Advice son 6 early riser, getting up and putting on tv

[Londonhouse32]

Really struggling with son early rising, he's getting up at around 6am or earlier for years. When he wakes he usually wakes everyone else in the house up by making noise one way or another. He's recently been going downstairs and putting the tv on and playing musuc on YouTube. Struggling on how to manage the early mornings any advice? We've tried a glow clock and just asking him to play in his room with toys/,books but he ends up coming into our room/turning on hall lights etc and wakes us and his sister up

At 6 he’s old enough to follow rules

no tv. Read or play quietly in room till 7

if he wakes you then consequences

Is it ?

6am is still night and too early

Anything before 7 is a no /too early

Again what consequences ? Really a six year old waking at six is normal.

Really it’s not normal - maybe to you

but to myself and many other on the thread it’s early

things they like. To stop

so whether if allowed tv. None that day. Or iPad. Or something they enjoy. A trip to park. To not buy a monthly mag or something similar

basically your rules and boundaries

what do you do if you say no to something and ds does it anyway

Mine used to go down and stick a video on. In summer it Cound be as early as 5 30 I'd leave some juice and biscuits/ snack bar out. I'd wake as they went downstairs but appreciated another hour or so doze

My son was a 5.30 riser till teenage years. We just got 2nd child into that routine as well. We were early to bed anyways as adults 9 or 9.30 pm. It worked ok as everyone got a decent amount of sleep

It is not "wrong" to wake at 6am?! It's not everyone's "normal" and yeah it's early/inconvenient sometimes, but it is not wrong or something that needs to be punished FFS. People are awake when they're awake.

There are ways to help him understand about not being inconsiderate, about not waking others up or whatever. But the actual act of being awake does not require "consequences".

I have no idea why people are saying this isn’t normal. There’s nothing odd about waking up at 6am - I do every single day. my son naturally needs less sleep so we moved his bedtime later and sometimes he’s asleep at 7 but that’s not usual. He’s totally happy and has nonstop energy so he’s doing fine.

Could you buy a really exciting toy (perhaps like a very cool lego model) that is JUST for before breakfast? So he can come down and work on it quietly until the rest of the family gets up, then it goes away until the next morning.
We are screen free and my oldest had something similar (although his dad is an early riser too so he sometimes had company).

I think we have to agree to disagree what it early or not v what is normal

some of you have early risers. You think that’s normal

sone of us like me have sleepers - I think that’s normal

but

regardless what time they wake - if at 6 they have been told to play quietly /not wake up op and he doesn’t then that needs to be solved

at 6 they should be able to listen and understand and obey simple commands

im not saying if they wake at 6 they must stay in bed quiet till 7

but

to play quietly - look at books - colour - watch tv quietly if allowed

that they should manage to do so op needs to be firmed tho what she wants her ds to do

You misunderstand me

not consequences of being awake

but consequences of waking op when she has said don’t wake up the family

That is terrible advice

When is he going to bed? Is he grumpy etc later in the day or is he up at 6am because he’s had enough sleep? If so maybe push bedtime back a bit. I’d focus on getting him to stay in his room using the grow clock, set up an invitation to play after he’s asleep e.g. a tray with an activity in it for him to complete once he’s awake but before he’s allowed to wake you.

We had a relatively early riser at 6 years of age. Getting up at 6am wasn't really a problem though, because we lived abroad, school started early and it wasn't esp nearby. Weekend early waking was solved by later bedtime on Fri and Sat.

I don't get the bit about putting on the tv. I didn't allow switching it on to be done by DC until they were older than 6. Why show them how to do that until they are not a bit older? If the consequence of that is they wake you, then you might need a routine that involves a dictating what is and isn't allowed at 6am

If he is not listening, can you unplug the TV? Hide the remote?

I'm sorry but I disagree with all the people saying 6am is acceptable, my DS8 would have every piece of technology removed from his bedroom instantly if he ever dreamed of turning the TV on or getting out of bed at 6am. 7am isn't even acceptable in our house on a weekend. School days he is woken up at 7.10 and on a weekend is allowed to get up (in his room) anytime after 7.30 and not to go downstairs until after 8am. He is also not allowed to wake either parent before 9am unless an emergency. You need rules. Lol.

6am is a normal wake time for children (which doesn’t mean they all do it). Bloody awful, though. Recently we’ve all slept in till 7.30 ish though as a consequence the mornings are a rush and they’re going to bed late. At six, he shouldn’t be waking everyone else in the house, though. Is it the TV noise that’s waking you, or just him being up – is he actually that noisy or is it the parenting bat ears and awareness that he’s roaming around?

DD6 has gradually become a sleeper-in which is bliss but on rare early mornings she just comes into our bed and gets told to let me doze, on pain of crankiness. Though she has a toddler brother, so if he’s up, we’re all up. (Roll on the day he sleeps in too.) Most mornings, though, she’s either asleep or stays in her room with Yoto and plays; it’s never occurred to her to go downstairs.

I can’t set consequences for waking us up when her brother does it, but I’m not sure I would anyway. Perhaps when they both could stay in bed till later. Anyway, OP: I’d figure out what you want to happen – is the TV the issue? The noise? That you don’t want him downstairs at all? – and what’s waking you – noise versus parenting alertness – and set some ground rules.

Six is not an early riser. Six is normal.

Dictating when an 8 year old can get up ? Wow, our bedroom door has always been open to children who want or need their parents- mine are 18 & 21- obviously they would only wake me now in a dire emergency but I would 100% be there for them. For the record as primary school children they invariably woke between 6-7 including weekends.

How is that going to help mum sleep in? A 6 year old can do quite a lot but getting themselves to a swimming pool probably isn't one.

OP I think the issue is the noise not the getting up early. You can get a noise meter for under £20. Or you can get an app / class room management system like bouncing balls you could set up while he is in bed.

Then he has something telling him if he is being too loud.

@Emmz1510 why isn’t your 10 year old allowed downstairs without you? What age will you allow this?

My son used to be up at 4am. He's now 7 and has graduated to 6-7am wake ups. He wakes me and puts the TV on. I think it's pretty normal tbh. I'm sure there will be a time in teenage years we will struggle to get them up 🤣🙈

6 is a pretty normal wake up and I wouldn't expect a child that young to be up by themselves for very long.

I'd take it in turns with your partner to get up with him. If you are happy for him to watch TV, you can insist on the volume being lower. Or you could set up a quiet activity the night before or designate early mornings for reading together.

Even if your children wake later, 6am is normal time to wake up.

It's normal because lots and lots of people, especially young children, wake at that time everyday. It's normal because it's neither unusual nor concerning in regards to getting enough sleep.

A child habitually waking up at 2am wouldn't be normal because it's an uncommon time to start the day.

Average sleep needs at his age are 9-11hrs. If he’s at the 9hrs end he’d need a 10pm bedtime to stay in bed until 7am! It sucks, but a lot of my friends have stuck religiously to the 7pm bedtime and then moan constantly about the 5am wake ups…