.
DT1 would sleep til 9am if left to it I'm sure.

My DS (who's also 3) started getting up early, between 5 and 6, when he'd always been a nice late riser (between 7 and 8).

We got a gro clock, and it worked for a bit, then he realised that nothing bad happened if he got up before the sun.

So I invented a little rhyme for him, which seems to get him to stay in bed: "If you're up before the sun, Mummy's grumpy and no fun!"

Ha ha! I like that I'll try it! I threaten to take the clock away if he doesn't use it properly and it sometimes works but mostly not! He does get really upset if I do take it away but when I give it back he still doesn't do it! He used to wake at 8.30 for a while, what went wrong!!! x