# Sleep issue



## argyle (May 27, 2011)

...wonderful child...extremely social and friendly. Extremely.

One issue...when we took him home from the hospital...he slept 8 or 9ish hours per day.

At a bit under 5 years old, without napping, he'll sleep at 9:30-10:30 PM (If put down at 8:30-9 PM.) and then, at 6:30ish AM - I'll wake up to find him watching me. He's a nice little boy - and just waits on the bed for me to wake. Of course, the first words I hear every morning are...'Daddy-dadda - I'm hungry and bored.' We were told that moving bedtime earlier would result in him waking later. Not true. We've tried baths...very mildly effective...and running him until he drops...which mostly results in him napping on the way back from the playground and staying up really late.

He also gets quite lonely when he is awake and not playing with people...or at least sitting on them.

So, aside from babysitters, preschool, and losing sleep, neither my wife nor myself is ever alone. This can be somewhat wearisome.

Any suggestions? My inclination is to start intensive writing and mathematical tutoring until he starts avoiding me or starts liking to read by himself. Or possibly just enjoy the time while the little guy actually still likes his parents. Dunno.

--Argyle


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## norajane (Feb 7, 2012)

I'm sorry, I have no advice. But you aren't the only parent with an early rising child...I think that's why cereal and Saturday morning cartoons were invented.



> We were told that moving bedtime earlier would result in him waking later.


This seems counter-intuitive to me. Earlier bedtime would lead to earlier rising time, no? He'd still sleep the same number of hours no matter when you put him to bed, so why would doing so earlier mean he'd get up later? Have you tried a later bedtime instead?

I'm sure some knowledgeable parents will come along soon. Good luck to you!


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## MrsLadyWriter (May 21, 2013)

I can't say I had the same problem - my daughter, who's now 28, is a sleep fiend just like me. BUT my brother had this issue with his daughter. The first and most important thing was to settle on a bed time AND THEN STICK TO IT! Nothing will throw a child into more turmoil than random bedtimes. Now, that's not to say that every once in a while (for special occasions) you can't let him stay up a little later. But that should be the exception NOT the rule.

The next step my brother and his wife did was to limit the amount of liquids their daughter was allowed after dinner. They realized she was getting up to use the bathroom and then not going back to bed.

The final thing they did, which worked for them, was to make sure she had stuff in her room, like books, etc. for her to occupy herself with first thing in the morning. To get her to do that instead of coming to wake them up too early they set a child's alarm clock in her room and told her that she couldn't come wake them before it went off except if she was sick or hurt, etc. (Personally, I hated that clock - it was a Bugs Bunny one that had Bugs telling her it was time to wake up but that he was going back to bed! Stupid thing!) Still, it got her in the habit of keeping herself occupied until a more reasonable hour.

The only option I can think of is to accept the fact you have an early bird instead of a night owl. And if that's the case, it may be an uphill fight to get them to change. Sometimes you just have to pick which battles you're willing to fight!

Good luck and Sweet Dreams!


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## MyrnaLoy (Apr 23, 2013)

We gave my daughter (when she was 6) a time (7am) when she could come out of her room and knock on our door if we weren't up. We set a clock and she was responsible for staying in her room and keeping herself busy until that time. And there were consequences if she didn't (just loss of privileges). She was fine with it and now just reads or does whatever in her room until we get her for breakfast. 

It does seem counterintuitive, but an earlier bedtime does usually lead to a kid sleeping in later. Who knows why. Just like babies that take naps during the day sleep better at night. That said, every kid is different. I would give your kid a bedtime (my dd's is 7:30pm) when he has to be ready for bed and in his room and entertaining himself. If he's not ready to sleep, give him something that he enjoys doing (books, art supplies, mazes, whatever) and enforce that he has to entertain himself. It is not punishment, it will not hurt him, it will just give you some downtime and give him a sense of independence. Hopefully, he will begin to wind down and start falling asleep earlier on his own. 

Good luck! It is hard to always be 'on call' with a kid, even a well-behaved one. I think it is an important skill for kids to know how to play on their own and be by themselves.


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## Wiltshireman (Jan 23, 2013)

OP,

It looks as if you have "a lark" on your hands.

My youngest (now 2 1/2) is "a lark" he is normally awake by 6 am but I have heard him talking to his cuddly toy when I get up at 5 am (I have to be quiet or he wants to get up as well). We have found that the best coping strategy is to encourage him to play quietly in his bed until the big kids get up (7 am on a school day) so we let him have toys / picture books in his bed.

BTW This early rising may not last my daughters (now 17 & 16) were both early risers when they were young (pre school) but would now stay in bed until noon on the weekend if you let them.

Best Of Luck


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## Leahdorus (Jul 28, 2008)

MyrnaLoy said:


> We gave my daughter (when she was 6) a time (7am) when she could come out of her room and knock on our door if we weren't up. We set a clock and she was responsible for staying in her room and keeping herself busy until that time. And there were consequences if she didn't (just loss of privileges). She was fine with it and now just reads or does whatever in her room until we get her for breakfast.


I totally did this with my son. He always wanted to be in on the action, didn't want to be alone and woke early. Around age 4, we got a digital clock and told him 7am was when he could come out of his room. It worked! 

Some kids just don't sleep as much as others.


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## SpinDaddy (Nov 12, 2012)

If you were a family of Norwegian barley farmers this early rising thing would be good! 

For us, the clock trick works (within reason). The other important issue with Little Units is routine. To bed same time all the time, up same time all the time. Repeat. No exceptions.

And don’t worry, in a couple years you’ll have to kick the little buggers out of bed – lest they sleep till noon.


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## Homemaker_Numero_Uno (Jan 18, 2011)

Sitter/nanny or older child coming to help out as paid older/responsible play mate. Did that as a child, and also had the benefit of living in a small town when my eldest (very social) was younger. He had many friends of different ages stop by to take him out to various activities. Also, I partnered up with his friends' parents and we used to host the other's child/friend for a weekend or even a week or two at a time. Summer camp is also quite helpful during the summer, for a social child sleep away can be quite fun as early as age 7.

The bottom line is that it's really difficult to entirely mold a child to your 'existing' family life. The child at some level needs to have his/her needs acknowledged and at least met half way. This makes them feel affirmed and validated, vs. having a sense of guilt and dismay at being a problem to the existing "regime" established by adults.


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## SpinDaddy (Nov 12, 2012)

Homemaker_Numero_Uno said:


> . . . .The bottom line is that it's really difficult to entirely mold a child to your 'existing' family life. The child at some level needs to have his/her needs acknowledged and at least met half way. This makes them feel affirmed and validated, vs. having a sense of guilt and dismay at being a problem to the existing "regime" established by adults.


I’ll co-sign this statement 100%


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