I Want to Get Up But My Kids Are Early Risers

Here are my thoughts on early risers... they may not be popular, but they are still something to think about.

My kids are good sleepers now, but they have been all over the place with their sleep and we have struggled at times. Harry, my oldest, is an early riser, always has been, he used to have a knack for waking everyone in the house up... like a bull in a china shop!  So when he was 6 I told him if he woke people up then he would have to help entertain them! It really doesn't come down to much more than parenting... learning how to be the authority and helping children understand what is acceptable behavior and what isn't.

Clothing Tip: Look at how children are dressed at night, many that wake up early wake because they are cold, it brings them out of a deep sleep as the body cools in the wee hours of the morning. Dressing them warmly helps a lot. We lived in negative temps and Sam did not like covers. He slept in his bed if we dressed him warm. 

IMPORTANT: Talk to your partner, if getting up early is important to you, then your partner will be willing to help. When babies are tiny, getting them to bond with Dad is really important. Now of course there are itches only Mom can scratch, but we made a concrete effort for my two biggest snugglers to also love snuggling with Daddy.

Talk to your partner about stepping into that role of comforter so that when you do rise in the morning, waking children can snuggle up with Daddy. I will say, a LOT has to do with how much they see you snuggle with Daddy - otherwise why would they want to? A strong partnership means strong parenting.  Make sure your children see you affectionate often, this endears them to the other parent. Surrogate snuggling can really help Mom get up. My older children also learned to snuggle together after my divorce, many mornings when I was single, I would rise to at least two in my bed, I would get up and they would snuggle up together, within the hour the third was in there too. 

Getting your toddler or preschooler to snuggle in with siblings or Daddy can be a big help to you.  What about the older child? I say once they are old enough to understand "Mom needs some time" - which is somewhere between 5 and 7 depending on the child, then it is fine to say, "our day starts at X" and follow through with it. That means they can get up, play quietly, not cause a fight, etc. until the day starts.  It will be tough at first, stick to it, remember you are the authority, if your family rule is 7am or 8am, then stick to it.  

Also, remember that while getting up with time to be alone is the goal, getting up even 15 minutes early will benefit your day.  Giving you time to settle in before the crowd hits! 

I hope this is helpful.  
Work together as parents,
find ways to get personal time for you both.  
Be on the same page.  
Love one another.  
Be affectionate.  
Let your children see that their parents want to be together.
Don't take each other for granted.

You may enjoy our Peaceful Bedtime program here.