your child's wake-up time?

[PajamaMama]

My almost 4 year old dd loves to sleep in the mornings lately, but it makes her want to stay up so late. She seems to naturally be a night time person! I, however, am not, and I am the one who has to deal with her all day and evening, so it would be nice if our schedules could synch up a little more. I have been trying to compromise by waking her up when I get up, usually no later than 7 or so, and then letting her take a morning nap if she's still very tired. She's asleep right now, in fact.

How do you handle things when you and your children seem to have a different natural sleep/wake rhythm?

[4Marmalade]

Well, we have the opposite situation here. Ds (4.5) and dd (22 months) are both early birds. We've had times as early as 5am and as "late" as 7am. I am not necessarily a morning person but not a night owl either. My dh gets up initially with the dc's and I have about 20-30 minutes to rest in bed by myself. Then I get up. Coffee helps

I have no advice on switching the bedtime. We've tried lots of things. Recently when we switched the clocks forward we didn't adjust dc's internal clocks, we adjusted mealtimes so that they were going to bed about an hour later (by the clock). It worked for about 2 days but now they're back to waking at 6am. We surrender

[ani'smommy]

DD would sleep til 10:00 if I let her. I try to make her get up by 8:00 but she doesn't like it. She usually doesn't go to sleep until 9:30 or so. Even if she gets up early, she just doesn't get tired enough to sleep before 9:00.

Maybe if we were better at getting her up earlier, she would go to bed earlier, but it's so much easier to get up and showered and ready while she's sleeping that it's tempting to just let her sleep. And DH likes to sleep in, too, so on his days off he sleeps in with her, which doesn't help.

[4evermom]

My ds is so miserable to be around when he is tired that I don't care when he sleeps, as long as he sleeps when he is tired. He tends to want to be with me at all times so if I think he is tired enough to sleep, I get myself ready for bed and he joins me. I just wish he wouldn't wake up as soon as I wiggle in the morning! I usually read in bed until I am tired if he needs an early night. I can also read in the morning (if there is enough natural light) while he dozes.

[starlein26]

Early bird kids here too. If it's not ds waking up dd, then it's dd waking up ds...latest we've slept in lately was 8am, and I have NO idea how that happened. Average is usually 6:30am.

[mashenka]

DH and DS sleep together. DH gets up for work at 6:30, so that's when DS gets up, regardless of when he's gone to sleep the night before. And oh MAN is he grumpy when he doesn't get enough sleep. I tried suggesting to him one night that he COULD keep sleeping when DH gets up. [when we are all on vacation, DS will wake up as late as 8am!]. He got really upset and I realized why: he likes seeing his dad in the morning. So be it! But weekends are sad: he doesn't know the difference and still wakes up around 6:30. He used to get up at 5, so we are okay.

[becoming]

I let DS stay up late and sleep late when we don't have work/school. But he's old enough to stay up late by himself without me staying up late also. I'm an early to bed, early to rise type of girl myself.

[Slackermom]

Oh, how I wish I had babes who would sleep in! Mine are early birds. DD (3) gets up around 6:15, which isn't too bad during the week. DS (16 months) used to sleep later, but for the past couple of weeks he's been waking at 4:30 or 5. Mama is one sleepy chick.

[teachma]

We also have a problem opposite that of the OP. My children like to wake up anywhere from 5:15 to 6 am. 5:20 is the most common time for them to wake up. They would also love to stay up late (apparently, they both require little sleep) but I insist they get to bed by 7:30 to make up for the early rising. I am an early-ish riser myself but more like 6:30. I just can't manipulate their early waking times. I have tried the suggestion of putting them to bed later, putting them to bed earlier...nothing works. So we do TV in the mornings before breakfast. As much as I'm not a fan, it's the only way I can get some extra rest.

[Peacemamalove]

My 5 and 2 year old are up about 5 or 6 every morning! We are lucky if they stay in there room or sleep in until 7!! If we keep them up later for some reason they get up earlier!! To weird! Anyway someday hubby and I will be able to sleep in !!

[nicole lisa]

DS has never needed much sleep. He's usually up late and out of bed early, especially during the summer when it stays light so late and gets light so early.

Since he was about 3.5-4 he's felt OK getting up and going downstairs without us, even if it's 3am. At that age he knew where the snacks were so he'd get up and fix himself a snack and after a while fall asleep on the couch where we'd find him in the am. So we've always handled conflicting sleep needs by letting him get up when he wants to and letting us sleep in if we want to - same with bed times.

[babygirl24]

EWWW anything before 7:30 would kill me! I wish I could help, but my dd sleeps late. She normally goes to bed around 10. I have tried putting her down a little earlier for school nights and she still gives me heck about getting up before 8.

[**guest**]

My ds wakes up around 6. I've tried keeping him up later; more exercise during the day, etc etc. Nothing makes a difference. It's just the way he is.
I am so not an early bird.