Nearly 4 year old early morning activities

[redbunnyfruitcake]

My nearly 4 year old DD wakes at 6am every morning (weekends too!) and although I accept this if she sleeps through the night I just find weekend mornings go on forever. Breakfast is usually done with by 7am and after a bit of tv we are on to a round of constant requests for activities. Some I am happy to participate in but others like painting I am not, well not at 7am anyway. Am I being unreasonable?

I just feel like those first 3 hours of the day are the hardest especially on a Sunday when DH has a lie in and DD is my responsibility. Normally we are caught up in getting up and out the rest of the week but I don't want Sunday to be another day of busy activities. I am also 26 weeks pregnant and much more tired than usual so I have far less patience. Should DD be able to entertain herself by now if she has activities available to her or am I being a bit unfair? Sometimes I just don't know as I feel she gets lots of time and attention but always wants more.

Any suggestions or info on what you do with yours? Any advice appreciated thanks.

My dd is 4.5 and we've had this since birth! She wakes at 6 but i dont give her breakfast til 7 and i try to hammer home that really we shouldnt be up this early and its not breakfast time yet. She does get some milk.

After breakfast we play beat the buzzer to get washed and dressed within ten minutes and then she's allowed an activity of her choice, tv, computer, hama beads, drawing. This usually gets me enough time to get a coffee. Apart from that i dont provide entertainment i say she'll have to find something to do cos i usually take the chance to get that days dinner made!

DD1 is an early riser (7am now she's almost 6, but from 3 - 4 it could be anytime between 5:30 and 6:30)

She was never able to survive without breakfast, so that was over straight away. We didn't ( still don't at the weekend) get dressed straight away, and it was always quiet playing or tv til 9am, at which point the day proper would start and we could do proper activities.

Before then I always tried to be curled up on the couch in my dressing gown with a book, gently supervising. Detailed interaction only happened once we were dressed at 9ish.

It does get a bit better as they get a bit older and more able to entertain themselves.

DS isn't too bad for early rising now. On a Sunday morning after breakfast we usually read books together or he does jigsaw puzzles while I help as requested and look at MN on my phone. He's just been given a dot-to-dot book which is keeping him very peacefully occupied.

Thank you Doctorswife I'm glad to know I'm not alone in my despair, although sorry you have to tolerate it too. I think I need to be a bit firmer with DD as she has been a bit indulged by me as she was the only child I have become a playmate. This will definitely have to change when DD2 arrives as I just won't have the time and energy for it. I just wish I didn't feel guilty for not wanting to do it all the time. I honestly don't remember my parents playing with me or my siblings but when I see how much they play with DD as grandparents I start to thinking I am doing it wrong. I guess it's what grandparents do when they only see them for a few hours each month.

There is another exact same thread running OP, for a younger child - you are not alone.

I think we are all in the same boat on a Sunday morning