Early mornings exhausting me

[Tiredmummmmy98]

Ds is 4 and no matter if bed time is 7 (early if weve been busy because he wakes early etc) half 7, 8 or half 8 *

He is up at 5, half 5 is a lie in these days

He luckily will let me lay for half an hour or so and I do admit I let him watch something on TV lol

I am so tired I've got 2 kids so after a full day and bedtime its like half 8 then trying to fit in chores, a little bath or shower and some relaxing it ends up being half 10 or 11 so its hard to get an early bed time

Any tips? We go on a UK holiday next week so no time zone changes etc but it'll be a week of activities and he's up so early some days he gets very moody in the afternoon cos he's tired but doesn't nap because he's older

Anyone had this and managed a little bit later? * Like once or twice a month he gets up at half 6 thats a random day but lovely lie in lol

Have I just got an early riser

I feel you. Mine get up early at like 5 in the summer. I accept it now as my older ones are teens and I promise you wont be doing this forever.

I use the time to look at the birds or secure a decent car park space at the beach in summer, or extra time reading a book

When I am tired I make a grab pack so when she is up she has access to suitable foods to eat for breakfast and I just lay on the sofa (ive added a duvet and pillows!)

British parents put their kids to bed so early and then complain when they wake up at the crack of dawn! I live abroad and kids will go to bed 9:30 at the earliest and then have a nap after lunch. Its so much easier. 7pm can be broad daylight in summer!

When my ds was little I could put him to bed at midnight and he'd still wake at 5.30am so that theory doesn't stand up.

OP ds was the same but at 4 he's old enough to stay in bed . Have you got a gro clock ? We said he could look at books in bed ,have a wee but wasn't to wake the rest of the house up until 6 30am. When we put this in place he quite often dozed or went back to sleep. I would suggest no telly as he'll expect that as soon as he wakes.

Another thing is he's been referred to general pediatrics to potentially be assessed for being on the spectrum

A huge trait we notice is he can't regulate his emotions, nd that's without being tired

So when hes up early I find it can be a bit hard in the afternoon as he gets tired and then its meltdown central and I feel awful

I've heard about the gro clocks how do they work xx

The spectrum part is important, I can't personally advise on that. I have heard melatonin can help small children with ADHD/ASD, can the GP prescribe that?

We did move to a much later bedtime for my 2 year old, contrary to what a previous poster said, it does make a difference (toddlers in Spain don't sleep less, they wouldn't be able to function!) ! My work starts late and finishes late, plus my son loves a 2 hour nap at nursery so he goes to bed at 9.30-10pm and gets up at 8am.

I think gro clocks work by changing colour so it indicates to your son whether it's OK to get up or not.

I have 2 boys with adhd and autism. If he’s got the ability to understand I’d tell him he has to stay in his room until x happens. Even if that time was 7am it would be more reasonable.

Leave things in his room that he can use to entertain himself with quietly and maybe a drink and a snack.