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Posted By: LazyMum Early waking - 10/15/16 11:45 AM
Sorry, lots of questions from me lately.

DD 3.5 has never been a good sleeper, but recently she's started waking multiple times during the night and then up and full of beans at 5:30am (used to be 6:30am). At the end of this month daylight saving will end for us and 5:30am will become 4:30am. 4:30am is not an OK time for anyone to wake up for the day.

I'm going to move her bed time forward so she (hopefully) gets an extra hour of sleep, but this won't help with the wake up time.

Any tips?
Posted By: RoyalBlue Re: Early waking - 10/15/16 10:11 PM
When my daughter was about that age, we bought her a special clock that can be set to turn green at a specified time each morning. We told her she wasn't allowed to get up for the day until it was green. I was amazed at how well this worked for us. Now that she is older she still uses it, but as regular alarm clock.

https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Talkin...6568943&sr=8-4&keywords=kids+alarm+clock
Posted By: chay Re: Early waking - 10/15/16 10:46 PM
We just used a regular digital clock and told DS that he wasn't allowed to make noise or go out of his room until after 6am. We started this when he was 2 or 3. The first morning he woke us at 5:26 and we thought we would have to tape over the bottom numbers but he didn't want that and he never messed it up again.

It didn't help him get any more sleep but at least the rest of the house did smile He's now 10 and most mornings he's reading in his room when I get up at 6/6:30.
Posted By: Seattle Sunshine Re: Early waking - 10/16/16 03:28 AM
There's an "Okay to Wake" clock which may be easier for a 3.5yr old. We also had to use a clock to tell DS not to wake us before a certain time. We didn't say he couldn't come out of his room because he's very literal and wouldn't even go potty!
https://www.amazon.com/OK-Wake-Alarm-Clock-Night-Light/dp/B00EAHSBV4
Posted By: LazyMum Re: Early waking - 10/16/16 07:36 AM
She's OK at entertaining herself until 7am when she's allowed to wake us up, but I still worry that she's waking up too early and not getting enough sleep. She's about to start school next week though. Maybe the extra stimulation will exhaust her and help her sleep better/longer during the night.
Posted By: DianaG Re: Early waking - 10/17/16 12:09 AM
My three-year-old also wakes up too early, but I can't do much about that except insist that the light stays off until 6 a.m. Writing out sleep rules (not to wake us up too early or in the middle of the night) has helped, but he doesn't get more sleep. He also doesn't nap, so he can't catch up on sleep. So I feel your pain and don't have a great solution.

We do have the rule that bad behavior or excessive tiredness in the evening means an earlier bedtime.

School hasn't helped him sleep any more, but hopefully you'll have more luck.
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