3yr old wakes at 6.30am - what do you do with them?

[omri]

Just want to know what people do with their kids when they wake so early. I've a 4 month old baby and am tired so early in the morning. My 3yo ds has started waking at 6.30ish every morning and I've started letting him watch tv for an hour or more until baby wakes at 8ish for a feed.
I know it's bad but can't face getting up with him! Ds is never v hungry in the morn and can easily wait til 8.30 for his porridge.

Just wondering what others do in similar situations?
It's a bad habit now ...

6.30 is early??? Lie in for many!

What time does your 3yo go to bed? Does he nap during the day?

Have you tried one of those clocks that lights up when it is time to get up? Until then he has to stay in his room, look at books and play quietly? Worked for our dd but not our son!

I used to let dd watch tv too. It saved my sanity! I also had a tiny baby who fed throughout the night.

Don't worry about too much TV, when you have a young baby and an older child, you need to get through it as best you can!

I send him back to bed until 7!

I have a Gro Clock set to seven am. I hear dd stir about 6.15 but she knows to stay in her room til the sun comes up. she is 2.6

Stick a movie on

Yes he has a 90 minute nap after lunch. Tried to shorten it/cut it but he was a nightmare (he's a challenging energetic 3yo at the best of times) and tbh I love the peace and quiet in the afternoon (ie get jobs done and dinner made) and he is in much better humour after it.

Thanks excuse- I see it as a sanity saving measure but started to feel guilty about it too and wondered what others do...

My almost-3 year old is an early riser too, especially since the mornings are so bright right now. We got one of those toddler clocks with a sleeping / waking bunny on it that is set to be asleep until 7am. If my son gets up before 7 we ask him 'is bunny awake?' And if the answer is no then it's back to bed. Sometimes he won't go back to bed or gets up really early at 6 so we'll give him some books to read or just let him tootle around the room destroying our belongings until we are ready to get up.

On Saturday mornings we let him watch TV on our iPad on bed so we can get a 'lie-in' until about 8.

Sorry, he watches the iPad in our bed with us, not shut away on his room!

I might try the gro clock.
I used to be able to tell him to go back to bed and play quietly until "morning time" but in past few months (since baby's arrival??) he just starts crazy tantrums if I mention that ... Which wakes the baby up! So I just give in and so ok watch cbeebies with your blankie and your drink which keeps him calm and cosy...

I was hoping others do similar so I wouldn't feel too guilty!!!

Thanks for all your replies by the way!!

Much more straight forward than a gro clock is a lamp on a timer. Both mine have had this. We got cheap lamps which could go on the wall or somewhere unobtrusive from Ikea with a low wattage bulb in and plugged them into a seven-day timer (so that we have a bit of a lie-in at weekends!. If they're tired they'll sleep through the light and if not, they know when to get up.

The only thing they're allowed to do when they wake up is go to the loo, then if their light isn't on it isn't time to get up so they got sent back to bed.

By three, though, I think I expected them to be able to entertain themselves for a bit in their rooms before we got up once their lamps were on.

I use ipad too. dd2 is anytime from six and I am 8 months pg!

Groclock never worked for us. Dd1 used to unplug it all the time and setting the damn thing made me swear.

My 18 month old awakes anywhere from 5:45am.

I take him with me into the bathroom for my shower, which he enjoys, then downstairs and Cbeebies goes on while I get breakfast together.

My 5 month old usually sleeps until 8am, thankfully.

My two year old gets up between 6am and 7am (usually 6.30) and she plays in her room. We just went through a week of sending her back to her room and now she knows to play with her toys until DH comes back from walking the dogs. I've recently bought one of those ikea toy units and she adores getting things out of drawers etc so it keeps her very happy. We set the routine for mornings and she has adapted into it, not the other way round, and after a few tears and tantrums she's accepted it. Being jumped on at 5.30am was only cute once

(DH is back from the dog walk at just after 7 so it's not hours on her own!)

My ds used to wake at 5 so getting him to stay in his room til 6 was an achievement. We used to let him watch telly from 6. It made for some very long days trying to entertain him from that time in the morning. He's now 10 and still wakes at 6, regardless of what time he goes to sleep. He's always been the same. Do what works for you and gets you through the day.

Tell him that it is not civilized to get up before 7 and send him back to bed. Tell him he can "read" (ie look at picture books) if he really can't sleep.

Wish my DC slept till 6.30! DS is 2.5, he usually wakes just before 6 now, which is an improvement on 4.45... We have a gro-clock set for 6.30. He's allowed to get out of bed but not leave his room. Every evening he gets out one toy (Lego, garage & cars, etc) ready to play with and he can play with the toy or read books until the clock shows the sun.

We are now dropping his nap - he sleeps for either 40 mins or around 1.5hrs, but we have noticed that the waking time is starting to creep a little earlier again in the past month, and he's not going to sleep till 9.30 or later. The same thing happened with DD (though before she was 2); we dropped her nap and brought bedtime forward to 6pm till she adjusted and she went from waking at 5.30 and sleeping at 9.30 with a nap to waking at 7 and sleeping at 7 without.

I find that past 2y or so, the nap becomes a bind. Especially in summer - I want to be out doing things with the DC!

Nothing wrong with it at all OP, its what many of us have done.
It does get better as they get older and you can leave cereal a jug of milk and plastic bowl for them to reach.
I can remember the first day we did this and it was heaven.
I've never known early risers change I'm afraid.
It's even worse when you have one that's a lark and you are an owl.
Ds1 was like this, such hard work. The other 2 are owls, well ones just a freaky sleeper but thats another thread.

I have an episodic early riser (22 months). She went through a 5am phase, then went back mercifully to 6.30-7 (with one amaaaazing 8am wake up!), but recently is back to 5.30am

She has a nap around noon and goes to bed at 7pm, so I shouldn't complain, but it is bloody early.

6.30 is a lie in! I have one who sleeps till 5am ish :(

I think trying to fight it is futile (and I am a big fan of sleep training in other situations !) I just get him up, give him a up of milk and put something on the telly while I make coffee and wake up!

Ladies who have to wake up at 5 / 5.30 with bebe -- what time at night do you yourself go to sleep?