5-530am wake ups - exhausted

[Transfoooormerzz]

So ds1 (4yo) has over the holidays started waking so early unless the 1 night he was in our bed then it was 630am

Hes waking between 5 and 530 andnim so drained. Ill get him in my bed we'll have a cuddle and then when he asks togo down I lwt him watch an episode (or two lol) on the telly so j can just lie down for a bit

Any help with this? Hes very very active for his age. Eats enough and goes to be 7 / after 7 as hes up all day active and hyper too

Im so drained and just want some tips tk try hell him sleep even an extra hour in his bed x

He goes about 7-7.30 as he does start getting tired as hes been up since 5/530 and we always stay active even if we've got a 'home fay' we go on a walk

I go to bed about 1030/11 tbh trying to go earlier but after ive done his and his little brothers bed times then housework and have a quick bath its 10pm!!!

Side note, I do limit TV when hes up early and ive let him watch some so I don't have to go down early aha

Ill ensure he has none or minimal throughout the day then and he doesnt have an ipad

To be honest, I think it's just a phase some kids go through. You will probably spend ages trying different things to get him to sleep in later but all he probably needs is time.

I tried everything and it didn't help. Later bedtime just meant less sleep. Less screen, more exercise, bedtime snack, weighted blankets, gro clock etc etc didn't change anything. For us, they just grew out of it in time.

Let him have screen and have a lie down. Don't beat yourself up about it. Early mornings are brutal!

I’m not sure there’s much you can do. My 5 year old and 2 year old each go through phases of earlier waking, sometimes it’s 5ish and we just have to ride it out.

My son (just turned 4) has gone through huge variations in wake up times and it’s just something I think you have to grin and bear even though it’s absolutely shit. His regular consistent wake up time has been 6am for a very long time, but we’ve been through many lengthy 5-5.30 wake up periods, particularly when he’s out of routine or has been unwell but quite often just because. He’s currently waking up at 7am quite regularly and yet until about two months ago, I think he’d slept past /until 7am about three times in his entire life?

In our case, we bring him up to our room and let him watch TV in our bedroom for a bit while we sleep if he wakes early. Maybe it wouldn’t be the case for all kids, but TV time has no adverse effect on his wake ups- he’ll wake up early whether he gets TV or not- and we need the sleep frankly, so I don’t care.

Echoing others that it's a common phase (sorry)... Groclock, quiet activities and a Yoto player to listen to stories until the clock shows it's time to get up helped me. It meant even if they were awake, I could sleep.

All you can do is go to bed earlier. It will get better. 💐

Do what you have to do.

DD still gets up between 5 and half 5.

shes 25 now …

Your got two choices - get him to sleep later, or go to bed earlier.

Because of the time you've posted you are predominantly going to get people who chose - or were forced into by stubborn small people - to go the "early to bed" route.

My daughter has a Yoto player and I’ve set the sun to show at 6.45. She knows if she wakes before then she can play in her bedroom but not wake us up. It’s working well.

Have you tried using a gro clock? Should work well in winter.

There isn’t much you can do except get an earlier night yourself. My eldest liked an early start (5-5:30am) for years. I didn’t really say much at that time and he would watch TV. He sleeps in now he is a teen!

Put him to bed later - the 7pm bedtime for children is a weird British obsession hangover from Victorian times. Do it in 15 min increments so he doesn't get too tired..

7pm seems a little early for a 4yo. My 3yo goes to bed at 7/7.30pm, even after a full on day at nursery. I would try a later bedtime, even if it means a rough week or so while he adjusts.

My son had a small TV/DVD combi in his room and would play Teletubbies or Thomas The Tank Engine until he heard my alarm going off at 7am.

7pm sounds super early for a 4 year old. Push it later, do 7.30, then 8pm.

Ah thanks all as hes just turned 4 last week and we did say we'd start pushing bed time back to help him get ready for being older school etc

Just with the early waking hes been so crabby and ready at 7pm lol. I will try the small increases though and hopefully 730 then 8 should get some longer sleep🙏