Is 4Am Too Early for a 5 1/2 Year Old to Wake Up?

I wouldn't do it to my children. I would find someone to come to my house and let my girls sleep as late as possible before having to catch the bus.

But if you need the job, you need the job and are going to have to do what you must.

definitely don't wake her, just bring her to their house in her pjs and she can get ready there. if you are organized, like maybe bring her 5 school outfits each week all hung up for them, they wont mind getting her ready. I do think having her wake at 4, then do a full day of school, is too much for a 5 year old. she may be tired in class, which could affect her learning.

as someone pointed out, if you were going to do this for 6 months, maybe. but if this is a permanent position, I don't think it would be a positive thing for her longterm.

maybe if you could keep her asleep till 630 at their house. good luck

As God awful early as that sounds, her day wouldn't be getting any longer, whether it's 4 to 4 or 6 to 6 that's a 12 hour day either way. I would imagine once you adjust her bedtime it would probably be okay.

We used to do that when I was young... My dad would load us up in our pajamas and we would usually doze in the car. Then we would go back to sleep at grandma's house (on the couch or floor) until it was time to get up and get ready for school.

It wasn't ideal, but there was no other option in our case.

I would also be trying to get her to bed as early as possible. Have dinner around 5 (she can do schoolwork while you are making dinner) an hour of family time, then into bed by 7 at the latest.

I do agree that it would be much better if you could get them (or someone else you trust) to come to your house.

I leave the house at 615 for work and my kids would have to be up at 530 if I had to take them somewhre. No freaking way...they love their sleep and I want them to get as much sleep as they want/need. So we have a sitter that comes to our house. She was with us the last three years and was amazing...we found her on sittercity and paid her $10/hour. We did pay her whether we needed her or not, so 5 days a week from the time school started until the time school got out. Maybe try that?

Just curious... would it be possible for your mother-in-law to just come over to your house before you leave, and watch your daughter at home? That way, she could stay asleep a bit longer.

If you didn't take this job, what time would you have to be getting her up in the morning to have her ready for the bus? How much of a difference is that?

I am going to say honestly what I would do.

IF IF IF I really wanted the job, regardless of the hours, I'd take it.

BUT here's the part most people wouldn't do. I'd pick up kiddo from child care each day and spend the evening with her then take her to in-laws house to go to bed. If they have a room she can sleep in then they can set it up for her so she'll feel more comfortable.

She could stay with them Sunday night, Monday night, and so forth but be home Friday night and Saturday night.

I assume your inlaws are ok with being woken up so early?... Since your daughter is 5, can you still carry her? Just swoop her out of bed right when you have to leave, let her settle back into a light sleep in the car and carry her to the couch at your inlaws? She might be able to virtually sleep through it all... Otherwise, if you enforce a 6pm bedtime, that's 10 hours. You could try it. Or even if she actually wakes up, can't she sleep till you have to leave at 4:30? It's super early but if you are really strict about keeping on this schedule, pretend you live in a different time zone...And she'll be getting more "home" time as your inlaws is more like home than a daycare I assume so not all bad. However, you'll have to have a weird schedule on weekends too so if you have a social life, not easy. But I do know people who do it as adults.

Is it possible for her to spend the night with the grandparents on school nights? That way she wouldn't have to wake up early. You could pick her up and spend the afternoon and evening with her as usual. Then, just do your bedtime routine at their house if they are home in the evenings. It might be easier on the in-laws because they wouldn't have to care for her as early.

What is your daughter's sleep routine now? When my son was in kindergarten, we got up at 6am, left the house at 6:40am with a 7:45 drop off at kindergarten. School was from 8-2 and then he went to daycare until 4:45pm. By the time we drove home, it was 6, dinner hopefully by 6:30 and trying to get to bed by 8pm as he NEEDED 10 hours of sleep. There was very little time for homework and no downtime for him at all. He developed some tics and was sick a lot....we did everything we could to cut out the commute because the schedule was making my baby sick.

It took us a year but we sold our old house, moved to a new house three blocks from elementary and now he gets up at 7ish, leaves for school at 7:45, goes to school 8-2, then daycare until 4:45pm but is home by 5. We eat by 6 at the latest and at that point had time to review homework and work on any projects at home. He was so much better....tics went away, only sick once all year, much sunnier disposition, no fighting in the morning or after school....

Truly we were running a schedule that my children couldn't handle. It isn't all roses, we had to majorly downsize to move to where our schools and jobs are located, but worth every sacrifice we are making.

I would see if your in-laws can come to your house. Much too early for a 5 year old and she will suffer in school for it. Good luck!

My opinion is that it would be a lot easier if your inlaws came to your house in the morning! Is that possible? Pay for gas?
I wouldn't get my kid up that early. I'd look for something else.
Good luck!

It does seem too early.

My kids need 11 hours of sleep to do well, so getting up at 4am would require bed by 5pm. I don't know how realistic the 5pm bedtime will be, though you don't want to harm her sleep.

I would have her spend the night at the in-laws house each night, if you really want to pursue this.

your inlaws can put her right back to bed on a cot or a bed and wake her at 630. my mom does home daycare and she has several kids who come at 5am (parents work for a dairy) she puts them directly back to bed. no questions it is not a naptime so no offer of having a book puzzel etc on the bed lol. they go back to sleep til she wakes them about 7 am. the trick to this is you don't do a lot of cheerful chatter at her get her up and walk her to the car buckle her in and then just walk her into grandmas and night night you go. tell you inlaws no tv etc. just back to sleep.

I wouldnt wake mine up that early, but that's my opinion. If your in-laws have offered to watch her and put her on the bus, can they come to your house? That way she can sleep as long as possible? That's a long day for such a young child.

I really do think it's too early, but you have to do what works for your family.

What time does your husband leave for work? Can he drop your daughter off with Grandma and Grandpa at a later time?

Couldn't you carry her sleeping to the car and have your in-laws get her dressed and ready at their house? She could have a little pallet at their house to sleep on when you drop her off. Or would the transfer wake her up?

Way too early. She needs 11-12 hours of sleep a night. You would need to put her to bed each night by 4-5 pm for this to work. Are you a single parent? If not, her father can get her up in the morning and on the bus. You could also consider an au pair or live in nanny but this would be more $$. Does it really take you 45 minutes to get to school every morning. Getting up at 5:30 for a 7 am school start seems like a lot more time than most kids need. I cannot even imagine getting my son up at 5:30, forget about 4 am.

ETA: Glad to read you are not taking the job. I am still unclear though. Why does she need to catch the bus at 6:15 for a 7:30 school start? My son's bus comes at 8:35 for a 9 am start to the day. The kids who eat breakfast, get the same bus and have 15 minutes to eat (the bus gets to school about 8:45). I also think you could get her ready for school in 30-minutes, not an hour. Especially since you say she eats breakfast at school. I think the idea of an early morning sitter is a FANTASTIC one.

I think it's too early. Pack her a bag and bring her to your in-law's in her PJ's. Let her sleep. Make sure she knows when you put her to bed each night that you'll be bringing her to Grandma and Grandpa's to get ready for school each morning so she doesn't get upset and disoriented. She also doesn't need a snack at your in-law's if she's going to have breakfast at 7.

My questions are:

Would you expect this situation to continue (if you stayed at this new job) next year and the year after that? Perhaps this could work in kindergarten, where there isn't a big homework load, but in first grade there will be more work and projects, and she may want to play with friends or do an after-school activity or lesson of some kind. And this schedule would prohibit any late afternoon/evening activities.

Is this the type of job where you'll be able to function well, work all day, while getting up every morning at 4? Will you be able to go to bed early enough and get enough rest? How about household chores, laundry, meals, clean-up, etc? Will it be just you doing all those things?

What kind of morning kid is your daughter? Does she hop out of bed at 5:30 currently, ready to go and well-rested? Does she function well until 6:15 pm? Is she healthy or does she get a lot of colds or minor illnesses? Does she say she's tired, or does she act like she's fatigued most of the time?

Will your in-laws be up and ready and will they properly prepare your daughter to be ready for the day? Or will you just open the door to their house and your daughter will kind of fend for herself?

What will the weekends be like, or school holidays or breaks? Sleep consistency is so important, and sleeping in on some days and getting up at 4 am on other days could really be disruptive. I have a child with a severe sleep disorder, and we have been taught a lot about "sleep hygiene". It involves a proper temperature in the room, no electronics or screens for a solid amount of time before bedtime, consistent schedules, exposure to natural light upon waking, etc. I think you should consider how the non-school days will work, as far as schedules, and how the weekday bedtimes will go.

I guess that if this is a really good employment opportunity for you with the potential to grow into a solid career, now would be the time to try it. Keep an open mind: evaluate your daughter for any changes in moods, health, emotions, appetite, etc. And do the same for yourself. If you have a spouse, evaluate that relationship as well.

If everyone is on the same page as far as your new career, then try it.

Could you make it so she's not getting up and getting ready but simply getting into the car? If you don't change her or brush her teeth or ANYTHING, then see if she can fall back to sleep at Grandma's house and do all the morning routine stuff there. Alternately, can they (or anyone else) come to your house in the AM and get her ready at the regular time? Is there any flex in your husband's schedule so he can take the morning shift?

Sure she can get up at 4am but do not expect her to function in school. I would never do that. Just my opinion.

Winter will be rough at that hour. Snow, sleet, extreme cold..

It will only affect her negatively if you don't get her bedtime changed to something earlier. We all need a certain amount of sleep, so if you can gradually get her to bed earlier, she will begin to be fine with it. The only problem is when there is a day off here and there and you might want to sleep in.Good luck with your new job! And I have a situation like yours as far as a job goes, the pay isn't great but there are benefits, it's local, and good experience. Sometimes these things really count.

I would leave her in her PJs and take her over and hopefully she can learn to stay asleep. Have your inlaws wake her up later, get her dressed and take her to school. There is no reason she needs to get to that early and be ready for the day.

At first I thought - ugh. Way to early. But as I read on, it should work out fine. It will just be your family's routine.

As long as she is in bed by around 6/6:30, I think she will do fine. I hope that you have blackout curtains!!

Good luck with the new job.

Wow! That is a tough one! Well technically your child's body does require about 10 hours of sleep to function, since their little bodies are changing all the time. If you wake them at 4am that means they have to be in bed and asleep at 6pm, that is when we eat dinner! But.... given the opportunity to have a job that you know will only benefit you and your family in the future, that would be hard to pass up too! I mean, it is not like your child will stay little forever. I wonder if you can allow them to go back to sleep when arriving at the in-laws house? Can the in-laws come to your house? What about your husband? Can he help out in any way? In the end, you will do what you have to do to support your family and if you chose to take the job, everyone including your child will have to adjust, it is what families do. It's not like you are doing this for fun, this is your job! And to work for the state is a great job offer! But one question, if you go in that early, why do you not get home until 6:15?

So glad you passed on this opportunity. Your daughter is way more important than any job!

Wow, that job starts so darn early. I see your So What Happened response. I was just going to say...can your in-laws come to your house in the morning? Or perhaps you can get a sitter to come each morning to get your daughter off to school. That would be best. Good luck finding a job!