@dongphong19 Ok this makes me feel better lol
My kid wakes up every day at 4am and I’m drowning
- Thread starter mickaela
- Start date
spurgeon687
New member
@luvmypets My school kids sleep about 12h (7-7:30 to 7am). They behave so much better when they get that much sleep...
I'm a huge proponent in putting kids to bed early. If they naturally wake up early, they can play quietly. If they don't - then they have plenty of time to get enough rest before school.
I'm a huge proponent in putting kids to bed early. If they naturally wake up early, they can play quietly. If they don't - then they have plenty of time to get enough rest before school.
@spurgeon687 Such a relief to know this is possible! My babies are 6:30-6:30/715 or so, though they are very young. I’m a high needs sleep person so losing sleep was and still is my biggest parenting fear haha
@luvmypets My twins are 3 and still sleep 11-12 hours with a hour nap. 
stuart1717
New member
@mickaela Both of my kids were 10+-hour a night sleepers; if they went to bed that early, they'd be up at the same time your kid is. Even if it WAS working okay for short periods, it's clearly not working now. At that age they'd each been on one nap for forever, went to bed around 8pm or so, and were up by 6am (for my most challenging sleeper) and maybe 6:30/6:45 for my more chill sleeper.
@stuart1717 How did you get bedtime that late? Like she is WIPED by 6:15, it is a Herculean effort to get her to stay up even to 6:45.
criticalthinker1
New member
@criticalthinker1 Love this idea
@mickaela Lots of natural light, screens, friends, outside time, sugar, and pretty much anything they say to avoid before bed. Unfortunately she’s probably wiped because she got up so early. If you can’t shift nap can you push back her meals a little to line up better with your goal schedule. Then when she does wake up in the morning keep it dark, don’t engage her, don’t leave the bedroom, if she needs a snack and is really starving you could try milk she has in her bed. This is also probably the time to deploy any sleep crutches to help during the adjustment phase like stroller walks, cosleeping, car rides, etc. Shift the schedule first then shift the routines.
stuart1717
New member
@mickaela I didn't go back through so you might have included this somewhere else, but when is her nap? On that schedule I shared for my kids, their nap was typical daycare nap timing (so, think in the 1-3pm window). So they were awake for longer prior to nap than they were after nap for the most part.
Sometimes napping too early in the day can perpetuate early morning wakes.
Sometimes napping too early in the day can perpetuate early morning wakes.
@stuart1717 12:30! It’s a little early but it doesn’t feel like it’s that early? But maybe it is?
stuart1717
New member
@mickaela I don't think it's too early, especially if she's routinely napping until 2/2:30pm (which I think reflects what you said her typical nap lengths are).
Does she sleep independently? If so, I would do two things: push bedtime later and start ignoring any wake that's before 10 hours after bedtime. One of my kids in particular (my challenging sleeper) struggled with early wakes on and off for years and the best thing I could do, at least until she grew out of her crib, was ignore them.
But, if she doesn't sleep independently, that would be the thing I'd change ASAP as you push bedtime later.
For the pushing bedtime later part, whatever you can do with snacks, distraction, maybe outside time if weather-appropriate, etc. At this age sometimes it can take two solid weeks to really move a schedule, so you may have to stick with it even when it sucks! Been there.
Does she sleep independently? If so, I would do two things: push bedtime later and start ignoring any wake that's before 10 hours after bedtime. One of my kids in particular (my challenging sleeper) struggled with early wakes on and off for years and the best thing I could do, at least until she grew out of her crib, was ignore them.
But, if she doesn't sleep independently, that would be the thing I'd change ASAP as you push bedtime later.
For the pushing bedtime later part, whatever you can do with snacks, distraction, maybe outside time if weather-appropriate, etc. At this age sometimes it can take two solid weeks to really move a schedule, so you may have to stick with it even when it sucks! Been there.
bartgroot96
New member
brotherbob
New member
@bartgroot96 Are we talking about a toddler or training a dog? Yeesh.
@brotherbob They’re not much different when it comes to training. My husband got home from work at 3am and I regularly worked until midnight. If our son got up before 7, he was either to stay in his room and play quietly, or he could come in our room and lay quietly. The kids should be on parent’s schedule, not the other way around.