Are your kids waking too early? Do you wish your children would sleep in just a little later? I understand completely! When your kids are waking too early in the morning, it can make them tired, cranky and they don’t feel their best. Overall, tired kids are just not very happy kids. (Not much different from tired adults)
I put our kids to bed at 7:00 and I want them to get a full 10-12 hours of sleep (because it helps them to be happier & healthier), so I have taught them to naturally sleep later.
Update: This post was written several years ago, but it is always one of the most-asked questions that I receive, so I wanted to share it again today. Our kids have continued to sleep until 7:00 (or later) thanks to this little trick. It has helped to give our kids the rest that they need (and deserve). ♥
Sleep is Essential for Children
Yes, getting a good night’s sleep is essential, so teaching our kids great wake & sleep patterns will benefit your child greatly. It will help their physical health, emotional health, and mental health.
Getting enough sleep = healthier child… better ability to stay focused, happier children… there are so many benefits to getting enough sleep. If a child wakes in the middle of the night or too early in the morning, it can cause your child to be tired, foggy, and grumpy in the day.
We have four kids and let me tell you; our kids had started waking up EARLY! Two of our kids were very early risers and I just wanted them to sleep longer so they could have the rest they needed. They were exhausted from the minute that they woke up, yet they were still waking up early.
Once I taught them how to sleep long enough to get the rest that they needed, they felt better.
Waking too early?
Is your child waking too early? You can help them learn how to sleep later.
I knew that I had to do something, many years ago, when our older kids were waking too early – around 5:00 am and 5:30 in the morning.
It was still dark outside, they were waking their siblings, causing our morning routine to begin much sooner, leaving them exhausted in the middle of the day. Naptime often came in the late morning, leaving the kids requiring a two-hour nap every day
Plus, when kids are waking too early it can cause them to be overtired by bedtime. This makes it harder for them to doze off at night. Falling asleep when you are TOO tired is just as bad as trying to fall asleep when you aren’t sleepy at all.
Bottom Line: Kids need to get plenty of sleep.
PS- our family’s normal wake-up time is at 7:00 am. I don’t consider 7:00 to be early, but 5:00 is a little out of my comfort zone. 😉
How Much Sleep Does A Child Need?
As you can see from the chart below…
Do you want a copy of this chart? I’d be happy to mail you a copy to download- just click here to send me your e-mail. Thanks!
How the sleep time charts work:
Sleep charts are simply to be used as a reference. They may not work for your family, but they are often based on experience or studies, so I usually like to try to understand them.
I liked this sleep chart (below) shared by Wilson Elementary School. If the child wakes up at a particular time, they need to go to bed at the time below that time, depending on their age.
So, according to the chart, a five-year-old would need to go to bed by 6:45 if they had to be up at 6:00)
I’d adjust it a bit, to fit your family’s schedule, but it does show that kids need a lot of sleep… and to that point, I agree.
How to help your child begin to change their “body clock”
To help our kids learn good sleep habits, we came up with this idea, and I have shared it with friends and family, and they do it, too.
It works!
We finally figured out a way to keep our kids in bed longer (giving them the chance to get enough sleep for their bodies and minds)
This idea is to naturally set our children’s internal clocks to a time that is more suiting to their schedule (with preschool and grade school). It allows their bodies to sleep until it is time to wake up.
Before you begin: Determine a wake-up time for your child & practice it.
Figure out what time your child will go to bed each night and what time you’d like them to wake up. Remember that going to bed at the same time every night is so important for their health and behavior!
After you determine an appropriate wake-up time, you need to practice that number with your kids.
- If you want them to get up at 7:00, show them the number 7.
- Show it to them on a piece of paper.
- Show it to them on their clock, so they will recognize that number.
- Show it to them in books.
- Have them practice writing it.
- Talk to your child about what happens in the morning… “After you are done sleeping through the night and you are ready to wake up, you will look at the clock and see what time it is.” (more details below)
Steps to help your child sleep later:
Materials that you need:
- A digital clock
- A piece of paper (I use index cards. You can use anything!)
- Tape
- Marker or crayon
What to do next: The step-by-step way to teach your kids to sleep later.
- STEP ONE: WRITE JUST THE HOUR of the time you want the kids to come out of bed on your piece of paper.
- Write the number big (a little bigger than the number on the clock).
- Examples: 6:00? Write 6
7:00? Write 7. (This is our ‘allowed out of bed’ time)
8:00? Write 8.
.. - STEP TWO: Tape that paper over the MINUTES on your digital clock, so that all that you are left seeing is the hour and the paper.
Here is what it looks like (sorry that my time was 4:00 when I took it )
- Show your kids when the number on the clock (the hour) matches the number on their paper, they can come out of bed.
- Tip: If your child is going to share a room with another sibling, be sure that both children can see the clock from their beds.
Here is a close-up of our clock:
Why Do I Not Allow Them to Come Out of Bed Earlier?
I do not let our kids get out of bed before 7:00, for safety reasons. I don’t want them in their rooms playing when I do not know about it. I want them in their beds.
(I made this rule after I had read this heart-breaking story, last year, about the little girl that died when her dresser fell on top of her while her parents were asleep in their room- it was one of those VERY HEAVY dresser/changing tables that everyone has. Her mom didn’t realize it until she (the mom) woke up for the day.
Her story has opened my eyes to the fact that dangers lurk where you don’t expect them, even with furniture that you would NEVER expect to fall over… same with toys…. you just never know which ones have hidden dangers, even if you don’t expect it).
For that reason, I don’t want our kids awake without me knowing.
Do Kids Have an Internal Alarm?
I have read multiple studies suggesting that there are reasons that our bodies tend to wake us up, but oftentimes our bodies get out of sync. Science News says: “Just like an alarm clock, the body’s internal clock can be reset.”
I believe this to be true, as well. After we implemented the 7:00 wake time and our children practiced it, they began sleeping later. Now, when I am up in the morning and I check on them before 7:00 am, they are all still sound asleep.
Around 7:00-7:30, they begin to naturally awaken, thanks to resetting their internal alarms.
TIP: I should remind you that I didn’t start this until our kids were almost THREE YEARS OLD and could understand it.
How to Teach Kids to Sleep Later:
- When they come out of their room the first few days early (and they will), just take them back to bed and say “You can come out at 7:00 when the number of the clock matches. Are they the same now? Ok, sweetheart- go back to bed.” (put them back into bed).
. - Now what you will want to do is make sure that when it DOES turn seven, you go in and say “Ok! It’s time to come out now! It’s 7:00!! Great job!” Do this for over a week, until they get it.
. - As with anything, you need to remember that you have to TEACH your kids this new rule. You can not expect them to sleep until 7:00 tomorrow, just because you started this today. Give it a week or two, and you will have them sleeping later.
- When you tuck your kids in at night & lie down with them, talk about the morning and what it will look like. Talk about what number they will see before they get out of bed.
.
Tips:
1. Take it slowly. If your child has been getting up at 5, don’t expect him/her to sleep until 7. You have to do this slowly. I would change the clock for this, too, so that at the real 5:30 (first few days) their clock would say 7 (or your goal hour).
I would move it every few days over a few weeks until they were waking up at 7:00. (Just my two cents)
.
2. Another completely different idea that a friend on Facebook gave me is to have your lamp set to a timer (like the kind that you get when you are going on vacation) and have it turn on at a specific time (example: 7:00 am). When the light goes on, they can get out of bed.
3. Another idea: you could try an alarm clock like this one that I found on Amazon with my affiliate link: (The light is red when they need to stay in bed and green when they can come out)
Good luck!
If you would like access to my sleep schedule, free sleep course & printable chart, join here
MORE HELPFUL POSTS FOR YOU:
Liz says
Seven is our “out of bed” time as well. I will have to use this method because my (just turned) 3 year old likes to come up around 6 o’clock as well. 🙂
terry says
Great article.
crystal says
With my daughter’s alarm clock, I can set the alarm, and then turn the volume all the way down. Her clock’s numbers flash as the alarm goes off, so when she wakes up and sees the numbers are flashing, she knows she can get up, but the alarm won’t wake her. It works really well for us without having to buy an expensive clock.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Great idea!!!
Michelle says
Becky- our 4 & 5 yr old boy are getting up at 3:30-4:00. It’s their internal clock. I’ve tried so many things and we’re exhausted more than I can even explain! They’re cranky and tired and we cant go anywhere or do anything! Then we get cranky Andrea tired. They eat very good. They go to bed like clockwork. Any suggestions?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I’d just say that it is not time to wake up. Our kids tried this and I had to just say that it was the middle of the night. I’d say that they can lie in bed and wait, but they cannot come out of their room (or bed) until the clock says 7:00. (You could aim for 6:00 to start)
Karen says
We have been having lot’s of issues with my three and a half year old son, Oliver. He has been waking three times in the night and then waking at 5am refusing to sleep. He actually gets upset and cries…
desperate mom says
I’m looking an alarm clock who’s numbers flash. What brand is yours?
Yaz says
What if your child has to go to the bathroom before their wake up time?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I have always told them to use the bathroom and go back to bed. We even practiced this. 🙂 . I leave a bright night-light in the bathroom, and another one in the hall. I hear them when they get up to use the bathroom (I am a very light sleeper), so I am usually aware of what’s going on. 🙂
Anon says
Wait til its your 11 year old waking you up early on a weekend when you didnt get to sleep til 4 or 5am… soooo frustrating!
Even after explaining on multiple occasions not to wake mum up on wkends and to wait til im up!
I have to explain to them that theyre old enough to get up without having to ask me if they cab. But thing is we stream tv from my phone so they expect me to turn tv on the moment they wake up… so now I have to explain that they can gave beakfast but to find something to do til im up. My kids wake me up about 1 or 2 hours too early on a weekend.
And ocasionally i have trouble getting to sleep as it is
Denise says
What clock do you have please?
Kate says
Something I taught my 2 yr old, was if the sun is asleep, she is asleep. So when she would wake while it was still dark, I would tell her the sun was still asleep so we had to go back to bed. Eventually she picked up on this and now waits until the sun is up to get out of bed. Now she informs me in the morning that the sun woke up. 😉
CAH says
All fine and good unless you live in an area where the summer sun rise is 5am. We have to use black out curtains, especially in the summer.
Kendall Malloy says
I lay my 2 year old down at 7:30 every night. Regardless, he is ALWAYS up between 6-6:30. I tried an early bedtime, but the two days we did this, he was up at 5am! Any other suggestions for this tired mama?
Olivia Megan says
My cousin has had great success with this clock. 🙂 https://amzn.to/1zCDNsb
Cadence says
I get up at 7am every weekend
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
So do we. 7:00 is our wakeup time. I have a friend and her son wakes up at 4:00 am every morning. That’s “early” to me… but 7 is normal. 🙂
Laila Khan says
So what does your friend do? Does she wake up feed her child and put him to sleep or keep him awake? Because my child very sometimes wakes up at 5 but I’m thinking she’s hungry or she doesn’t understand it’s to early she’s nearly 2 and I want to get a good routine schedule for nursery
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
She did for a while (a cup of milk) but now then when it didn’t stop, she just got the little light & said that everyone had to stay in bed until the light went on (around 6:30, I think). It took 3 days, but worked.
Lauren Macdonald says
I am a mum of five kids. I understand the exhaustion and struggle of parents of early risers. My first son at 10months old, when I was already 4 months pregnant with son number 2, began to wake at 4.30am. He was hungry but he could never go back to sleep. He was awake. We systematically tried later bed time ( he was going to bed at 6pm). We tried 6.30pm, 6.45pm, 7pm, 7.15pm, etc all the way to 8pm, but 4.30am to 8pm was too long for me and it didn’t change anything. So I decided we would put him to bed at 4.30pm and give him the full 12 hours sleep. It worked. Eventually we moved him to 5pm and he woke at 5am. Then we moved bedtime to 5.30pm and then 6pm. But he never slept past 5.15am. No matter what we did. So we moved bed time back to 5.15 until he got old enough for less than 12 hours. (He has slept till 7am once in his life, when he was 11 years old, on morphine in hospital with a broken leg.) 5.30am is his latest. He still sometimes wakes at 4.45am even now he’s 12 and goes to bed at 7.30 or 8pm. It’s just him. It has nearly killed me (especially having 4 more kids) but I have had to embrace it and I am happy to say there is an upside. Besides the fact he wakes up happy and ready to go. At age 12 he arrives upstairs at 6.30am for 2nd breakfast having showered, dressed, tidied his room, completed his homework and his music practice. After eating he completes his chores, helps his siblings and plays games before scootering out the door at 8.15am so that he can be there by 8.30am to play with his mates. On the weekends he is out the door by 7am to get in an early scooter ride before the day gets too hot or the crowds get too big at the skatepark. But it’s not early for him at all. By 10am he’s ready for lunch. The most important but also the most difficult thing has been disciplining myself to be nice to him at 4.45am, go to bed early and get up early. I have to admit some years I have been good at it and a lot of years I have sucked. Sometimes I got all my own work done before breakfast and got everyone out the door to do the grocery shopping before school or got to the beach for an early swim or scootered around the lake before the early morning crowd but other seasons I turned on the cartoons and just lay there comatose on the floor with my eyes open while they played loudly around me. For a while our fifth child threw a spanner in the works because he became a night owl, but we’ve managed to get him on the same kind of program now and we have a bit of time back to ourselves in the evenings to have a conversation and be romantic before we collapse into bed.
Emily says
Thanks for writing this. My 3 year old gets up at 4:45 and it’s killing us. We’ve tried many things but none seem to work. I’m not sure if it’s just her or if it will get better but it’s good to know others have been in the same boat. I think to myself I should make the most of the time, but mostly I’m too tired. If I can make myself go to bed early one day it won’t be so bad. Good to hear about your experience 🙂
Marianne says
Thankyou for your posts I feel so much better their are mummys in the same boat!
As my son wakes at 4am everyday. I have tried the moving of bedtime / dropping nap time – none of which changed the wake up.
What will be will be I will adjust my life accordingly x
Aura says
My advice: sleep in the same room (separate beds). At 4am you then have the opportunity to mumble “Johnny it’s not morning time yet, so we need to stay in bed.” And keep the room dark and quiet.
No more naps and bedtime at 8-9pm WILL work if you stick with both and if you’re actually in the room when the kid wakes up.
Also being in the same room reduces anxiety and makes kids sleep better in general. As much as it might seem like a step backwards to some people, it isn’t if it makes your whole family sleep better.
Melissa says
What do you do differently if you have a 3 year old, 4, year old , and 6 year old sharing a room out of necessity and the youngest wakes the older two?
Tulip says
Great tip! I think it makes them feel more grown up when they have a clock. It really empowers them and they feel like they are part of the system. I love it. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see you at True Aim!
Crystal & Co says
What a great tip. I am up well before anyone else in our house, but this is a smart solution!
This was one of the most clicked ideas from last week. You can view your feature here: http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2013/04/top-five-mom-ideas-41413/.
Your Modern Family says
That’s great that you get up earlier- I am so bad at that… I need to get better!
Tauna says
Brilliant! We bought one of those expensive clocks that turns green when it’s time for them to wake up. We like it and it works, but had i seen this tip months ago… 🙂 Thanks!
Molly says
We bought one of those too – I wish I had just thought of the digital clock since it would have been cheaper, but the toddler clock has still been a life saver! We found one that wasn’t too crazy expensive (about $25, a lot of ones I saw were more like $50) and it has a separate nap time timer that has helped a lot.
Amy Jenner says
Where do I get that clock
From with sleep timer also
nisha says
Ha! My parents should have used that on me! I always woke up at 5 and ran around the house yelling at everyone to wake up… my poor family!
Your Modern Family says
So funny! 5:00 is so early- I bet they were exhausted!
Aquarius says
There was one time I got up at 3:15 for no apparent reason…
A says
Our problem is that our kids share rooms, and they keep each other awake. Whomever wakes up first wakes the other and they keep each other awake until time to come out of their rooms. No going back to sleep. And it’s never the same kid. They take turns.
Your Modern Family says
Our kids share a room, too, but the rule is that they are not allowed to talk until 7:00. If they do, they lose TV for the day (a punishment for them, as well as me, but it works).
Sabine says
My kids are the exact same they wake up between 4:30-5:15 everyday. We’ve tried everything. We’ve done the clock method but they just talk and wake each other up. Then my oldest tells the younger ones to be quiet but this just ends up making them all argue. We’ve taken TV away if they don’t follow the sleep rule. But that hasn’t worked. They’ve had entire weeks without TV (which really punishes me) but still wake up, talk, argue, play, run around, stomp every single morning. Our sleep rule is we stay quiet and in bed until our light turns green. We’ve offered them incentives for staying quiet and in bed until their light is green (like special breakfast, prize box, tablet time, movie choice, etc. and none, none of it has ever worked. My oldest is 8 and this is how it’s been there entire life. I’m lucky if I get 6 hours of sleep a night. At this point I think the only thing that would work would be if they were each in their own room but that’s not possible as we have no extra rooms. Any tips or ideas would be greatly greatly appreciated.
rebecca at thisfineday says
oh my brilliance! how did I NOT think of this? We’ve been having this issue with our almost 3 year old. I have an old alarm clock and I’m so trying this tomorrow! Thanks for the tip!!
Your Modern Family says
haha! 🙂 I hope it works!
heidi says
I literally just pi posted on my Facebook about what to do with kids getting up too early…my 3 year old has been getting up at 5:30!! 7 has been my goal and I’ve tried similar approaches but I will have to try your advice. Can’t wait to see if it works! Thanks!
Your Modern Family says
Perfect timing! 🙂
Stephanie says
12 hours in bed is fantastic! As a PPD and sleep consultant, I will tell you that a likely reason for waking at 5 am is that they are going to bed too late. Put them to bed earlier and they will often sleep later. It’s counter intuitive but works every time!
Your Modern Family says
I completely agree with this! I think that it makes such a difference!
Nancy kh. says
Hello ! I tried putting my 11 months baby to sleep earlier than 7pm so she could stop setting her alarm at 4:30 every morning but it didnt work. She doesnt sleep that early.
She was a great sleeper as a baby. At 6 months she started waking up at night a zillion times and woke up at 6:30 am. At 9 months the night sleep got better. At 10 months she started waking up at 4:30 or 5:00 am every morning…full of energy…and is still doing it. I cant take it anymore. This is too early for all of us specially her 4 year old sister who shares her room. What should I do?????
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Did you try waking her before you go to bed? Just stirring her? Look up my post on “My 2 year old is waking at night”. I wonder if that might help you?
Faye says
Has it worked?! My 18 month old is waking every morning at 4.30 full of beans…he goes down at 7 with no fuss straight to sleep then sleeps all night until 4.30 so I know I’m lucky in that respect I just can’t cope with these early mornings…I’m like a zombie! I have a 7 year old that wakes if he cries so I can’t leave him to cry himself back to sleep….what should I do? TIA
Jedda says
My son is waking at 4am most mornings recently and I cannot keep him awake passed 7pm! I don’t know how to change his sleep patterns, I tried the clock idea but it hasn’t made any difference ! His moods are (at times) unbareable because of how tired he is, especially after a big day at Kindy. Any suggestions?!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Wow- I would really try to enforce the 7:00 wake up because if he is in school, he needs 10-12 hours of sleep. What we had to do with our 4 year old (when we started this) was continue to put him back to bed. I kid you not that it took me (get ready) over 100 times to get him to stay in his bed. I put him back (like super nanny says) without talking until he stayed in his bed. At 7:00 I woke up and went into his room and woke him up and told him that he was allowed to wake up now. I did this for a few days until he understood that he had to stay in his bed until 7. I hope this helps. I”m so sorry you guys are going through this b/c an exhausted little one isn’t fun (trust me, I know!!)
Amy says
Hey – this super nanny thing: did it cause distress? Whenever I have tried it, I haven’t lasted more than 3 nights/mornings, because my now three year old son screams the place down, for up to 4 hours. He is very distressed by it. He has been an awful sleeper since two months before weaning.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
It didn’t for our kids, but every child is different, so I’d say do what is best for your family.
porter says
Did you ever find something that works Amy? My 4 year old is super anxious at night (even though she is in her room with 2 special nightlights, a lovie, room darkening shades, and she doesn’t watch anything remotely scary…) and I can’t seem to help her resolve it. Therefore, she is a terrible sleeper and wakes everyday at 5am and is super grumpy.
Talia says
She need too wake up
Melissa says
My 4 year old had nightmares and anxiety nightly. I removed TV 100% other then Superbook (and then limited). Not even Mickey Mouse. It resolved in just a couple days.
Molly says
I know this is probably way too late to matter, but if he’s waking up at 4 AM, then 7 PM is probably way too late for him to be going to bed. My 3 year old normally sleeps from 7:30 PM to 7 AM with a nap in the afternoon. If he doesn’t nap, he goes to bed at least an hour early to make up the sleep. I would try putting your child to bed very early – like 5:00 or 5:30 to make up for some of the lost sleep. Once he’s been getting enough sleep for a while, moving his bed time slowly later should hopefully let him move his wakeup time later too.
lourdes says
Hello my three year old just won’t sleep before 10:00 pm. I’ve tried putting her in bed earlier but she just won’t stay in bed. What can you recomend me to Do?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Honestly, I would make sure that she is not napping and then I would just keep her busy throughout the day and put her to bed around 7:30. I would read a book & then put her into bed. When our 3 year old was coming out of his bed, I had to put him back in 150 times (not exaggerating) to keep him in his bed that first night. I just sat in a chair outside of his door – I did’t talk, I just put him back to bed. Day 2 was WAY less. Day 3 he was staying in bed and sound asleep in like 5 minutes. 🙂 He needed sleep, but didn’t want to do it. 🙂
Andrea says
My 4 year old wakes at 5am and screams for me waking entire house and refuses to stay “alone ” in his room. Any tips on how to deal with this fit…Its frustrating b/c he wakes my little one, so I give in and let him lay in my bed (no one sleeps) to keep him from waking the baby!!!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I’ll ask this on my FB page tonight – they are so helpful!
http://www.facebook.com/Yourmodernfamily
Kay says
What advice would you give me….
I’m a working mother. My kids and I don’t get home during week days till 6:00pm. My husband is usually tasked with getting dinner prepared before we get home.
My 1 year old has been a better sleeper overall and usually goes to bed any time between 8:30-9:00.
My 3 year old ends up falling asleep around 10. We’ve tried to start his bed time routine earlier but he ends up playing, talking, tossing until 10. Mind you he does sleep in the same bed as me. We have a two bedroom and he’s been in my bed from about 4 months because once I went back to work and trying to nurse him in the middle of the night was just too much.
Eventually we will try to get them in the same room or ideally buy a bigger place.
Both kids get up about 6:30-645 to go to a sitter/school in the morning.
I would love for them (ESP my older one) to get to bed earlier but with our schedule I find it so difficult.
As you mentioned they have an internal clock. I believe it because my three year old will wake up any time between 6:30-7:00 even on weekends.
Been a struggle for us! Any advice would help
erica says
my 17 month old twins go to bed at 7pm and often sleep until 730 but i notice on the days the take short naps they wake super early the next morning…so it sounds wise to put them to bed earlier than the norm if they take a short nap?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I would try to move up their nap time to around 11:00 (or an hour earlier than normal) so that they are still tired at bedtime & sleep longer. 🙂
Lilly says
I have a 15month old, who is very determined. He wakes up at 5am every day if not 4.45am ekkk. I have just moved him to one nap in the last month and he is finally sleeping through the night, however by 9-9.30am he is not a happy boy. It’s a long morning to try keep him up until 11. And no matter what I do, he still wakes up at 5am. Any suggestions??
Ellie Davies says
My son is 3 yrs 3 months. Since he was tiny I put him to bed at 7pm but last year he began to wake at 6am then 5am. We were exhausted and so I moved his bed time to 8pm. It worked great and he slept till 7, and sometimes 8pm.
At around 3yrs he dropped his daytime nap, and we got rid of the dummy. Since then bedtimes have been longer and longer, I still put him down at 8pm but sometimes he is still awake till 9pm. He wakes every day at 6.15am. I don’t think he is getting enough sleep as he seems tired some days and needs a nap again.
I have held off putting him to bed earlier because I don’t want him waking even earlier. Do you think an earlier bedtime at his age would really help him sleep longer?
His room has blackout blinds and is quite. The reason he wakes early every morning is that he needs a poo, like clockwork every morning! Some mornings I can change him or take him to the loo, and then get him back to sleep for about half an hour, but this doesn’t work very often.
We tried a clock which changed from blue to yellow at ‘wake up time’ but this just lead to him shouting ‘Mummy the light is yellow’ even when it was still blue!!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
hahaha!! For a week or so, one of our kids would come in to tell me “its not 7:00 yet, Mom.” lol!
Michelle says
My 3 year ol has been waking early around 5 for a month now! He has an alarm clock that turns green when it’s time to wake up it was working then he got sick and was waking early from coughing and now I can’t get him to stay alseep until the clock turns green! If he wakes befor he doesn’t get up he just yells “mama I need you” and starts crying! Then I go in and tell him he has to stay in bed until froggy, his clock turned green. But he’ll just yell again 5 minutes later or he’ll cry so hard he’ll make himself hysterical! I’m not sure what to do? And I can’t lay in bed with him cus I’m making lunches and getting ready for work. Help?!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh man… it is hard to get them back on a schedule after being sick! I think that I would keep doing what you are doing. If you keep it up for 3-5 days, it should stop. (habits take about 3 days to break).
Exhausted says
Our 4 year old is getting up at 3:00am, 3:30am, 4:00am etc. and wants to come into our room. Breaking her of this habit is proving to be a torturous endeavor.
Your Modern Family says
Our son did this. It was exhausting, but I just kept taking him back to his room. It lasted about 3 days.
kaylee says
I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 15 month old… so the older one is ready for this but since they share a room how do I keep the 15 month old staying in the room and not waking up the older sibling? or how do I explain to the older one why the younger sister gets to get out of bed earlier? they like to wake up anywhere between 6 and 7:30.
I love your advice and am totally going to do this 🙂
Your Modern Family says
I just always use the “she’s just a baby” thing with our kids when I have to do this. Or “she took 2 naps today.” Its hard, but they get used to it in a day or two. 🙂
Thankful4Thorns says
Oh my goodness I love this! Thankfully our 3yo is usually pretty good about not getting up before the time we’d like but I may have to start implementing it anyways. I babysit and on the days that the other kids come my son gets up anywhere from 1-2 hours early and it makes for a rough/long day with him.
Your Modern Family says
haha! I hope it works. 🙂
Merissa @ Little House Living says
I wish this would work with our 18 month old! I keep him up until 9 or 10 and he gets up at 4 or 5. I have no idea what to do!
Your Modern Family says
My brother & sis-in-law have a nightlight that changes from a bunny asleep to a bunny awake for my niece (She’s young, too). 🙂
Cassie says
How do you make this work with regards to toileting? I want to try this, but am worried that my 3 yr old would wet his bed if he wasnt allowed out (he already does some times)
Your Modern Family says
They just go & then go back to bed. I don’t care if they are awake, I just want them in their beds until 7:00. There are six of us here, so if one wakes up, everyone wakes up and I just feel like that’s not fair to the other 5 people. So- if they have to get up, they just get up & go back to their bed afterwards. 🙂
polly plum says
That’s how I felt when my kids were little-If they woke early but stayed in bed and kept themselves busy, that was fine with me. They just weren’t allowed to wander around alone or wake others. Everyone, even adults has to learnaself -help / comfort skills when we have trouble falling or staying asleep. I’m probably much older than you all, but when my 19 yr olds were babies and preschoolers there was a book by a Dr. somebody-I forget his name, It was called something like ‘How to solve your child’s sleep problems’ andamong my friends it was a life, health and sanity saver!This dr. has a philosophy for teaching kids to go to sleep, stay asleep and get up at the correct times.Good luck to you moms of young kids!Everything seems more difficult when you aren’t getting enough sleep!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
lol- so true.
Ann says
A friend told me she sets a lamp timer so the lamp turn on at 7:00am. When the lamp turns on, they can get up. Brilliant!
Your Modern Family says
Oh- smart!!
Danielle Riley says
Do you have suggestions on how to get your child to go to sleep earlier? DS is almost 4 & we put him in bed at 8pm, but it’s very rare he falls asleep before 9. He still takes a nap at daycare but not on the weekends, so I feel like that really screws him up & he doesn’t need a nap, but the daycare won’t keep him awake. They don’t force the kids to sleep, but they have to give them the chance to nap. Any suggestions?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh- my only advice is to cut out the nap, which is hard to do with daycare. We have had to stop all of our kids naps by 3 to get them to sleep at night earlier than 9 or 9:30. If any of them nap, they are up so late! (in their beds, but talking, playing, etc…) Sorry- I wish I could help you with that one. 🙁
Erin says
As a daycare provider I am disappointed for you that your daycare is insisting on naps for a 4 year old when you have specifically asked them not to. They are required to provide quiet time for older children, with quiet books and activities but not force a nap. You can talk with them about your concerns and ask to see their quiet activities and where your child would be doing them while the younger children are sleeping. Daycare should support you as the parent, not take over. You know what is best for your child!
Ashley says
I thought I was the only one who did this! lol Glad to know I am not alone!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
haha! it works great, doesn’t it? 🙂
chloe may says
What a great idea! I will be trying this tonight. My 4 year old has always been up at 5am, which I can handle. Lately it’s getting earlier and he is so miserable and tired by the afternoon and starts playing up and not listening. Wish I found this idea sooner. Thanks x
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
My brother did this with our 4 year old nephew & it has been life-changing for him, too (he was up so early, too!) 🙂 Good luck!!
Clair says
I used it on my 7 and 2 year old that share a room, they both responded very well. Good luck! 🙂
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Awesome!! 🙂
Clair says
I love this! We have been using an alarm clock for my girls for 6 months now and it has made a world of difference! They were getting up before 6am each and every day and after some adjustment, they don’t get out until 7am. It has really helped out family. We didn’t use everything suggested here, but made it fit our family. But the idea of adjusting the clock to slowly help them sleep later really worked wonderful! Thanks for the suggestions, this is an awesome post!
Clare says
THANKYOU so much. This is such an excellent idea. AND IT WORKS! I have a 5yr old, 3yr old and a 10month old. For the last 5yrs I have been getting up at 5.30am and have felt so exhausted, 7am starts were just a far off dream which I never thought could happen. And now within one month of trying this all 3 of my little ones are sleeping til 7am!!!! HOORAY. I had to adjust the time on their clock, so the first week they were allowed out of bed at 6am, even though their clock said seven. Then week 2, it was 6.15am even though again their clock said 7am, then wk 3, 6.30am, wk 4, 7am. And they have stuck to it. Not once coming out their room, they even say to me now at bed time, Mummyb don’t forget to turn our clock on. I don’t do it with the baby, but it was always my eldest 2 that were waking up the baby at 5.30am, now their staying in bed til 7am and sleeping the baby is aswell. I get up at 6.30 and get showered and ready so when the kids get up theirs no rushing and everyone feeling irritable, tierd and grotty. You are a legend THANKYOU So So So So MUCH! Can’t express enough how this has changed our lives! 🙂
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
OH- that makes me so happy!! 🙂 Yay!! I’m so glad that it worked!
Lori says
I have 3 kids. One very early riser. I eventually got denim and made curtains. This kept the light out and his internal clock with the bright mornings didn’t wake him up. Now he is 21 and doesn’t get up past noon. Maybe we turned his clock completely backwards? lol. Dark curtains…my trick. Hope it works for someone else.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Great tip! 🙂
kitty says
lol i wish that would work for my house. my husband’s family are all those weird people that don’t need much sleep. i’m the only 8-10 hour sleeper in my house. my husband only needs 4 hours a night to be rested and ready for the day. when he sleeps longer than 4 hours he gets horrible migraines. the girls seem to be taking after him they only sleep 5-6 hours a night nap or no nap. they will stay in their room and play until they hear their daddy up and moving around. *rolls eyes* he sends them to wake me up so we can get started on the day. thats on a good day. other days i stay up with him. he goes to bed right be for the kids are going to be up for the day…. so no sleep for me that day.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh!! lol!! That would be so hard!! (patting you on the back!)
kitty says
both kids have started to sleep a constant 5 hours a night with no naps YAY …. *sigh* if only they were older I could sleep.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
lol.
Beverly says
I did this over 30 years ago with my first child. She was about 3 and knew her numbers already. I bought her a digital clock and told her she couldn’t get up till the first number was a 7. Worked like a charm!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh you’re kidding!! Great minds think alike! 😉 I know- it seriously works so well & then I know that they are safe in their beds all night long. 🙂
Priscilla Fisher says
My almost 3yo son wakes between 4-5.30am and then won’t go back to bed and starts screaming waking up my 6 year old who gets up between 6.30 and 7am. I see there appears to be no solution around this – telling him he’s got to go back to bed and get up later just doesn’t work!!
Advice to solve this one please?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I would try that little clock. It works great for them!
Or… put a little mattress or pillows and a blanket on your floor. When he wakes up, tell him he can come sleep in there until 7.
Becky says
We have a gro-clock for my daughter. She’s three now, but this has been helpful for her since she was just 2. When I set it at night a blue star shows. At the pre-determined time a yellow sun appears. It has two settings, one intended for naps, but I use one for work days when we have to be up earlier and one for weekends when I want a bit longer in bed. I really like the clock idea too, but the sun allows two different times without having to learn different numbers or change the clock.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I’ve heard of clocks that do that… smart!
Stacy @ Share&Remember says
We used the lamp trick since there’s a hallway lamp just outside our son’s door. When I turn on the light, it’s time to get up. He is often awake before that (almost 12 yrs) but if he isn’t, it’s his cue to get up.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Love that idea, too!
polly plum says
We had the same issue with our now 19 yr old triplets, when they were in the 2-3 yr old range. Our son learned how to climb out of the crib first and for safety reasons, of course we didn’t want him wandering around the house alone, without supervision. He also learned to climb INTO his triplet sisters’ cribs, waking them. that was a problem , too, and on our end, mu husband and I were beyond exhausted every single day and didn’t want to wake up one minute earlier than we had to for my hubby to get ready for work, and wanted a little treat to sleep until maybe 7 on weekends.We did this method when they were old enough to recognize the numbers and understand the concept. We also put several colorful board books into each crib at night, rotating them to keep their interest.(I know Eric Carlewas a favorite!When they woke up we would encourage them to ‘read’ their books by handing them a few and asking ‘what book are you going to read until I’m ready to get you out of bed?This saved our sanity and health- teaching them to wait until a certain number was on the clock to get out, and the sturdy board books.When they were in the 4-5 yr old range we replaced the digital clock with a regular clock, teaching them that it was time to get up when the big hand was on the 12 and the little hand was on the 7. I think this helped them learn how to tell time a little earlier than they would have otherwise.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I agree- it works so well!
Brittany Bullen says
Becky,
You’re such a parenting rock star. I know that when we gave our six year old a digital clock it really helped him get a better concept of our expectations– not to mention, we can set alarm when it’s bedtime so we don’t have to be the “bad guys”– it’s a win win!
Thanks for sharing.
Brittany
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Thanks, Brittany!
tina says
I have an almost 2 1/2 year old, he used to go to sleep at 7:30 and wake up at 6:30 every day. Then he started waking up at 5am and come in my room, I would put him back in his bed and he would go back to sleep until 6:30am. Just this past month he is now waking up at 4/5am every morning and coming in my room, I out him back in bed and he comes out, I tell him its too early and its nite nite time, and I out him back in bed, at that point he is now getting up and standing at his door screaming my name, I get up put him back in bed and he gets up and screams for almost and hour and by that time it is time to get up. I NEED HELP, I cannot take It anymore and he is unbearable now in the mornings and later in the day. What should I do. HELP PLEASE!!!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/child-in-bed/ – try this one
Kitty says
My son is only almost 15 months old but is waking earlier and earlier – has been 4:50am the last 2 mornings. He is also only napping for between 1-1hr20m and I can’t resettle him to get anymore sleep. He falls asleep independently, I keep him in his cot when he wakes early, until 6-6:30am – which has worked previously to shift his wake up later, and I am having to put him to bed by 5:30-6pm otherwise his day is far too long & the later his bedtime the less overnight sleep he gets in total (as later bedtime doesn’t give a later wake up time annoyingly) I’m not sure how to escape this over tired trap! Any thoughts?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Try reading my post about “my 2 year old is waking at night” – bet it will help. Or my post on “how to keep my kids in their own bed”
good lic!!
Stacey says
I just read your article about getting kids to sleep later. My baby is 19 months old, so it’s hard to rationalize with her as one might with an older child. She wakes up at 5:30 EVERY day! and with daylight savings, she is now getting up at 4:30 am!! Any suggestions? She goes to bed between 7–7:30 pm. I’ve even tried keeping her up later but she still wakes up at the same time. I’m feeling like a zombie! Any suggestions?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Try reading my post called “My 2 year old is waking at night” – I wonder if that will do the trick? or my post “how to keep them in their own beds”
Angela Dato says
Hi Becky,
My 2 year old wakes several times a night since she was about 3 months. We are up for 30mins – 2 hours at a time. I have been doing a sleep diary to see if there is a pattern. I have found that when she has a nap for 1-2 hrs in a day she is up a similar amount of time at night so I have reduced her daytime naps.
From reading your post ‘my 2 year old is waking at night’ I have since been slightly waking my child before I go to bed to reset her body clock. After only trying this for a few days she now only stirs a couple of times a night and is back asleep within 5 minutes. This is so amazing as I am finally getting more sleep. I just wanted to say thanks and I will definately be continueing with this. I wish I had seen your post earlier. Thanks heaps!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I’m so glad!!! YAY!!
Laura says
My 2.5 yo used to sleep from 8:30 to 6:30, almost on the dot, with a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. Occasionally he would go through phases of getting up at 5 or 5:30 for a few weeks. Right now he seems to have difficulty getting to sleep before 9 (we still do 8:30 bed), gets up at 5 or 5:30 to go potty (just trained him although he still wears diapers at nap and bed), and theb loudly calls my name until Iget him at 6:30. Then he takes a 3 to 3.5 hour nap in the afternoon.
I can deal with 5:30 now, but it makes it impossible to go anywhere during the day as he’ll fall asleep in thr car. Not to mention were having another baby in Feb.!
We have tried earlier bedtime, but 8:30 seems to (usually) work the best. Should I cut short his nap? Get him a toddler clock and set it to 6:30?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I would do both- I would cut the nap back to an hour. My friend had to do this and it worked. 🙂
cindy gast says
when my kids were little i put a cd player/alarm clock in each of their rooms. i’d use a soothing, quiet cd (usually instrumental, sometimes classical; nothing with lyrics) and turn the volume down really low, setting the alarm for a reasonable time. they knew if they woke up and heard music they could come to mommy and daddy’s room, otherwise it was back to bed. worked well for me.
kate says
This is a great tip, but how do your train an 11 month old to wake up later??
Thanks
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh- That’s so hard. I did this by just giving our babies a drink of warm milk when they woke up early and then put them back to bed. I never really talked to them, just gave out cuddles and their milk, like it was the middle of the night. I wouldn’t let them come out & “play for the day” unless it was after 7. Honestly- if they got their milk, they went right back to bed & a few months later they just skipped that wake up & slept in on their own.
kate says
I would love it if that worked, but I can’t even rock her or cuddle her back to sleep. She is awake, awake! Her daddy is an early riser, so it may be in her genes, but it doesn’t help me being exhausted! 🙂
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh!! haha!
Brittany at Equipping Godly Women says
We’ve been doing this, and it’s working really well! My son was having difficulty knowing if it was time to wake up or not because he gets up when it’s still dark out for school. But now that he has a clock and knows that he isn’t supposed to get up until 7, he stays in bed! Sure, he’s in my bed every morning at 7:05… (not sure how he’s so punctual??) but at least he doesn’t come in at all hours anymore.
Kristin says
Please advise, I have been trying some form of this for awhile now. My almost 3 year old stays in bed but he wakes up at ungodly hours (before 5:30!) And is SO LOUD! He talks and sings and screams. I go in constantly and warn him. Take away his “tablet time” but to know avail. It’s the same with nap time and he hasn’t slept during nap time for !months. I want to get to get this taken care of so I can move my one year old out of my room and into his room reclaiming our bedroom. She sleeps like a champ and I don’t want to deprive her of the sleep she needs. So frustrated and tired!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I wonder if you could use his tablet in his room when he is aloud to get up? So say at 6:00 he is allowed on his tablet? I only mention that because when our kids play on the Kindle, they are SO quiet! You could just set the volume and lock that part (if thats an option) ?
Cherie M. says
I have a 10 year old son, 2 1/2 year old daughter, and a 14 month old daughter. When we just had the older two, my son and daughter shared a room for a few months. During that time she would wake up when I came in to wake him up for school. (she was about a year old at the time) Ever since then she will wake up between 6 and 7 o’clock. Now, my son has his own room (moved into another house) and my girls share a room. My youngest would much rather sleep until 8 o’clock or later but wakes up to “noise” (anytime my elder daughter sees her move she says her name and the younger wakes up. If I make any sound in their room during naptime she is awake) We know that the younger does better when she gets to sleep in because she does so when the elder girl stays at grandma and grandpas overnight. How can I get the older girl to stay quiet so the younger can sleep longer? We have books in her room (she sometimes falls asleep in the chair beside her bed “reading”) and quiet toys that she sometimes plays with. We have a lamp in her room but that its because she is afraid of the dark (originally because I needed to see where I was walking for midnight feedings).
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
That is really hard. What we do, when we are on vacation and the kids have to share a room, is we give our kids our phones or an iPod and a headset that does not have a cord (connects via bluetooth) and when they wake up, they are allowed to use the phone/headset until the other kids wake up. Another option is to have her come into your room when she gets up and watch a show in your room or snuggle in your bed. I hate to say that electronics are the answer, but honestly, they keep the kids so quiet that I was always willing to do that for 30-45 minutes until the other kids woke up.
Jenna says
My kids are on the same 7-7 schedule. They’ve had that bedtime and wake up time for 7 years now, so it’s not a new concept. Do you have any suggestions for proper punishments/consequences for waking up earlier than 7? My oldest 2 kids are 8 and 6 and I have a DAILY struggle with the 8 yr old waking up early (6-6:30ish), getting up, waking his little brother up, them getting ready for school, and in the process they wake up their younger brother who is 4. The 4 year old, who definitely needs the sleep he’s missing out on, then proceeds to be very noisy, sometimes waking up their 2 yr old sister. I’ve tried EVERYTHING I can think of, but we are on our 101st day of school and I’ve only had to go tell them “time to get up now” about 3-4 times. The other 96 days have been mornings full of lectures, warnings, punishments, yelling at times, frustration and an overall horrible start to my day. Every day. I obviously don’t know how to correct this issue and could use any suggestions anyone has! We have the clock that changes colors at 7 which he completely ignores. And he knows how to tell time, without putting a 7 on his clock. His previous punishments have been loss of video games, writing sentences, time outs, etc. When being scolded now, he just stares at me with a blank face and shows absolutely no emotion, like he’s become used to this lecturing as part of his daily routine. “I get up early, we get ready, mom gets angry, she lectures me, I go to school…” Please help!!!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I tell them that for every minute before 7 that they get up that is how much earlier they have to go to bed that night. It works here. 🙂 They hate going to bed at 6:45 when everyone else is staying up until 7:00. I only had to do it once or twice before they got the picture. Ps- our kids are the same age! 8, 6, 4, 2. (the older 3 are boys & the little one is a girl) 🙂
Liz says
Hi! I’m new to your blog and have loved all that i’ve read so far! Major question for you… We moved our daughter to a big girl bed 3 months shy of turning 3. We gave her a sun/moon light that we could program for when bedtime/morning time is. She lived and died by it- never got out of bed, even in the AM when the sun came out she would just call for me – I was amazed! (Bedtime was 7:30, wake time 7:30). THEN she turned 3…everything changed. At night she realized should was CAPABLE of getting out of bed, same with the morning. And all of a sudden her internal clock changed to waking up at 6am every morning. Occasionally 6:30 but normally it’s 6am or 5:55 if we want to get technical :). This is an hour and half sooner than what she was doing every day since she was 3 months old. Am I missing something? Any ideas why this has just changed all of a sudden? Right now, I tell her to get back in bed, walk her back in there, give her books to read until her sun comes out. But she never falls back asleep like I want her to– if she does its only 10 minutes. She naps 45 min. on the dot every day too (it used to be 1hr 20 min) but again, after turing 3 all of these sleep changes happened…. I’ve thought about cutting the nap, (and she’s been on a couple nap strikes) but I truly feel like she needs that sleep (she is EXTREMELY active). Her bedtime is 7:30. I am totally planning on trying this clock method though. Any other thoughts? HELP! I’m so desperate! I’ve even considered paying to talk to one of those sleep consultants! Any advice would be appreciated!! 🙂 -Liz
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
We had to cut out our daughter’s nap at 2 1/2 because she was playing in her bed until like 10:00 pm!! Now I put her in her room around 12 or 1 and give her books. She reads in her bed and plays with her baby dolls for around an hour or two. She doesn’t cry or anything, I just go in and get her when I think she is rested. (She turns 3 in August). If you put her back to bed in the morning with out books and just told her that it was still night-night time, would she go back to sleep? All of our kids have TRIED this at one point or another, but I just don’t let them get out or play or anything until 7 and then at 7 I go in and show them the clock (or in your case the alarm clock) and make a big deal about “Oh! Good morning!! Its time to play!” Before then, all they get is sleepy mommy saying “Its night-night time. Go to bed. I love you.” And if they come out again- I don’t talk at all, I just put them back to bed. 🙂
Aly says
What do you do if you tuck them back in and tell them not to come out before 7, but then you can hear them playing??? Not staying in bed….do you keep putting them back in bed??
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I don’t mind if they are playing IN Their bed with their stuffed animals or whatever is in their bed, but as soon as I hear them get OUT of bed, I go in and put them back into bed. I also leave a few books within arms reach (on a nightstand right beside the bed)
Ps- honestly, our kids now just sleep until 7:00 – its like it changed their internal alarm clocks. 😉
Dawn says
Good ideas, ! Thanks 🙂
Samantha says
I did something very similar with my now 11 yo when he was little, he had a clock in his room and I taught him that both hands had to be past the 6 before he could leave the room (after 6.30) especially the short hand. My other lb is almost 3 but everyone is up before 7 anyway and he generally wakes around 6.30. I definitely will try this if I need to, though!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
🙂 Yes- go for it!
Jennifer says
One thing I have not seen anyone say is, my daughter has to go to the bathroom sometimes earlier than 7, I can’t really make her stay in bed 🙁 Also, regarding the dressers, we bolted ours to the wall, most come with the hardware for this , just an fyi! I have a friend who this happened to as well. It’s horrible.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Our son gets up to use the bathroom every day at 6:00 am, but goes back to bed until 7:00.
atxmom1985 says
Great tips! We plan on getting a clock when we transition. Our LO is still in her crib bc she loves sleeping in her Zipadee-zip sack. We plan on keeping her in it until she lets us know otherwise. Sleeping great so not going to change a thing!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Smart!!
Lyndsay says
This is great in theory, but it hasn’t worked for us! We have a clock that turns green when they can come out. It worked great for our first son for about a year. Our second son, almost 3, will scream, kick the door, yell etc… So badly it wakes our other son up. So what do you do when your child turns into the exorcist just trying to put him back in his room? I think it depends on the child. I am by no means a pushover parent, in fact I am VERY strict. He won’t get out of his bed at bedtime because for two weeks I kept putting him back in his bed everytime he got out. He was actually calm and only fussed a little for this training. The morning training is awful! I’m tired, it wakes my other son up, and I’m just used to waking up at 5:30/6am now. He sleeps from 7:30pm until 5:30/6amand takes a two hour nap. He is never cranky in the morning. In fact, he’s a very cheerful and pleasant one. So he is getting enough rest between night and daytime sleep. (And yes, I’ve tried the no naps but that doesn’t work, he is way too young to stop them. He’s too cranky come 5 if he doesn’t have one and doesn’t sleep any longer at night).
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh my goodness- I bet you are tired! Would he lay with you if he comes in at 6:00? He is so young that he won’t understand certain things. What if you gave him a leappad or table or something in your room (with cordless headphones) when he woke up? Then he will be in your room, or even in your bed, but not waking anyone else up and you can still sleep. ?
Meghan says
I love this idea and will try it tomorrow! My question is my daughter was sleeping great until we took her soother away two weeks ago. She is almost 3 and still has a 1-2 hr nap each day. She goes to bed at 8 and was waking at 7:30-8. Since taking the soother away, she still naps great but bedtime is a struggle. She lays awake until about 9 and is up anytime between 6-7. I’m not sure if it would help to drop the nap or not? She still seems so tired by naptime and often asks for it before we even put her down for one. Any suggestions would be great! I’m 9 months pregnant and would be sad to lose the nap now;)
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
hope that it works! 🙂 It took us a few days to get the hang of it.
Michelle says
my 2.5yo barely naps during the day except if my mum is looking after her because she hops in and naps with her. I try and get her to have quiet time instead and cross my fingers that she falls asleep. I put her down for nap at 1pm and she might sleep for an hour when she does. I put her to bed by 7.30pm and if she hasn’t napped she will go off quickly. If she has napped then it could take an hour for her to go to sleep. she wakes up usually at 6.30am even though we have a Sam sleep trainer clock set for a 7am wake. Every night I remind her not to wake up till Sam does but it’s not working. Any advice please?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I think that at 2.5 it is hard to teach them to stay in bed until 7. (ps- our 2.5 year old gave up naps, too) 🙂 Have you ever tried giving her a drink of milk at the 6:30 time, then taking it away (to avoid aspirating) and saying “ok- it is still time for night-night” and putting her back to sleep? I”m sure you have – just a thought.
Anna says
We have a 5yr old who has had a gro-clock since he was 2. It’s fantastic. He goes to sleep around 7-7.30 and we have his sun set to come up at 6am – he wont get out of bed until then. Our problem is, however, that he will yell out to us in the night. Sometimes he has a bad dream, or his covers aren’t straight, or his pillow has dropped off his bed. It’s exhausting as when he wakes me up (3, 4 or 5am) I don’t get back to sleep. Any ideas?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh goodness- our son did that, too! Try this: https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/waking-at-night-advice/
Amanda R. says
Oh my goodness. We finally did the clock number match with our 3 year old daughter last night. She can recognize her numbers up to 10, so I figured we would finally give it a try. Both her and her 5 year old brother have known for several months that wake up time is 7. Problem was that they would wake up at 6:25-6:40 and come and ask if it was 7 yet. We also hung our sons analog clock back up since he can tell time with that. Yay for this morning. Our son slept until 7:05 and our daughter slept until 7:15!! Thanks for a great idea.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh that’s awesome!! Thanks for sharing that with me! 🙂
susan says
i have that street light lamp and my kid just completely ignores it. its so frustrating. i did the digital clock match thing then moved on to the lamp, nothing. I’ve caught him doing potentially dangerous things too or waking his older sister but no amount of gentle lecturing works. he says that by the time he wakes in the morning he forgets (he’s 5)
if i or my husband are in bed with him however (very rare times like sleepovers maybe) he falls back asleep for another hour or more! he definitely needs the sleep so it upsets me even more when he unwittingly robs himself of much-needed sleep!
any help/advice/suggestions/anything!?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I would take away all electronics for the day if he is out of bed before 7:00. We had to do that once with our 4 year old and he never did it again. (Now we do tell him the reasons that he can come out, but that he needs to come right into my room first to tell me. Examples: to go to the bathroom, if he is sick, etc…)
Steph says
What dod you do if your child gets out of bed before 7? I just know my child will get out of bed over and over again. He is very stubborn. How many times did you have to do this? Would you spank if they did not stay in bed?
Christie Florence says
HELP! My 4 year old son goes to bed around 7:30, 2 year old goes to bed around 7, and 6 year old goes to bed around 8, but the older 2 kids don’t usually FALL ASLEEP for an hour after they’ve been put to bed. 4 Year old wakes up at 5:30 and has to go potty. I let him because obviously this isn’t something he can help – its first thing in the morning and he hasn’t peed all night right?! Anyway, I put him back to bed, tell him to stay in bed until 7 (just like you suggest). He usually gets up and starts playing, or comes out 2 more times to ask for something else, or for random reasons (my toe hurts was this morning’s excuse). Anyway, my 6 year old will wake up around 6 as well to go potty, but the 2 year old shares a room with her and is a light sleeper, so as SOON as 6 year old wakes up, 2 year old is up as well. The kids are so cranky when they get up this early (which is most of the time). in fact, on days when 6 year old doesn’t have school (she goes full days to Kindergarten 2 sometimes 3 days a week), I make her nap too because she is so cranky and tired. 4 year old sometimes naps, but that depends on the day as well, sometimes he plays quietly in his room which is ok with me. But honestly, the getting up so early and being so cranky is really exhausting for this momma. What else can I do? They need the sleep, they’ve been getting sick ALOT this spring.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
That’s really hard. Can you try waking him before you go to bed to use the potty and hopefully push back that wake up time?
Christie Florence says
Thats a good Idea! I’ll definitely try that tonight!!!
Chris says
I’m surprised that nobody mentioned the sleep trainer from Zazu. We use the sleep trainer for our little one since October last year. I can recommend this product to all of you, specially for parents with a full schedule. For the one who’s interested in seeing a bit more
Chris
Eugeniya says
Thank you very much for sharing this excellent idea with us! ?
Grace says
I read the same story and it caused me to get anchors for all of our furniture. I think that is a better safety device, because kids could still potentially get up even when you don’t expect them to do so. The woman from the story said her child was not normally up that early.
Sherry says
What if they unplug the clock and play with it? My kids (7, 5, and 3) have all been early risers since they were young. The 3 yr old still takes naps, but the other two don’t. They all go to bed at 8pm and get up somewhere between 5-6am. The 7 yr old is learning to sleep a little longer, but not much. They get up and destroy the house (mostly the 5 and 3 yr old are instigators) so I’ve tried locking them in their room but then they need to use the bathroom. No amount of consequences seem to make any difference. We’re often asleep and don’t know when they get up. I’m not only worried about their safety, but I am fed up with the messes they make. This has been going on for literally YEARS and I’ve tried everything. I’ve even tried the clock thing and they just play with it and mess it up so they have no idea the actual time and I have to constantly reset it.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I have our plug behind the bed now, where they can’t reach it. I have told them that they are not to touch the clock. They haven’t tried yet, thankfully. Could you try putting it up on a dresser or getting one that hangs on the wall (digital)?
Amelia says
THANK YOU! I started this about 3 weeks ago on our awake-at-5 kindergartner and today was the proof in the pudding day as he not only woke at 5:30 and WENT BACK TO SLEEP but then, when he woke up 30 minutes before the magic hour, he took out a book and read in bed until Dad invited him to get up early and join us on the front porch. Thank you!!!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
awesome!
Verity says
Thanks for your article. We have tried everything to date, including what you recommend, but my son wakes around 5am no matter what. This has been happening since he was about 2.5 years (he is now 3+ So it’s been about 8 months). It also started when he moved from a cot to a double bed.
We even bought a Gro Clock and tried that for a few weeks but my son just gets out of bed and pulls out the powercord and/or stands there demanding that the sun come out (which means wake time). We have tried cutting down his nap to just one hour, and most recently cutting out his nap completely. He goes to bed around 7pm. Since our three month old baby came along, he is even worse. The baby doesn’t wake at night so he is getting good, uninterrupted sleep during the night.
Do you think some kids just can’t sleep in, no matter what you try? We are really desperate for a solution.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh no. I”m sorry. Have you tried going in at 5 and letting him have a glass of milk and then put him back to bed? We had to do that with one of our kids before she went back to sleeping later.
Tori says
Great post! Just an idea: Once the younger kids move to “quiet-time”, send them in with a timer. My 4 yo was constantly coming out wanting to know how much of her hour was left. Use the timer that turns all the way around, not a digital one. She didn’t understand the minutes yet, but could see that it was progressively getting to the place where it would ring and her nap would be finished. Was reassuring to her and all she needed to stay in her bed till quiet-time was over.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
That’s a great idea! 🙂
Dilcia says
My daugthers go to bed at 8 pm because is dark outside and they understand is bedtime. In the morning if they wake up early they ask me if “the sun is up”? If its too early I say not yet and they go back to sleep ultil it´s sunny outside (normally till 8 am). This helps me a lot with my 2 year old one. By the way, we live in Mexico.
Kristen F. says
My 2 1/2 year had adjusted to getting himself up every day at 4am, after going to bed at 6pm. Plus he stopped taking naps. He is ready to go at 4am, despite it still being dark and pretty much nothing I do can convince him to go back to back. Has anyone used this method with a child that young? This is wreaking havoc on me because getting up at 4am isn’t working well for me.
Ashley says
That’s a good idea! I will have to try that when my babies are a bit older. My oldest is 2 but usually she will just grab a book or stuffed animal that I have set by the bed then just lay back down. And I encourage all parents to anchor their furniture as well. I also read that article about the little girl who’s dresser fell on her and I ran out and got anchors that very day! Better safe than sorry.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
We are the same way- we secure everything.
Deborah says
My eleven year old daughter doesn’t and can’t sleep all night practically every night and she just can’t fall asleep at all. And I have tried everything to try to get some sleep but it nothing ever works . I mean it would be fine for her to sleep an hour downstairs on the couch in the daytime,but i m worried for about when school starts again on Monday (because of winter break) and this was even happening during school and she would fall asleep in class in almost all of them (she’s in middle school) . Now that it’s anew year I want her to start of sleeping in her bed not on a school desk. Any tips?????
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Oh no. I’m sorry. I think that I would talk to your doctor and maybe get a sleep study done (we are doing that with one of our kids).
Amber P. says
My issue. And it’s not with this. I love this. BUT, I think of all those little tots in school. Say they have to leave the house at 7 or 7:30 am to get to school on time. In this instance we’ll have the mom stay at home. So Mom is at school at 3pm to pick up her ‘tot’. If the kid needs a full twelve hours of sleep and they have to get up by 6 or 6:30am to get ready on time, then that would mean they would need to be in bed and falling asleep by 6pm. That leaves them less than three hours to eat supper, do homework, play with the family, and MAYBE get to see Daddy if he comes home before then. I believe Daddy time is soooo important and this would mean that the kid just wouldn’t get any. Our system is messed up. If our kids really do need THAT much sleep, then why are they at school for that long? Most families have both parents working anyways. I work part-time and am able to bring my baby to work with me. I work in the childcare area at a gym during the day. But the evening girls tell me that many of the kids will come in at 7pm or later and are complaining that they are hungry because they STILL hadn’t eaten supper yet. Why? Because Mom and Dad aren’t able to get them after work until after 5 o’clock. Then they need to go pick their kids up. Then Mom and Dad decide to go get in their exercise for an hour. And then finally they go home. I imagine these kids are not getting to bed until 9 or 10. …I imagine 10 for many since our childcare area closes at 9pm and they will have kids all the way until closing time. I just can’t fathom what could be changed. In order to make everything work out, the family would need to live right by the school and work. Exercise on their lunch breaks. And eat supper before 4. But things don’t work like that. So what are people supposed to choose? Because SOMETHING is going to get sacrificed.
I’m sorry, I’m a new mom. My baby is 7 months old and I’m just trying to figure out how my husband and I will do things. I don’t plan on working more than my part-time two or three days a week, but I’m already sad that so many times my husband doesn’t get to see our baby, or may only get ten or so minutes with her before it’s time for her to go bed so that she can get enough sleep before getting her up to go to work the next day. What in the world are families supposed to do? I’m heartbroken.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Yeah, it’s hard. Our kids have to be up at 8:00 for school, so not too early. I can’t imagine if they had to be up earlier and go to bed sooner. That would be hard.
Just remember (for you) that it will be quality over quantity for your husband. My brother & his wife work and only see their kids for about 2-3 hours a night, but on the weekends and on those nights, they are the best parents. Playing games, going swimming, reading books, building train sets. Their kids will have awesome memories.
Megan says
Question for you. My daughter is 7 and we have a time set that she can’t down till, however, she’ll wake up at 6:30 and then just go up and down the stairs till it’s time for to wake up… She says its for the bathroom but…. How do I get her to understand that she needs to go back to bed and stay there plus how do you know that your kids are actually staying in their beds??
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Our son wakes up at 6:30 to use the bathroom, but he goes back to bed. Sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he just stays in his bed and thinks. He is 9 now, so I will start letting him read on the weekends and this summer if he wakes up this early. 🙂 (not on school days or he will start waking earlier & earlier)
Jenna says
I wish this worked for my kids. My almost 7 year doesn’t sleep past 5am she’s just an early riser. I’m up when she’s up so its not an issue. I wish my body clock let me sleep in til 7 o’clock but I can’t seems like such a waste of 2 hours
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
haha!! I am awful the other way- I go to bed around 1:00 or 2:00 am, so sleeping until 7 is great for me… that’s when they get up now. Usually our 3 younger ones have to be woken up at 8:00 now, but I”m so used to getting up at 7 with our first that I just get up then.
Mommy says
I discovered this accidentally. Boo kept waking at the same time and one morning I grumpily asked Boo to sleep in till a certain time. It stuck. I discovered Boo was looking at the clock at every waking, and waiting for a number that had been determined by Boo’s own deduction. I had just corrected the time in Boo’s language.
Funny how the sleep issues all resolved suddenly. We are approaching Boo’s fourth birthday.
Within the same recent 2 week span, Boo is finally fully weaned,
learned to fall asleep alone (“now go write down that story, mommy”)
and goes back to sleep at night till the clock says the wakeup time.
Rolene says
Thank you for this great post. I will remember it if my little one (16 months) is old enough to understand.
Nicole says
That’s great if your children agree and hop right back in to bed and quietly wait until they are “allowed” to get up…but what do you do when they refuse and scream and bang on the bedroom door and wake up the entire house? This article is ridiculous.
Tessie says
My little one is only two, and lucky me, she sleeps through the night! However, I do wish she would sleep in later. A lot of people tell me, “Keep her up later!” That seriously never works. She may be too young to try this, but she is learning her numbers, so I look forward to trying this little trick in the future!
Michael says
Hi. Unfortunately that idea really doesn’t give my daughter more sleep because she will still wake up early and just play in bed (she has a great imagination). Any ideas on how to actually get them to sleep that last hour or so?
Thanks.
Lindsey Shumway says
How are you getting your child to stay in their bed though? I can tell her to- I can take her in there but unless I physically hold her…I can’t make her.
I can bribe or coax her- but she is very strong willed and I can’t seem to find a way to get her to stay in there. Today I held her kicking and screaming and trying to beat the day lights out of me from 5am – 6am. Soooo I’m not theoretically saying I can’t, I actually can’t without sitting on her.
I know it’s an obedience thing…but, still- I don’t know what to do.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I have a post about that – https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/child-in-bed/
Sonia says
My daughter wakes up by 7:30 but she doesn’t go to bed early she is up until 10 PM can you help with that
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
All that I can say is that our kids would do that if they could. Our 8 year old would be happy to stay up as late as can be. We just do lights out by 8:00 in his room. He reads for 20 minutes before bed. He just doesn’t get a choice. I know that sounds so “Do it this way”, but I’m not trying to say that. 🙂 It is just that we have had to do it like that or he will not get enough sleep and will wake up grumpy. It’s better when he gets enough rest. 🙂
Joanne says
Hi my little girl is 21 months old has 45-60 min nap in the day, and is in bed by 7pm but always wakes up between 4.30 and 5am screaming for us, she is alway so tried in the morning and moody. Any ideas we could try as I don’t think she would understand the clock?^
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I would try the one in there that changes colors. Do you think that would work? If not, I would just keep putting her back to bed. It is really hard, but one of our kids went through this, too.
Joanne says
I will give it try and see, I read the blog about waking during the night and tried the technique of distributing her sleep without waking and for the first time in weeks she slept till 5.30 woohoo, so fingers crossed a mixture of the two will help. We have tried the putting back to bed if she wakes before 4.30 it works, anything after that time she shouts and bangs her feet on the bed, very loud which then wakes my 5 year old so then he is very tried. ☺ thank you for advice.
susan says
wow, great article! My 5 year old was always waking up because he was cold and did not like wearing heavy pjs. I found this great product to help keep his blankets on at night — bedbelts.com. Works so well and he gets up a whole lot less often now.
Kate says
Thank you for the digital click trick!!! Our previous 3 year old sleeping in child dtarted waking at 5 and we had success on the first night! Let’s hope it continues! Glad I didn’t spend money on an expensive sleep training clock!!! Thanks again.
Kate in Australia
Susie Johnson says
I loved the part about moving the time on the clock to get their internal clocks to adapt. It reminded me of a bed wetting problem my granddaughter had. I determined what time of night she was wetting by going in every 15 to 30 min. After she was asleep. I found it was only a couple of hrs after she was asleep. Even though she had gone potty just before bed! I went in the first couple of nights after that about 30 minutes before she had wet and got her up to go to the bathroom. She stayed dry all night after that. Then I began moving the time out by 30 minutes every night until she no longer had a problem. It was so worth the effort as she was 6 yrs old when she came to live with us.
alex says
This is such a great idea! I am so glad I found this article. My four – soon to be five – years old son still wakes me up at night. We didn’t do sleep training or try to ignore him at night when he was a little baby. I would always come to him whenever he needed me. But it starts to get frustrating because I couldn’t have a good night sleep. I will definitely try this.
Suzy says
My 8year old goes to bed no problem but is always awake at a rediculously early time, he doesn’t disturb the household but I just feel he needs to sleep in a bit. Really think this idea could work but my question is what do I do about his morning routine of going to the bathroom as soon as he wakes? Should I make him wait until 7?
Ronni says
My 3 year old used to sleep from 6:30pm to 5:30am (we are early risers due to work) and would have a 2.5-4 hour nap during the day. For a month or so he’s been waking up and coming to sleep in our bed, which we initially thought was cute, until he started showing up earlier and earlier. He’s started to drop his daytime nap at hoe and at preschool. We now put him to bed around 6:30-7pm and he will often stay awake until 8pm (just chatting to himself) and then get up between 4-4:30am. We started doing the alarm clock with the light this week but it’s been a struggle to keep him in his room, let alone his bed. He spends his time yelling that he wants to wake up, spends tons of time in the bathroom going ‘potty’ or trying to escape his room. He ends up waking up his little brother and then they are like a tag team. I need encouragement please! What was your transition to to clock like? Any challenges?
Karen says
Hi, my boy is 3years and 3 months old. He goes to sleep at 9:30pm and wakes up at 8am. He doesn’t take afternoon naps anymore. Is this alright? No naps at his age is it appropriate? If he takes naps he tends to have problem falling asleep at night and will end up sleeping late
Natalie padmore says
My 2 girls are brilliant (unless woken by their brother, 5) my boy, whatever time he goes to bed he is up at 4. We tried the number 6 on everything. Clock, books, drawings, on his gro clock so all he can see is the stars and the hour and the paper as you said. He still gets up at 4. Latest he has got up is 4.17 lol. We are going crazy as we have to nearly go to bed when he does and so nothing gets done in the house, no ‘us’ time either! We know he’s tired because he gets violent when he is. We’ve tried doctors too and that never helped either. We’ve finally just decided to pray that he grows out of it. We put him to bed at 7pm (6.30 when he’s super violent) we even let him stay up u till he fell asleep on the sofa normally about 11pm (about a year ago) and he still woke at 4!!!!!! HELP lol
wesley mcnatt says
Helpful post , I loved the insight , Does someone know if my assistant might be able to obtain a template DS-11 version to complete ?
Tiara says
Okay mommy world i need help m a younger mom trying to figure this out. I currently live with my parents because my childs dad was abusive. I got the first job available so i work until midnight my child gets up between 6 and 7 every morning i try to go to sleep every night as soon as i get home. Im not waking up when he does. My kid doesnt wake up crying he normally wakes up talking. What can i do to wake up better ive tried all kinds of alarms. Hes my kid so i know my parents wont wake me up. What can i do? I feel like a horrible mom..
Tiara says
Hes almost 2. I used to do it all on my own until i moved in with them. And if he breathed id hear him.
Amber Sproles says
My 3 old son wakes up at 11;30pm every night and don’t go back to sleep til 2:am and it don’t matter what time he falls asleep for the night and still gets up. I’ve already talked to his doctor about it and the only thing they had to say is it’s normal. I have asked him if he had a bad dream or if had to use the bathroom and he said no. Please help and Thank you in advanced.
Elena says
We saw that our daughter had a 45 minute fuss, and if we left her alone she really would go back to sleep, and sleep for hours. Now I know why! Thank you.
Melodie says
Our son won’t go back to his room! We put him back in and then he says he needs to go to the bathroom. Then h10 minutes later he needs to go #2, then 10 minutes later he needs to tell us something…. it is beyond frustrating and he is so strong willed! I did not know how to do any of this quietly either… it ends up getting so emotional! What do we do??
Shoshi says
Does this method work if you want your child to wake up at a time that is not a single digit? My son is currently waking at 5:30 and I would like him to wake at 6:30, but it’s a little more complicated to teach than a single number. It might also be harder to recognize against the clock.
Channing says
I don’t get it… your kids stay in bed just because you say to? Why do they comply? Is this true for everything? My 4 year old has questioned and resisted every single thing ever told to our asked of him.
emaliy rastuka says
wow, amazing blog! My 6 year old was always waking up because he was cold and did not like wearing heavy pjs. I found this great product to help keep his blankets on at night — sleepystarz.com. Works so well and he gets up a whole lot less often now.
Sleepystraz Sleep Consultant says
My 3 old son wakes up at 11;30pm every night and don’t go back to sleep til 2:am and it don’t matter what time he falls asleep for the night and still gets up. I’ve already talked to his doctor about it and the only thing they had to say is it’s normal. but at last i have planed to contact any sleep consultant and the result …..!! i don’t believe it’s really working for my toddler.
Sarah says
My son just turned four. We have had the sleep clock for about two years. He rarely sleeps till it turns green at 6:45 but often is up at 6-6:15 and usually plays relatively quietly till it goes on. Lately he has been getting up at 4:30! And will not play quitely, we go in and try to sooth tell him it’s still sleep time but he will not stay in bed, or be quiet. He gets out of bed, cries hysterically, bangs on the door and walls. The more you try to tell him what to do or reason with him the more upset he gets. We have had consequences such a loss of pro lager, etc. he doesn’t care. He has also taken to being difficult at bed time too, which starts around 7/7:30 but is now taking an hour plus to get him to sleep. He does still nap as he is done by 1:00, , he will nap 2-3 hours. HE usually goes down pretty easy for nap. Help!
Anna says
Any suggestions for a 15 month old that wouldn’t understand the numbers? She’s waking up at 4/4:30 🙁
Christina Andrew says
This doesn’t work for our just turned 7 year old, she is awake between 5am 5.30am every morning since she was 2. We can keep her up till 9pm, 9.30pm and still she is up between 5 and 5.30am. Nothing works. Poor this is always exhausted and soon her 4 year old sisters will have to go to bed after her as we need to get her asleep by 7.30pm. She’s still exhausted by the next evening though
Jamie says
Great tips! We are still struggling with sleep. Our almost 5 year old goes to sleep around 7:30 but wkes around 5:30 am. The clock isn’t helping as he stays in his bed until 6:30 when the clock turns green but is still tired in the day. I tried putting him to bed earlier but it took forever for him to fall off asleep! Any advice??
Kat says
Tried this, along with every other trick out there. Yes, we are consistent. Yes, every time he gets up early we say it’s not 7 and go back to bed but it doesn’t work. We’ve done this for several long weeks. He will not only fight going back to bed but also staying in his room. No, it does not work. Suggestions?
Anita says
Wow, this worked in a week for our 3-year-old. Waking up at 7 instead of 5:30 is going to change our lives. Thank you so much!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
YAY! I’m so glad you’re all able to get some sleep <3
ola says
Great idea. I have three girls and they are early risers. I find your idea of making them look at the number 7 and discussing how the morning will look pretty awesome. I will definitely try it.
Thanks
Flo says
But surely you’re not actually getting them to sleep longer, just stay in bed longer?
Becky Mansfield says
My kids go back to sleep until 7:00, and oftentimes they will tell me (now) that they woke up at 6:00, but fell back asleep until 7:30 or 8:00. Once they stopped coming out of bed as soon as they woke up, they started falling back asleep. (Their bodies weren’t ready to be awake yet.)
Ramya Ravindra Barithaya says
nice post… name of watch brand please
Kethy Wright says
My 22 month old has been going through this for the past two months or so. She wakes up between 3:30am and 5:30am every single day. I can’t seem to find any issue in her schedule, however. She goes to sleep about 8pm every night and naps for 2hrs from 1pm-3pm. Overall, she gets 9.5 – 11.5 hours TOTAL sleep in a 24 hr period. I feel that this is not enough for her, but have a TERRIBLE time getting her back to sleep. I lay her back down and tell her it’s nighttime and sleepy time, but she just jumps around, climbs OUT OF her crib etc. The only thing I can see is that her crib is still in my room and she pulls herself onto my bed. We are moving the crib this week, but I’m worried about her falling out of her crib in an attempt to climb out. I’m hoping that not having mommy right there, might make her feel less excited. I’m totally willing to do CIO too, but it’s kind of hard when she can get out of her crib by herself and doesn’t actually cry!
Grace says
Hello,
I am very interested in your way to change wake up time. My 2.5 year old is very good at waiting until his light turns blue to come out of his room, but I can’t get him to change his wake up time. He goes to bed around 8-8:10 everyday and wakes up anywhere from 5:40-6am every morning. He always takes a 2 hr nap from 1-3. That is his preschool nap schedule. How can I get him to wake up at 6:30-7?? I think his nighttime sleep max is 10 hrs. Can that be changed? I tried putting him down 15 min early but he will wake up earlier. Should I put him down at 8:30? Any kind of advice will help!!!
Lindsay Ingram says
Great! I’m so glad that you were able to find this post. Here is a link to something that may be helpful: https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/dutch-children-sleep-longer/
Good luck!
tom says
Thanks sharing this article about the kids waking up too early
Lindsay Ingram says
I’m so glad that this was helpful. 🙂
jaasica says
How can I get him to wake up at 6:30-7?? I think his nighttime sleep max is 10 hrs. Can that be changed? I tried putting him down 15 min early but he will wake up earlier. Should I put him down at 8:30? Any kind of advice will help!!!
Lindsay Ingram says
Thank you so much for reaching out and telling me about your struggles. It does sound like you’re going through a lot right now. I hear from parents all the time who have similar problems, so you’re certainly not alone.
I looked and I have some resources that might be a good fit for you.
https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/dutch-children-sleep-longer/
https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/master-list-of-bedtime-resources/
I hope that these help!
digi says
Thank you so much
Lurra says
I am very interested in your way to change wake up time. My 2.5 year old is very good at waiting until his light turns blue to come out of his room, but I can’t get him to change his wake up time. He goes to bed around 8-8:10 everyday and wakes up anywhere from 5:40-6am every morning.
Olivia Megan says
My cousin has had great success with this clock. 🙂 https://amzn.to/1zCDNsb
hiba says
Its really amazing
You made my day
Thank you so much for sharing this info
Olivia Megan says
I’m so glad that this was helpful. 🙂
Emily says
My 3.75 year old has been a champion sleeper up until the past couple weeks. He has always stayed in his bed until his wake up clock turns green, most of the time still being asleep. Our time was 7:30, but now he’s waking at 6 or earlier and getting out of bed. Often he will say he needs to poop (which he doesn’t) but then I still make him get back in bed. I’ve tried putting him to bed earlier and at regular time with no changes. Any advice? He clearly needs the extra sleep he’s missing but nothing I do gets him to sleep longer or stay quietly in his bed. I’ve tried rewards and discipline.
Ashley says
This sounds like my son. He just turned 4, and we have always done an early bedtime. He always slept until 7/7:30. And now he is waking at 6/6:30, sometimes b4 6. And he fights us and throws firsts about coming out of his room. And also seems exhausted during the day. I don’t understand it.
Megan M says
So we’ve been trying this. Gradually moving his bedtime up and now he’s just waking up earlier 😞😞 5 year old, no naps. I’m super frustrated. This morning was 4:45 instead of the usual 5:15. He is EXHASUSTED all day yawning, crabby, not nice, etc. I’m at a loss on what to do. It’s getting cold and we live in the country where it’s super windy and they hate going outside now (and I don’t blame them it’s downright cold). Do we try to go with a later bedtime now?? We’ve done later and you are right, it was worse because he was getting less sleep and still waking at the same time.
Meghan says
When I was 5-6 I got out of bed and helped myself to a giant bottle of cough syrup and had to have my stomach pumped. My mother was in a PhD program and exhausted and I was a low sleep needs kid. A little boy in Toronto let himself out of his apartment building during a cold snap in the early hours and unfortunately froze to death before his family noticed he was gone. 100% that kids need to stay in bed until a reasonable hour.
Becky Mansfield says
I couldn’t agree more. This concern is the reason that we started having our kids stay in their bed until an approved time – I just didn’t feel safe knowing that they could get out of bed at any time (if I was still asleep.)
Ashley says
We have a few problems w/ my 4 yo son. He has always been a great sleeper. We’ve put him to bed early, and he has slept until 7/730AM (we think-we usually never heard him b4 this time. When we moved him to a big kid bed we had an extra tall baby gate on his doorway, and he slept w/ his door shut because our house is pretty small and he would have heard us b4 we went to bed. Now he is waking up early for him (6/6:30-sometimes b4 6). And he seems tired during the day. He has started waking up at night and sleeping by his door. When we try to get him to sleep in his bed instead of the floor he will throw a fit. It’s a battle just to get him back to his bed. And he seems to wake up in the night to go back to the floor anyways. And when he wakes up in the morning he just yells and bangs his door against the wall until it’s time to get out. I’m not sure how we make sure he sleeps in his bed or stays in his bed until 7 if we take down the baby gate? We’ve tried no baby gate and he sneaks around the house, and we don’t even hear him. Do we need to sleep in front of his door? He has a clock in his room that lights up to tell him when he can come out. He doesn’t pay any attention to it.