That pretty much sums up my problem--and I'm really at a loss as to what to do about this. DH recently started working overnights, and he *really* needs good sleep--he has health issues that could worsen at any time, and working overnights is hard on even the healthiest person.
Our kids are 10, 7, and 2, and we homeschool. We live in a small apartment, where even a slightly elevated voice carries back to the bedroom clearly. DH gets home around 6am and hearing his key in the lock is what seems to awaken N. He's the oldest, but he's not content to go back to bed or read quietly in the mornings (even tho that's part of what he knows he has to do during the day--read from his chapter books)--so he wakes up his sisters. He's sneaky about it too, like, closing the bathroom door with a click or sighing loudly while walking by their room! Then the girls are often cranky from being woken up, and so the fighting ensues. Then, because the older two are quite a bit older that the 2yo, they often try to boss her around, and of course a 2yo can't keep her voice down even when she's happy, let alone when she's frustrated with her older siblings!
Regardless, this cacophony starts at about 6-7am, and DH needs to sleep at least until 2pm.
I have tried printing out some schoolwork beforehand, but they fight--L is a singer and a chatterer, while N needs quiet to concentrate.
I've told them to read certain books and to be prepared to tell me about them when they're done, but they either "forget" or do them in 10 minutes, then go back to having light sabre battles in the hallway or playing catch with C's stuffed animals amidst shrieks of laughter. Even if they're doing something constructive like Mad Libs or reading out loud to each other, it's punctuated with maniacal laughter and giggle fits!
As I type i'm having to remind them to be quiet about 8 times. Apparently they are playing "campout" in L's closet, but they are tickling the 2yo, bumping loudly into the walls, shrieking and laughing and singing a made-up song. When I say "hey guys", all noise and movement cease instantly--they KNOW they're doing wrong!
I've tried bribes, chore lists on the wipey board, threats, reasoning, but it really seems like either they don't care a lick, or they are just physically incapable of acting mellow in the mornings. I can't send them outside unless I go with them, as it's an apartment. I try to run errands or take them places while DH is sleeping, but that's not always feasible or affordable. We don't have cable, but they have access to the Wii, probably 100 DVDs, the XBOX, playstation--these things do not seem to keep them quiet AT ALL. In the evening, they can all veg out on the couch and watch nature documentaries, no problem--but in the mornings when DH needs to sleep, it's pandemonium.
I am 9 months pregnant right now and exhausted myself. I cannot keep getting up to run interference, and really I'm angry because it doesn't seem to be a developmental thing--they are perfectly capable of being quiet at other times... It's almost like they are doing it on purpose--getting something out of it, yk? They probably are psychologically/emotionally, but I can't for the life of me think what.
if you've read this far, thanks very much! Any practical suggestions or logic as to why they are determined to make us crazy
are welcomed
Our kids are 10, 7, and 2, and we homeschool. We live in a small apartment, where even a slightly elevated voice carries back to the bedroom clearly. DH gets home around 6am and hearing his key in the lock is what seems to awaken N. He's the oldest, but he's not content to go back to bed or read quietly in the mornings (even tho that's part of what he knows he has to do during the day--read from his chapter books)--so he wakes up his sisters. He's sneaky about it too, like, closing the bathroom door with a click or sighing loudly while walking by their room! Then the girls are often cranky from being woken up, and so the fighting ensues. Then, because the older two are quite a bit older that the 2yo, they often try to boss her around, and of course a 2yo can't keep her voice down even when she's happy, let alone when she's frustrated with her older siblings!
Regardless, this cacophony starts at about 6-7am, and DH needs to sleep at least until 2pm.
I have tried printing out some schoolwork beforehand, but they fight--L is a singer and a chatterer, while N needs quiet to concentrate.
I've told them to read certain books and to be prepared to tell me about them when they're done, but they either "forget" or do them in 10 minutes, then go back to having light sabre battles in the hallway or playing catch with C's stuffed animals amidst shrieks of laughter. Even if they're doing something constructive like Mad Libs or reading out loud to each other, it's punctuated with maniacal laughter and giggle fits!
As I type i'm having to remind them to be quiet about 8 times. Apparently they are playing "campout" in L's closet, but they are tickling the 2yo, bumping loudly into the walls, shrieking and laughing and singing a made-up song. When I say "hey guys", all noise and movement cease instantly--they KNOW they're doing wrong!
I've tried bribes, chore lists on the wipey board, threats, reasoning, but it really seems like either they don't care a lick, or they are just physically incapable of acting mellow in the mornings. I can't send them outside unless I go with them, as it's an apartment. I try to run errands or take them places while DH is sleeping, but that's not always feasible or affordable. We don't have cable, but they have access to the Wii, probably 100 DVDs, the XBOX, playstation--these things do not seem to keep them quiet AT ALL. In the evening, they can all veg out on the couch and watch nature documentaries, no problem--but in the mornings when DH needs to sleep, it's pandemonium.
I am 9 months pregnant right now and exhausted myself. I cannot keep getting up to run interference, and really I'm angry because it doesn't seem to be a developmental thing--they are perfectly capable of being quiet at other times... It's almost like they are doing it on purpose--getting something out of it, yk? They probably are psychologically/emotionally, but I can't for the life of me think what.
if you've read this far, thanks very much! Any practical suggestions or logic as to why they are determined to make us crazy
are welcomed 
I have been doing that here and there (when i have the energy and gas money!), but really, i think this is part of the problem--i think i've been "rewarding" their bad behavior by getting upset with them, then taking them out. My kids are all about outings, they don't even much care if we get out of the car, they just wanna go go go.
about the title of this thread. I, too, have a 7 yo and a 2 yo (and baby) acting like banshees while my DH, who does a few overnights/week, tries to sleep in an apartment on the few mornings that he can (he was working two jobs... granted this will end in a week since he was laid off, but that is neither here or there - point is, I get the situation).
