My 3.5 year old has always gotten up on the early side (7ish) and always goes to bed around 8:00. Naps from 1ish-3ish and sometimes have to wake him up around 4 if he is really tired. The last month he has been getting up around 5:15-5:30 and UP! I make him stay in his bed until I come and get him around 6:15 and say that he needs to fall back asleep which never happens. I have used a clock and said to not get up until it says 6:66 just to make it fun, ect. It is dark as night in the morning still and just am boggled as to why he is getting up this early. We haven't even turned our clocks back yet which scares me! Is he at the stage where I need to lesson the nap time to ensure a longer night sleep? Is he overtired and not getting enough?? I am always up because my husbands alarm (which is white noise not a loud alarm) goes off at 5:20 and my 17month old is up by 6:00 so my intention in writing this is to make sure he is getting adequate sleep. Just to note my 3 year old doesn't hear my husband as he is super quiet. any thoughts/suggestions? THANK YOU
It's a tough transition time...they still need the nap but it detracts from the night's sleep. Definitely try reducing the nap. He's wonderful if he actually stays in bed an extra hour in the morning!
He's hearing the morning sounds of the family and wants to be part of it. If everyone else is up and "having fun" why not him? Clearly he's in a light twilight kind of sleep at this point anyway. Try pushing his bedtime back a half hour - or cutting his nap short. If he's not cranky and is otherwise healthy he's probably getting jsut enough sleep.
You could try cutting the nap down to an hour. He is getting 9 hrs at night plus a 2 hr nap so 11 hrs total his sleep requirement may fall on the lower side. Toddlers/preschoolers need 10-12 hrs total so you don't have to change anything he falls right in the middle unless of course you want to try to get him to sleep in a little later or the up coming time change might take care of it for you.
sorry to tell you, but I think it's normal. my son has been getting up between 5 and 6:30 for quite awhile.
My 3.5 yr old has also started getting up really early...pretty much when he hears my hubby's alarm clock go off. I think he is just at that age where he wants to be with us as much as possible. So, I DREAD the morning alarm clock, as it means the end of my sleep too. Is it possible for you to bring him into bed with you after he gets up? I allow him to do this now so that I can keep him quiet longer so that he doesn't wake up our 16 month old. In addition, I really am starting to like the "cuddle-time." I keep him in my room for an hour or so while I finish waking up, then I change and brush my teeth and head downstairs to make coffee/tea and start making breakfast.
Mine is in the process of dropping his nap (ARGH!) but it doesn't seem to make a difference to his morning-waking times.
I have tried telling him that he can't get out of bed before the sun wakes up, but that has just resulted in him playing very loudly in his bedroom.
Such a frustrating time, isn't it?!
TB, As a mother of 5 and a grandmother of several cuties I wanted to respond. I can't even guess how you were ever able to have a child that age sleep daily that many hours and not have them up early exploring the house and watching the sun rise out a window. Seems that your child is getting more than enough sleep and that if you have a rest time that only lasts an hour you will find that for a few days you'll have a cranky child but then the body adjusts and he will sleep as you hope. We use the white noise here for me as I am a restless sleeper. I learned along time ago that when children are used to noise they can sleep through just about anything.
Seems that you are in a transition period and as a mom will find the next year full of changes and adjustments as the transition to 4yo comes and they leave toddler hood, babyhood, and start on the road of little childhood.
