Rudely awoken by your child? Here's how other parents cope with early risers
Alarm clocks are redundant when you have a small child.
“Of course kids wake up early, they’re in bed by 7pm! When you want a lie in, why not just let them stay up a bit later?”
That’s the sort of logic I would have believed tired parents could employ before I had my own early riser to contend with.
But I, like many mums and dads before me, soon learned that children who are primed to wake up before 6am will laugh in the face of such “logic”.
Bed at 8pm… up at 5.15am.
Bed at 7pm… up at 5.15am.
Bed at 9pm… up at 4.40am.
Children do not care if you are not a “morning person”, whatever ungodly hour they decide to start the day, you can be sure they’ll wake up so full of beans that any hope they’ll go back to sleep is quickly dashed.
It can feel selfish to want to crawl back under the covers when greeted by a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed child in a ridiculously rowdy mood.
But, you’ll be relieved to hear, it is important to find a way to make the hours your child wants to keep work for you too, as Dr. Amanda Gummer, child psychologist, founder of The Good Play Guide and mum-of-two, explains:
“Having children who are early risers can really throw your body clock out, which can make you less tolerant and exacerbate any mental health issues, neither of which is beneficial for the child.”
So, there you have it - finding a way to cope with an early riser can benefit your whole family. Here’s how other parents who have been routinely woken at the crack of dawn have handled the issue.
Firstly, nip any nap niggles in the bud
“I would advise looking at daytime sleep and seeing if they are having too much/little and how late the last nap finishes,” says Kirsty Ketley, mum-of-two and founder of Auntie K’s childcare.
“My son is always up between 6.30am and 7am, and adjusting his daytime sleep really helped sort his brief early waking out.”
Delay the daylight
If you find your children are rising earlier and earlier as the mornings get lighter in the summer, you may want to give blackout blinds a try.
“I found Velcro ones better than sucker style and have used extra tape to help keep them flush,” says mum-of-two Emma Jarman.
Kirsty says she would also “advise making the room as dark as possible,” but adds “to be honest with you, as a parent, I'm yet to find a blind that doesn't let in light! Using good quality blackout curtains as well will help though, tucking in the sides if needs be.”
Rather than fighting the early mornings, prioritise sleep when you can
“Getting enough sleep can make the world of difference to how you feel about the day,” says Amanda.
“Whilst babies make up for lost sleep with naps during the day, it’s not the same for the parents (although if you can nap during the day then do - chores can wait).
“If you’re able to share the early starts, and make sure you get at least a couple of lie-ins a week, it all becomes a little more sustainable.
“Try adjusting your own routines so you’re able to go to bed early and get at least six hours sleep - the early mornings won’t be quite as painful.”
Bed down for the dawn
“I found making up a bed on the floor of my daughter's room my sanctuary when she was waking before 6am,” says Kirsty.
Make morning “me time”
If you feel like you need a little alone time in the morning - you can start teaching your child to also appreciate having the early hours to themselves.
“Once they are around 18 months old you can start to teach them to self-soothe and to amuse themselves when they wake up,” says Amanda.
“Leaving a toy or book within easy reach and not rushing in when you hear the first cry in the morning will help your little one learn to let you sleep until at least a semi-reasonable hour.”
Kirsty adds: “Have an acceptable time to be awake from. In my house 6.30am is perfectly acceptable. If it is before 6am we class it as night time.
“Once my daughter hit three, using a groclock helped her understand that it wasn't time for Mummy and Daddy to get up, (although it didn't make her sleep longer!) and so she had to stay in her room and look at books or play quietly until the sun came up on the clock, which was 6.30am.
“I made a basket of 'morning toys' that she could play with. We then stretched that until 7am and as she got older she could watch TV downstairs, which she and her brother now do once it is 7am and hubby and I have a cuppa in bed.”
Can you help with a little thing?
An upcoming issue of The Little Things will focus on how to help children sleep on hot summer nights. What have you found works for your family? If you’ve got any advice you’d like to share with other parents please do reply to this email to let me know. Thank you.
Little Lowdown
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