Getting My 3 Year Old to Sleep In

My 3 year old daughter does the same thing, and we also tried getting black out shades to no avail and we tried keeping her up. That only succeeded on making her grumpy in the morning.

My sister and Dr. said it was her internal body clock and she is just used to getting up at that time. They suggested just ignoring her in the morning, but she is not in a crib and she just gets out of bed anyway.

If he is still in a crib, try not getting him in the morning right away and hopefully that will work.

I have just gotten used to getting up early.

M.,
I could have written your note a few weeks ago. My son (almsot 3) was doing the SAME thing. We adjusted his bedtime by 1/2 hour earlier (7:30 - we read that sometimes kids getting up early is actually because they are over tired) and then showed him a digital clock in the morning. We told him if the first number was a 5 or a 6 he had to stay in bed and have quiet time (read books, play with toys, but it had to be on his bed). He now knows that the first number needs to be a 7 in order to get up.

I too am due with our second in a couple of weeks and couldn't fathom how I would function with a newborn and a little boy up at 5:30.

Luckily, the 5:30 thing went to 6:30 and now he's back to 7. We also told him that when it was dark that "Mr Sun isn't even up yet. He couldn't get up if Mr Sun wasn't up" that actually helped alot too.

Good Luck!
B.

M.,
For our son, i have found that the earlier we put him to be, the longer he sleeps. It is conter-intuitive, but it seems to work. I would suggest putting your little one down earlier, but do it gradually, like in 15 minute increments. We also follow Dr. Wiesbluth's suggestions, and our guy is a great sleeper -- 12 hours a night. If you haven't already, I would pick up his book -- Healthy Sleep habits, Happy Child.

Hi M., although my son is only 13 months I also had this issue. I tried putting him to bed a half hour earlier. If he cried in the morning I wouldn't get him right away, I would wait 15 mins each day (for 4 days). He finally started sleeping in until 7:00 and now he sleeps in (knock on wood!) until 8:00.

His bedtime is 7:30, no later and his naps during the day are down to one.

Good luck and congrats on your new arrival.

A little about me:

Mother of a 13 month old son. Finally getting the hang of it!

Hi,

I have a 2 1/2 year old and she is a good sleeper and goes to bed no later then 8:30, and she sleeps no later then 8:30am, but I keep the room really cool, they say it helps them to sleep better, or a fan in the room , for the breeze or noise.....I know that seems a little differant, but hey it has kept our child going to sleep at 8:30 and waking at 8:30....I hope it helps a little for you.....

SAHM mommie of a 21/2 year old........

My daughter has always needed less sleep than the "recommended amount" and I have struggled with this dilemma as well!

Here are some of the things I have tried with her, and as each child is different, I don't know what might work for you!

Try naps- some children sleep better at night if they have a nap during the day. I know this sounds crazy, but I guess it has to do with the fact that maybe they are too wound-up or "wired" at bedtime to really sink into sleep like they need to. Try experimenting with naptimes... maybe one around noon?

Try putting him to bed half an hour EARLIER? It might help do the same.. where if he can fall into a deeper sleep earlier, his sleep patterns might change.

Other thoughts-
Does he HAVE to have you awake in the mornings? For example, my daughter rises early on the weekends, but is able to get herself a yogurt and spoon for a light breakfast (to tide her over until the rest of the house wakes up to eat!) or a small baggy of dry cereal and a juice box (you could use a sippy cup.) Then she will go watch television (We only allow PBS so if she is unsupervised, there is not the chance she will see something she shouldn't!) or play with something like a puzzle.
Being 3, you could maybe put a safe toy out for him to play with.. even in your bedroom if you want, so he is close enough for you to "keep an ear on him" even if you aren't 100% awake.

Congratulations on your pregnancy also!
-Amanda

I had the same problem with my son. I've made it a routine that he can't get up before 7 am. When he gets up earlier than that, I take him to the bathroom and tell him that it's not time to get up. Then I show him the digital clock and tell him that when the first number is a 7, he can get up. Two things happen: A- he goes in his room and reads a book very quietly in bed until it says 7. B-he goes back to sleep. I don't mind if he doesn't go back to sleep, as long as he is in bed resting and quiet. If he really needed the sleep, then he would fall asleep.

He also goes to bed at around 8pm. He only takes one nap, and just until recently they were very long naps...2-3 hours. Now it's around 1 1/2- 2 hours.

This is what we do..I hope it helps.

Hi M.,

I see you already had a lot of responses so i will keep it short. I also struggled with my son waking up early. in summertime it would be 5am and in winter around 6am. i tried everything like getting him to bed earlier which didn't work for him. he would be awake for more than an hour before falling asleep and still wake up early. I red 'healthy sleep habits happy child' and i even consulted doctor Weissbluth of the northwestern children practice who wrote the book and has its practice here in chicago. nothing worked.

Than, i came across a book which i bought for our 2nd child who's on the way to make him/her sleep through the night by 6 weeks. to make a long story short. she advices to make the bedroom so dark that you won't be able to see you own hand before your eyes. there should absolutely come no spark of light through the windows because around 5am children get in a lighter sleep and can wake up from the tiniest bit of ligth.

i wanted to give this a try and before spending 100dreds of dollars on shades and curtains i went to home depot and bought thick contractor waste bags and a roll of tape. I taped all his windows and doors. 1st nightr he slept half hour longer. i checked his room and there was still a tiny bit of light coming through the windows and underneath the door, so i taped that too. 2nd night he slept till 6.30!!! hurray! so now i'm looking into a way to finance some roomdarkening shades and curtains because it the bags don't look so nice.

he also goes to bed a little later, he used to go at 7.30 but now it is 8.30 and i do not let him nap longer than 3pm, so about 2 hours. my son is 2 and still needs his nap but maybe yours doesn't and put him to bed at 7pm.

well, story still got long but i wish you luck and i wouldn't bombard your child with too much change. try one thing for a week (also advised by dr weissbluth) and see what it does because they need at least 4 to 5 nights to adjust to a new schedule or change.

Good luck and let us know if you've made progress and congrats with the new baby!

M.

Based on my experience (reading Healthy Sleep Habits for Happy Kids, or something like that by Dr. Weisbluth), you definitely need to put him down earlier at night. He needs to catch up, so at first, put him down at 6pm. I know this sounds counterproductive, but it works. The book is a must-read.

Eventually, he'll probably be going to bed around 7, but right now, he's overtired. Does he still take naps every day? Naps should be around 1pm. If he's taking a long (at least 1 hour) nap in the afternoon, then you can extend bedtime later. My 3-year old refuses to take naps but sleeps from 8pm to 7:30 a.m. (We put him down for bed around 7:30, but he's probably not asleep until closer to 8). Good luck, and go get the book!

M.-

From the books I have read, the theory is that the earlier you get your child to go to bed, the longer they will sleep. Try moving your child's bedtime up by a half an hour and see if that helps. If not, you can always try another half hour and see if that works.

Good luck.

M.

This is probably because of the time you put him to sleep at night. If he goes to bed around 7-8 he will wakeup at around 5:30 -6 try putting him to bed around 8:30 he will sleep longer. Aslo if this is not the problem try buying a long story and a baby einstein CD. When he wakes up go in read him the story turn on baby einstien and leave the room. It has to be the lullaby one or else it might not work. My son had a problem waking up in the middle of the night and this always worked.

Hi M.,

I am in your same situation. My 3 year old wakes up very early (around 6:10 a.m.) every day too. Even in the weekends!!!

I would really really love if my son would sleep in at least till 7 a.m.

Does your son naps during the day? Because mine takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoons and maybe that is why he wakes up so early.

Good luck!