What age would you let your child wake up and play unsupervised?

[UpBeforeTheSun]

I guess the question says it all!!! We have a DS 3yo (nearly 4) who enjoys a 530am wake up. Meanwhile baby will sleep until 630/7am while I feed in bed. If I'm up at 530am the day feels like a struggle. That extra hour is very much needed after a night of feeding baby!

What age would you let your children play/watch TV downstairs unsupervised?

DD is almost 5 and is allowed to watch TV downstairs after 7am she rarely does though -she prefers a lie in until about 9am!

We have a small cottage, can hear her and she’s very near even when downstairs and she’s as sensible and risk adverse as they come.

In our house is happened naturally when the oldest was 6. So youngest was 4 in our case. But wouldn’t have let the oldest when he was 4.

My 3yo DD has a sun/moon clock. She’s allowed out of her bedroom once the sun comes up but otherwise has to stay in her room (with exception of going for a wee, obvs). Shes allowed to play in her bedroom with books, Tonies player and cuddly toys if she wakes earlier than the time the sunshine appears on the clock. We’ve been doing this c.6 months and it’s worked really well so far !

When they can successfully navigate the TV. Between 3 and 4 years old for both my children. They just sit and watch TV as they know that when im up, it wont be long until the tv is off and they have to do something else. I have taught them what they can and cant touch. Generally we are not fully sleeping..just lightly sleeping and listening out.
@Daisyblue77 wow, your poor kids and grandchildren. And poor you having to live up to that judgemental attitude. Must be exhausting 😅

I don't quite understand what you think they should do then? Find a random housemate who'll agree to never go out of the house? Sensible risk assessment is fine.

People who aren't 'afflicted' can also end up unable to consciously look after their children for 24hrs a day too you know. Like when they're asleep, or if they have an accident and fall over. Seriously you need to not be so narrow minded and full of sweeping statements.

BTW there are devices to monitor and alert for help if the wearer is likely to/has a seizure.

My kids are 7 and almost 4, my rule is they can gat up when the time begins with a 6, play quietly in their bedrooms until 6.30 then I’ll get up and we all go downstairs together.

their bedrooms are next door to mine, and I do usually wake up if they’re up and playing, I’ll just doze.

the “quietly” element seems to be the hardest bit for the youngest one, sometimes he seems to find the noisiest possible toy!

Mine had a Gro-Clock, if they were up before 7 they could play in their own room quietly, and could go downstairs at age 4 after 7am.

My first were twins though so they were never sitting quietly entertaining themselves!

Thanks all for the replies. It's always nice to get others perspectives and ideas!

Hahah... yeah we have ended up using he Yoto player light to let him know when daytime is otherwise I'm sure he would be out of bed whenever he first wakes. Which could be 3am!!!

DD has been doing this since she turned 6, she's pretty sensible. It started by her sneaking downstairs to watch TV when she usually wakes up about 6am so set some pretty tight security on the TV as to what she can access although she was watching "Don't tell the bride" the other morning 😅

Her brother doesn't wake until 7 and we always hear her get up so only doze and she's never left longer than 45mins

@MinervaMcGonagallsCat and @BettyBlueHat This is exactly what I was thinking about @Daisyblue77.

That helicopter is flying so low the poor children can't think for themselves!!!

DD aged 5 has been OK to get up and play in her room once her clock started with a 6 for some time now, then about 3 months ago we heard her trying to sneak downstairs so agreed she could go downstairs at the weekend to watch TV or play on her tablet once her clock started with a 7. It's working well so far for us, she's generally on her own about half an hour whilst we doze before one of us goes down to make her breakfast.

Did you know you can set up alarms on the Yoto ? (I only realised last week and have had it over a year now!)

Agree. This is shocking.

I'd say reception age so 4-5. 3 seems a bit young to me, but I realise all DCs are different.

I wouldn’t allow my son when he’s 4 to be downstairs on his own, if I had to then I’d say 7 roughly. I personally wouldn’t leave my child to get up themselves though. I was a kid that was left to get up myself and I hated it. All I wanted was to have time with my parents on a morning. I now with my children get up with them no matter what the time to have that time with them. If it’s early we have a snuggly lazy morning. I then catch up on my sleep by going to bed early. I just find it lazy to be honest and selfish. I have a 22 month old and a 6 week old so I know all about lack of sleep and wanting an extra hour in bed but sorry you’re a parent, get up with your children and have that time with them. I’m all for giving independence as my toddler is very much so but the loneliness and longing I felt as a child on a morning was horrible. I wouldn’t want that for my child

My DC is nearly 12 and still won't get up without me.

Just wait until 22m old is 4 and see, it’s so hard to see how your child can change. You can’t get the extra hour because of the ages your kids so of course it seems lazy and selfish right now (otherwise it would be hard to survive the stage you’re in…)

Sounds like you had bad morning experiences though and everyone makes the decision right for their own family.

We ended up getting him some new special toys just for his room. Then we set up his Yoto player so that he can play with his toys until the light on his player changes to say it's daytime. Working so far, and he comes to wake me once the light changes. I feel happier that for now he's in his room, but as he gets older I'm sure he will start sneaking off to put the TV himself!

@Gablou a little unfair to label people selfish and lazy for requiring sleep! As @Potatomashed said, I would never have left a 22month old. But things change and every child is different. At nearly 4, my DS can be super happy playing independently for 20mins given the right environment, and he knows I would never turn him away if he came to wake me early!

An extra half hour of fostering some independent play isn't selfish. I have put my career on hold (after studying 7 years) to make sure I'm there for my children to play 13hrs of "you pretend to be the dinosaur". So if I need an extra half hour sleep to ensure I have the enthusiasm to role play as a T-Rex, or my personal favourite the velociraptor, I'm gonna take it!!!

The rule in my house is DC (4 years old) can get out of bed any time after 6am, and can play in his room until 7am after which he comes to get us. It works really well. He feels like he's getting a secret extra play time, and I mostly sleep through it.

If you think your child is sensible enough, it's fine. Honestly I know some 2 year olds that would be fine and some 5/6 year olds that wouldn't!

My mum always got up with us
if it was mega early we be told to go back to sleep but at a reasonable early hour she was up we never watched tv or ate on our own

whilst i don’t think it is wrong for a child to get up on their own, I will always remember this from my childhood and feel the love from my mum that she was there always for us and sacrificed her sleep to get up early every single day until I left secondary school

I have a 3.5 year old and think it'd be a little while before I'd let her go downstairs alone. Maybe 5/6 for a sensible child. Could you set up some activities for him in his room? Maybe a cup of milk or smoothie in an insulated cup of some sort to stay cold overnight. Tbh, at 5.30 am I'd probably be getting a tablet out and flinging it at handing it to the child 😳.

My son is 4 in September, he always was an early riser, still is some days, but I don't think I would trust him to play downstairs yet, prob at some point when he is 4, but he plays upstairs semi supervised in the next room we just have toys upstairs and downstairs