DS (5.5) has always been an early riser. I'm talking pre 5.30, since he was a tiny baby. He usually needs a #2 which wakes him, and then can't go back to sleep.
He looks exhausted, and I'm really sick of my day beginning at 4.45am like it did today. Also means he becomes a tired gremlin by about 4pm.
Bedtime is usually lights out by 7. It's a bit flexible depending on activities etc. I've tried different things over the years to see if bedtime affects the mornings, i.e. having a strict bedtime schedule and routine, later nights, earlier nights. Later nights seem to = earlier mornings. The best success we had for a time was getting him bed at the first time of tiredness, even if that was at 5.30pm. But it wasn't sustainable and didn't always work.
We have very little screen time (max twice a week, sometimes not at all in a week) and are outside a lot. Part of me thinks not enough as when we were camping over the summer we had some absolutely miraculous 8am lie ins. But how the hell do you mimic that amount of fresh air in every day life?! I'd say we get 5 or 6 hours outside a day at least 4 days a week. Makes no difference.
He has a very healthy diet. Happiest with raw carrots, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber etc. My DH cooks from scratch most days of the week and is the king of hidden veg.
DD (3) on the other hand is a night owl who doesn't want to sleep before 8.30, so we have it the other way with her, she's also in bed by 630/7 but not asleep for an hour or so. They're like bookends!!
Has anyone else dealt with a serial early riser who can lend us any tips? He goes back to bed and lies down and is telling me he's trying to get back to sleep with such ernest, but I know he's actually awake in there for 2 hours waiting till it's okay to get up. Have made him a little chart to show that once it's 6am he can look at a book or listen to his yoto but before that he needs to be trying to sleep.