We just transitioned my 3.2 year old son to a "big boy" bed about a month ago, it's going ok but it seems like he is waking up earlier. He normally would wake up around 7am (bedtime is normally 7:30, but with summer time activities...lately as late as 8:30pm). He has been waking up at 6am revving to go...which is can deal with...but today he was up at 5:15am...I came out of shower and found him standing in my living room with his bear and blankie.....I tried to say it was still night-time, but with the sun up it's like high noon in there! His room is pretty dark and has either a fan/ac on and has own room. He still naps (anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours)...this is the only thing I'm thinking to eliminate to try to help...or do you think this is normal in the summertime?
I'm just frustrated, I typically use the mornings to work out, prep dinner, do laundy, and this is driving me batty :) And in case you suggest it, he will not watch tv, not because I don't allow it (HE DOESN'T LIKE IT) - he'd rather play toys :) and keep calling me, "mumma, look at this choo-choo", "mumma, I want to ride my bike!" (at 7am)
This too shall pass....I know! I think I'm crabby today, I miss ALONE time in the mornings. Any suggestions much appreciated!
We got a clock that has a light that turns green when it's okay to get out of bed for my son when he started doing this, around the same age as your kiddo. I found it on Amazon, and have found it to be well worth the cost :)
Here's the link,
http://www.amazon.com/American-Innovative-Teach-Talking-N...
Hi.
We went through same thing. Our son is almost 4. Ironically, sometimes the later he goes to sleep, the earlier he awakes! If he sleeps by 7, he is up by 6-630. if he sleeps by 8, he can wake at 5....
so...I would try to keep nap to perhaps 2 hours and try to get him to sleep at 7 or so and see if that helps him sleep in a bit more....
keep experimenting...however, i would not give up the nap if he is sleeping that much. it means he needs that mid-day rest. just maybe finetune it a 1/2 hour and start the nap earlier, and maybe the rest should work itself out.
good luck jilly
Keep the nap as long as you can! Keep his regular bedtime. He may have been waking up before but now he can get out of bed on his own. I would work with him on playing in his room and staying in his room until you come and get him. Or at least that he comes to say good morning, grab a sippy cup and play quietly in his room. Maybe do a sticker reward program for every morning he does this.
If he still "needs" his nap, let him have it. As for the mornings....
If he knows his numbers (and has a clock in his room) you can try telling him "you need to stay in your room until the first number on the clock is "7" or "8." This works pretty well for our daughter. Otherwise, maybe one of those "green light" or "wake up buddy" or whatever alarm clocks might be nice.
Do you already do "quiet" time with him? This can also work for mornings (we do this for Saturday mornings). Mommy/Daddy need to XYZ, so you need to have "quiet time" or "big boy time" or whatever you want to call it. Check in on him every once in a while, but let him know that you won't be able to play with him during this time.
Good luck!
I taught my DD what time she can get up (you can use a day/night clock lik you can buy at one step ahead or put a sticker next to the number or whatever). I told her if she is up before then, she can play in her room til I am up (there is a knob cover on her door so she stays put). She has been able to do this since about 3.5, though most days she sleeps til a decent time. The flip side is now that she's getting up more like 7:30, I have to go to bed accordingly so I can get up and function.
So he is going to bed at 7:30 on a normal day and you want him to sleep until 7:30 in the morning. A full 12 hours. That's a lot in my opinion. I would do the later bedtime all the time.
If he's not tired or does not need the sleep he is going to be up. He's getting bigger now. If he were going to pre-school this fall he's need to be up early every day but if he is staying home then letting him stay up at night and sleeping a bit later in the morning would be okay.
Kids still lay down to nap in kindergarten. Keep the daytime nap for as long as possible.
