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Sleep

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Original poster

4yo keeps getting up @ 5 am!

17 replies

mayorofwhoville · 23/01/2011 13:18

My DS who is 4 going on 5 keeps waking up @ 5 and refusing to go back to sleep which means he is very tired during the day.

He goes to bed at 6.30pm - any later and he still wakes at 5 and is even more tired.

If we put him back in the morning, he has a paddy and wakes the rest of the house.

Do those clocks work which show night vs day?

OP posts:

PussinJimmyChoos · 23/01/2011 21:10

We have a groclock for DS who is 4.5yrs...it didn't work for him when we first bought it and recently, I have dug it out again after DS saw it in the drawer and wanted it out.

We find that although he loves the clock and is very excited about putting the sun to bed and seeing the moon come out, he will still wake before the sun comes out and then sit there moaning about why the sun has not come out and its taking too long

However, he does not wake as early as 5am...I am just wondering if your DS would be one of those that look at the clock, see the moon still out and then go back to bed - it does work for quite a few people of early risers

Is he in nappies or pants for bed? You may find its his full bladder/full nappy waking him up and perhaps 'lifting' him before you go to bed will stop him waking so early?

compo · 23/01/2011 21:11

Just tell him To go back to bed until you say he can get up
give him books to look at in bed, maybe a cup of milk ( is he hungry)

StartingAfresh · 23/01/2011 21:12

Are you sure that after a week of say 8pm bedtimes he won't wake at 7:30?

These things take more than a couple of nights to adjust.

My ds (just 4) goes to bed between 8-9pm. It isn't great for our evenings but I prefer evenings to mornings.

whysolate · 23/01/2011 21:16

MOW I am in the same situation. Our house is only small. He shares a room with his brother and his sister of the same age is in the other bedroom. I wish I knew the answer. Everyone ends up grumpy and tired. You have my sympathies.

PussinJimmyChoos · 23/01/2011 21:20

When DS used to wake up at 5.30am, he would flatly refuse to go back to bed once he was awake. He would not play quietly with his toys or read a book, he would whiiiiiiine until one of us got up

Its a killer..what I used to do was get up with him, give him his breakfast etc and then put a DVD on and crash on the sofa while he watched it

And putting him to bed later did no good at all...he would wake the same time and be 10x more grumpy as a result of it

Thankfully, it was only a phase but we do still get the odd 6am/6.30am waking - usually on a weekend...

The joy of kids

TiggieWiggle · 23/01/2011 21:25

Our DD (the same age) goes to bed a 7:30-8pm. We do put her on the toilet at 10-10:30ish at night in the hope that she will sleep longer. She has always got up early BUT I think we've cracked it!

She now has a clock on her wall and can tell when it's 8am - she doesn't come into us until then but sometimes gets up and takes herself to the toilet She has a cup of water in her room and is allowed to play/look at books quietly if she wakes early. We never would have believed it 6 months ago.

So, what worked for us in the end was:

later bedtime (although didn't work at first)
toilet at 10-10:30 (before we go to bed)
clock in room (not allowed downstairs til 8)
water in her room

Good luck, hope it works!

cakeandwine · 23/01/2011 21:29

We have '5am wake ups' from our 4 year old although sparodic at the moment, mainly because we bribe her Stickers, smarties, friend coming for tea, new book - have to think of new things, then she gets into habit of sleeping longer until something changes it all and we're back to 5am. I think she always be an early riser I just don't want her waking her sisters or me.

We have the clock too, but it doesn't really work.

Not sure thats the advice you want.

I do really feel your pain.

CrispyTheCrisp · 23/01/2011 21:30

We use this clock. orks for my 4yo and 2yo

maxpower · 23/01/2011 21:30

mayor you have my sympathies. My DD (4.6) is doing this - but to add to the problem, we have a month old DS. So not only are we up and down all night attending to DS with feeds and nappy changes but then DD starts up so unreasonably early. We've had a clock to help her manage this for over a year, but she's ignoring it now. If we do get her to at least stay in her room, she starts shouting for DH or I and just doesn't stop. If we go in to her, she'll ask us something completely inconsequential which is so infuriating. She's exhausted as a result and so her behaviour is suffering. DH and I are utterly exhausted and the whole situation means that I'm finding myself losing my temper with her at the drop of a hat - half of my day seems to be spent telling her off. I've been driven to tears by her at least once this week. I'm really hoping this is a phase and that it passes quickly.

maxpower · 23/01/2011 21:32

cross post tiggiewiggle god I wish those strategies had worked with my DD - all tried and all failed miserably.

Original poster

mayorofwhoville · 23/01/2011 21:45

Thanks for all the replies and advice! It is nice to know that there are others having the same ishoos!

I think we'll try the later bedtime with him...maybe 7 rather than 6.30 and bribe him!

OP posts:

LostArt · 23/01/2011 21:50

I don't know what the answer is. My DS is 5 in a couple of months and has always been an early riser. He started school in January, and for the first week I had to wake him up. Unfortunately, he seems to have adjusted and he's back to his normal self - it was a 5:30 start today.

The thing that keeps me going is the fact that there is no such thing as a teenager that wakes at 5am. That's only 8 years.

PussinJimmyChoos · 23/01/2011 21:53

Will we be waking them up for toast and a drink when they are teenagers I wonder???

kahlua4me · 23/01/2011 21:56

My ds has always got up between 5 and 6 regardless what time he went to bed. Actually never stayed up past 8pm even if friends round, wedding, parties anything!He is 7 now and starting to sleep later but only til 6.30am
As long as learning and developing I dont worry. He does his homework as soon as he gets up as more awake than after school.
I am now used to getting up early and find I get loads of chores etc done before 9am so the day is calmer.

I am same as Lostart as by the time he is teenager he will sleep!

Original poster

mayorofwhoville · 23/01/2011 22:37

It isn't really the early mornings that are the killer....DH does that bit! It is the tired tantrums we get at a weekend which start to get the whole mcdodd family down!

OP posts:

scrappydappydoo · 24/01/2011 13:29

I was just coming to post the same about my dd - she normally comes into us around 5am but we suspect awake earlier. I agree its the behaviour which is worse as you know when its tiredness and its so frustrating when you try everything to sort it out
We've done:
later bedtimes
sleep clock thing
blackout blind
warmer pjs in case she's cold
bribary and corruption
yelling and shouting
Its soul destroying especially when she wakes dd2..

bondgirl77 · 25/01/2011 20:51

Well I just wanted to add my name to the list! My 3.2 year old DS was up at 4.45am this morning, and all this week it's either been 5am, 5.15 etc. Later bedtime seems to result in even earlier waking for some reason! I would be prepared to try a later bedtime, but for those of you that have tried this how do you keep them up? My DS is SO exhausted by the end of the day that he just falls into bed and is asleep within minutes. Since Xmas we have dropped his nap for good as if he even has a sniff of one these days he's up til gone 10pm. Which I find even worse to cope with than early mornings! How long does it take them to develop the stamina to stay up a bit later?Nice to know you're not alone!

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