How do you get your kid to stay in bed in the morning?

[Jenyfer9]

Please help. DS#2 (just turned 3) has ALWAYS been a crappy sleeper, and I'm willing to accept that, but I would like some guidance as to how to fix our latest problem. Today, much like every other day, ds#2 was up at 6am (that's when he came into our room, I'm not sure how long he was awake before that). Long story short, he's having a yelling/screaming/horrible tantrum by 6:30... only 30 minutes into the day! I KNOW it's because he just got up too early... but this is getting to be a more common occurrance as of late.

He still takes naps most days (he'll skip maybe 1 a week) and we try to have him in bed by 7:30-7:45... sometimes he'll fall right to sleep, sometimes he's up there fiddling around for a while, but he'll put himself to sleep eventually.

I know some kids are just early risers, and that's fine... I'm one. But when the kid isn't getting enough sleep, it really sucks. I know he needs more sleep, because he's falling asleep for a nap by 10:30-11 am. This messes up our whole day, because that's when I have to pick DS#1 up from preschool... DS#2 falls asleep in the car, then sleeps (sometimes) until 2 or so... totally messing up any kind of lunch schedule.

So the question is, HOW can I get him to get the sleep he needs? His room is as dark as it can be in the morning, I'm not sure why he's getting up if he still needs sleep. It isn't like things are super exciting when he gets up: there is no drink/food/tv until 7am... that's always been our rule.

Any advice????

[KiKi'sMommy]

I would eliminate or shorten his nap. My DD turned 3 in Feb. and has not take a daytime nap for months. Mostly because if she does, she WILL not go to sleep at night. I have also noticed that she sleeps about 12 hours almost to the minute. So if she goes to bed at 8, I can usually count on her sleeping until about 8am.

[LeslieR]

My son has always been an early riser as well. He was doing well sleeping until 7:30 or so for a while there which was fabulous, but lately he has been waking up around 6 again. I have found that limiting his nap to 2 hours helps a lot. He will always still go to sleep just fine at 8-8:30, but for whatever reason, keeping his nap to 2 hours helps him sleep later in the morning.

[dal]

I would put him to sleep earlier. It sounds like he's overtired and kids tend to sleep less if they are overtired. I think if you try moving his bedtime to no later than 7, it could help. I would not cut out his nap as he will cut it out on his own when he's ready.

My DD who is 3.5 will occasionally wake around 6. She calls us when she wants to get up and if it's before 7, we tell her it's not time to get up yet. She fought us on this the first couple of times and then she got used to it and either stopped calling us until after 7 or would just go back to bed if we told her it wasn't time to get up yet. Oh and she goes to bed by 7 (usually earlier) and naps most days from 1-2:45.

[Jenyfer9]

I can't cut out his nap. If I do, he crashes and burns at 5pm (if not earlier) and then any sort of normal bedtime is out the window...

I can't imagine putting him to bed any earlier than we already are (he shares a room with DS#1, and we can't change that at the moment), so I'll try and shorten his nap instead.

Any more suggestions are welcome as well...

[mamax2]

When we went through this w/our oldest around 2.5, I would just go in her room, tell her it's not time yet (our rule is that it has to be light out which is easy for a non-reading, non-time-telling kid to 'get'). Some days it took me dragging a pillow and blanket in there and camping out on her floor to ensure she'd stay in there (she was still in a crib at that point). She would usually NOT go back to sleep if it got to this stage, but that's o.k. because I was making my point about the situation. Then, I'd push the nap up as early as possible that day to try to re-coup.

We do nap-limiting too. Not the number of hours, but the timing. They MUST be up by 4:30 otherwise bedtime is shot. Sometimes that means there's only a 1 hour nap, other times it might mean 2.5 hours.

[CarolinaGirl]

Not really anything to add, but just wanted to say... 6 am?? That would be so nice! Our daughter gets up BEFORE 6 on a lot of mornings. I just told DH that my new rule is that she can't come out of her room before 6 am.:rolleyes:

[Sevilla]

Do you think he's throwing a tantrum b/c his blood sugar is low from not eating for 11 hours? I would see if giving him a small breakfast snack would help eliminate that issue (that's what I do with DS when he wakes up earlier than I want to get up).

[Jenyfer9]

Not really anything to add, but just wanted to say... 6 am?? That would be so nice! Our daughter gets up BEFORE 6 on a lot of mornings. I just told DH that my new rule is that she can't come out of her room before 6 am.:rolleyes:
Yes, he's usually up before that time... that's just when he comes in to get us up.

I'm definately trying to limit his naps (both time and length), and that seems to have helped a bit. He's also started a program in the morning (late this past week) and now he has a reason to stay awake until normal naptime (instead of just running errands with me).

The other day he went all day w/o napping, and crashed at 5:45pm... didn't wake up until 6:15am... MAN he needed that sleep because he was SO much more pleasant after getting enough sleep. HOWEVER, he's not ready to do that yet, because he couldn't even stay awake for dinner (we tried waking him up for it, but he had fallen asleep in the car on the way to get DH from the train and there was no way he could have stayed awake).

[mmm0708]

Do you think he's throwing a tantrum b/c his blood sugar is low from not eating for 11 hours? I would see if giving him a small breakfast snack would help eliminate that issue (that's what I do with DS when he wakes up earlier than I want to get up).

That's what I was going to suggest. Not offering food/drink until a certain times seems like a stupid rule, IMO. If he's hungry, he's hungry... his belly/blood sugar isn't going to care what the clock says. 11 hours is a long time to go without any food/drink.

I can tell when my son needs to eat because his temperment changes.

If you can't put him to bed earlier, I would give him a light snack or breakfast as soon as he gets up, to see if that helps the meltdown. If not, then I think a shorter nap with an earlier bedtime is necessary.

[karlatta]

I'd suggest food. If you don't want to feed him earlier than 7 (which I don't understand, but that's your choice), maybe give him a snack before bed? My DS is younger than yours, and if he doesn't have food within the first 15 minutes or so of getting up, he has a meltdown.

[KiKi'sMommy]

If you are still in bed, could he just cuddle with you in your bed? Our DD often comes to our room about 5am and sleeps in our bed until we wake her up. She always sleeps later when she is with us. Maybe you could leave a sippy cup of milk in the fridge for him, so when he does wake up, he can go get it out. My DD is NOT a morning person, but when she gets up, she always wants milk first and wants to chill out in front of the TV to wake up. I just let her take mornings at her own pace. It gives me some time to make my coffee and read my Bible before things get crazy! :)

[Graciesmama]

To MMM0708, I really don't think it is anyone's right to tell someone that their parenting is "stupid." That is a decision that she has made for her children. Her question was not about her parenting style but rather asking advice regarding her son and his sleeping patterns. Sorry, but I just think that she must be a loving, caring parent or she would not be asking advice on how to make her son's life more comfortable for him!

Now, my daughter always says she is hungry before bed. I am pretty sure that this is psychological, given that she could have just eaten and she still says she is hungry. However, I just tell her that she can have a healthy snack. Such as applesauce, carrots, or yogurt. Then I tell her to drink a glass of water. This seems to help. With my son (13 months old), he still nurses several times in the morning before we eat. My guess is that maybe your little man just needs some milk or something along those lines.

I know that we don't get around to eating for a while in the morning either! It just takes a bit to wake up. Also, have your son lay in bed with you and read a book with you in the morning with a sippy cup in hand or maybe even a little cereal bar. This will give you some time to wake up and he can have some quiet time too. This may help your sanity a little! God Bless![/QUOTE]