What can I do? She's 3 years 9 months, has a fairly typical bedtime routine, wind down, bath, teeth, story, bed, goes down fine at around 7 to 7.30, sleeps though the night. And then arises at 5.30 and wakes the whole household (consisting of 2 fulltime working parents (one of whom has an illness which really benefits from good, uninterrupted, refreshing sleep, both of whom have quite stressful jobs where their decisions affect other people's lives profoundly) and 2 teenagers who also need their 8/10 hours and are constantly oversleeping partly because they are rudely awoken at 5.30 and then fall back to sleep when the commotion is over).
Daughter's room is at the top of a very steep straight double flight of stairs and for safety reasons we have a gate at the top still as a small child falling really would cause potentially serious injury. At the crack of dawn, Daughter stands at the gate whining and shouting "IT'S WAKEY TIME! IT'S WAKEY TIME! I'M NOT TIRED! COME UPSTAIRS AND GET ME!" Calling up to her to go back to sleep usually results in a full blown tantrum. Going up half asleep to put her back to bed = her boinging up again within minutes and resuming her horrible whingy shouting. Bringing her into our bed is a disaster- she chirrups and bounces about until we are thoroughly awake. Shouting doesn't work (never thought it would and don't do it deliberately but prone to growling with cold anger at when half asleep at 5am, which makes me feel ashamed). Groclock was a waste of money as she worked out how to undo the child lock and make it change to the sun picture within seconds (serious design fault!). Reasoning doesn't work- she's developmentally normal so neither understands nor cares that we are furious and suffering! I think smacking would work- instant aversive consequence- but I have never smacked them and never would. So tempted though! Wish I didn't believe it was wrong!
Any ideas?