How do I get them to play in their room in the morning?

[JackBauer]

As opposed to yelling 'Mummy? Mummy? MUMMY? at varying levels of volume until I answer and then running into our room as I am awake?

DD1 will also knock on teh wall 'to check I am there' which is very irritating

I am happy for them to play in their rooms if they are up, but not to get up and come into me when I am still waking up [not a morning person emoticon]

DD's are nearly 4 and 2.3, and share a room.

Fast forward time until they are a few years older.

Put something in their room that is really worth playing with in the mornings.

Although DS is still in our bedroom (nearly 4 as well!), he has loads of trains and track and he will go and play with that if he wants to get up before us. He also has dinosaurs in there etc. This is in addition to the toys in the lounge - my kids spend most of the daytime downstairs so the upstairs toys are great for the mornings.

Will have more of a battle with the younger one, my younger one won't go off and play with anything, I will just get shrieked at.

Thanks HUlly, will get DH on the time machine asap

They do have a few toys in their room but that's a good idea, shall get them some more toys up there, wortha try.

Our's are slightly older at 6 & 3 1/2 but agree with coppit - they've got kid's knex/lego/magnetic drawing board thing/books anything really with enough pieces so they don't argue but are both their toys so also no arguing about it's mine/mine etc!

We also have taught them to put any of their lego/knex 'models' on a bookshelf on our landing for us to look at when we get up - as they were coming in to give us our presents!

Thankfully DS can tell the time (well o'clocks/half pasts) and at 7 they can go downstairs and put on the tv/dvd - very handy at the weekend when we don't have to get up hope this helps

At their ages, I really think they need a parent up when they are up. We take it in turns to get up when the children do, they are just slightly younger than yours, so every other morning I get to lie in to 7 or 7:30am.

It sounds like you are asking them to be independant for a little while in the morning. They really can't be expected to do this at their age.

The great toys idea sounds good, but I still think you will have to put up with the earlies a bit longer.

Or do what my SIL does and have the children go to bed much later, followed by having them come in with you first thing.

Sit it out until they are a bit older. It doesn't matter how much fascinating stuff we put out for them to play with when they wake, we have put books right in the doorway so they almost fall over them, toys in prominent positions and our dcs just climb over them to get to the door to shout MUUUUM-MEEEE!
Then when I have dragged myself out of bed and gone to see what they want, I find them "Ohh!ing and Aah-ing" about the toys they have just that moment spotted. Next morning is the same though, like goldfish.

sorry you are being a bit unreasonable they are only small, can't really expect them to play by themselves.

mine are a little older and still come straight into our room when they are up (so long as thomas alarm clock is awake etc). at that age they still need parents awake when they are awake. they could go downstairs but have told them not to as it will set off the alarm!

this is totally normal behaviour and sadly what we all signed up to when we decided to have children.

perhaps in a couple of years might be able to do star chart for them to stay in room until the alarm clock went off, but at 2.3 this is unrealistic.

I am only after 20 minutes or so as DH's alarm goes off at 6 and I can't cope for a bit until my brain kicks in.

I put some cars and books in their room and that worked for long enough to shower and dress in peace, thanks.

Leave food in their room and a potty.

Child gate on their bedroom door.

Not sure about the 2.4 year old but my nearly 4 year old loves listening to stories on her CD player = she has a disney CD and acts the stories with her dolls. She does this whilst I am in the shower.

shiver

We did think about childgate but I would rather they could get out if they had to, I don't mind them coming in for a snuggle, but I would just rather it was 20 minutes later than they do now.

Have a radio alarm clock in your room that goes off at a time you consider morning (7am in my house). Tell the children they must stay in bed and look at books (carefully shelved next to their beds) until they hear the alarm, then they are allowed in.

This has always worked w ds1, now 7, but we did it from the start so he was in a cot. Not sure it'll be as easy starting now they can get out of bed but worth a try.

night light in their room on a time swith - it isn't "morning" til the light goes off.