"Mummy, it is light outside, therefore it is time to get up" - combatting this behaviour!!?

[CaptainDippy]

I have been very blessed up until now. My DD1 (4yrs) (and DD2 (2.9m)/DD3 (10m)) have always slept til 7am or beyond, which was been so lovely. Unfortunately, over the last month or so my DD1 has taken to waking up anytime from 5am onwards. I know this is not as bad as other people's little ones; but it is driving me insane nd I just don't know what to do about it.

My DD1 has just turned 4 and insists: "It's light outside mummy, so it is getting up time." I have tried to explain to her about seasons and that in the spring / summer it is light outside very early, but it certainly not getting up time.

One of the problems is that she shares a room with DD2 who probably would still sleep beyong 7am; but DD1 turns on the light and pulls up the blind / curtain and wakes her up. We've tried putting DD2 in with DD3 who sleeps til 8am +; but DD2 got very distressed and wanted to go back in with DD1. We've tried encouraging DD1 to go downstairs and play quietly or sit and read a book, but she gets bored and wakes DD2 up anyway.

By 10am my children are exhausted and so am I.

I am getting so tired and worn down by this behaviour. Any tips / ideas / sympathy??

Oh I had this for a long long time with my ds1 and ds2. I think ds2 would sleep for far longer, if his brother let him, but they share a bedroom which makes it harder. Blackout blinds help to a certain extent, just to stop the light coming into the room, as does making sure that the more energetic one is tired out more during the daytime... Also, one of the boys is tired by bedtime and the other isn't, I often let the sleepy one go to bed in my room and the other one stay up for another half an hour - with the understanding that they play happily on their own and don't come and disturb me downstairs. I need some time to myself by then.

Another thing which may help is explaining that you need your sleep, so not to disturb you until a certain time. If she comes and wakes you up, take her back into her bedroom. If ds2 is disturbed in the morning, let her sleep with you, the message being that some people need to sleep for longer and will be unhappy if you wake them up too early. Ds2 (3 1/2) now knows not to wake me up until 6.30 am, and we have clocks in both rooms so he can check. He frequently slides into bed with us early in the morning but as long as he is quiet, I don't mind. It's the playing around under the duvet that annoys me. I am very definitely an 'owl', not a 'lark' so I think he got this message fairly quickly .

These things have helped us so far. I also have the 'no cry sleep solution for toddlers and pre-schoolers' book, which suggests maybe the early riser is getting hungry - could you try giving her a snack before bedtime, and delaying breakfast in the morning to re-set the hunger alarm? Or setting out breakfast stuff the night before so she can feed herself without bothering anyone else? (I'm just thinking cereal and fruit, not anything more involved.) She might like the idea of being so grown-up that she can make her own breakfast.

A suggestion in the NCSS book which I haven't used, and depends on being quite organised, is to have a box of toys and rotate them so that there's always something new there for your child to explore before waking you up. But you've said your dd1 won't play on her own downstairs so I'm not sure if this would work.

Thinking of you, and I hope you get this sorted out before the really long days in the summer (although at least bedtimes can get later then, and you can tire them out in the park beforehand if the weather is good).

The bunny clock is FAB!!!!!
You set the clock for when you want him to wake up.Then at the given time his eyes open and ears go up.
If the child tries to get out of bed show him that the bunny is asleep and he can only get up when bunny is awake.

www.bloomingmarvellous.co.uk/product.aspx?CategoryID=nursery&ProductID=81715&language=en-GB

something like this might help My friends have one and have their twins that while the rabbit sleeps they have to be quiet and not wake it. So they creep about if they wake.

I've also told my dd that in summer the darkness at nighttime is incredibly short. That it stays light almost all night, and in the winter it is nearly always dark at dinner time - so we can't rely on light to tell us when to go to bed or get up.

Xposts to smiliar but differtent products...

The problem with the bunny clock is it will also wake them when they otherwise may have slept a little longer.

Try blackout blinds. DS has them in his room and it makes all the difference as he used to wake up when it got light. Now he wakes around 7.

The bunny clock has a on/off switch for the alarm volume.So is doesn't need to make any noise.

Think the one I linked to may have an option for the picture change only - without the audio alarm...

We must stop meeting like this nobodysfool

great minds think alike!
I really rate these clocks.
I used them for my ds a while back when he insisted on getting up at 5.30.
He now sleeps from 7pm-8am ish.I don't use the clock now.

Thank you guys - food for thoguht - keep it coming .....

DH has just suggested having a electronic timelock on the girls door so they physically cannopt leave the room til 7.30am!!

.....or they figure the combination!!

blackout blind, or if you have a curtain rail simply buy some heavy black material and clip it up with a bulldog clip or similar

works beautifully - even if you can train them NOT to come and wake you, they will still be awake themselves, and grumpy later on

I just bought some black-out material and clip it to the curtain rail like F&Z suggests, it works wonderfully and stops DS waking too early. It's also good for helping him fall asleep in the summer months when it's still light outside.

We've got black-out blid / curtains; but trouble is DD1 gets onto window sill and open them and then goes and gets something to stand on and turns on light!! Deary me!!

hmm, if she is awake at that time anyway she is unlikely to be able to get back to sleep I would think

in that case I would try what we have just done with ds- get digital alarm clock and block out all but first number

set to come to 7 (or whatever number she can recognise) at the time when she is allowed to get up
until then it is quiet reading in bed only

I don't think ds would have been capable of this when he was just 4 (tbh he only sometimes manages it now), but I know other people's children have been, so worth a try?

May be .... I'll try anything ......