Early Birds!!

I have never had that problem!! The rule when I was growing up though was I wasn't allowed to bug my parents or knock on their door until they got up.

That's not a silly question, it's every parent's dream! Kids have a sixth sense about waking early on weekends. I have a friend who, when her now grown son was young, bought him a digital alarm clock and told him he wasn't allowed to get up and make noise until it was a certain time on the weekends. He was an early riser and sometimes woke at 5 am, so she would tell him he couldn't get up until the clock said seven-zero-zero. It worked like a charm. My daughter is too young to try this but I am hoping it will work as she gets older because she also gets up wayyyyy earlier on the weekends!

my 3 year old plays quietly in her room until her clock says it's ok to come get me. She has a digital clock and above it, in the same block numbers, is the time she's allowed to get up. When it matches, she comes and gets me. It's been that way for over a year. Your kids are old enough to be able to tell time (the 7 year old, anyway) so you could just get him a clock and tell him when it's ok to come out. My daughter has a little bookshelf in her room, and plenty of toys to entertain herself. She does come get me early on occasion, if she has to poop, but she usually does that in the evenings.

Get clocks for their room, set the alarms, and tell them they cannot come out of the bedroom until the alarms go off. If they come out, you march them right back in. They can read, play quietly, whatever, but they have to stay in.

What also worked for my stepsons when they were 5 and 6 is they could get up and watch TV as long as they behaved themselves and were quiet. They were able to help themselves to dry cereal and were generally fine until we were up. I guess it depends on how much you trust them on their own without your supervision.

Hi there!

We went through similar situation... during the week, I get him tired, after school I let him run around at the playground, when I pick him up, burn that energy!

Give him a healthy snack on our way home too, sometimes at home reagarldess of the day Hot Cocoa!, he loves it... The we hit our routine.. Homework Dinner, hot bath or shower, Read some books, some TV, maybe scan the net (we dont play video games) and crash! There is always nice music or talk radio,

Now waking up in the morning has been a treat! I learne dteh hard way, he was adjusting to our shcedule and that was not good sometimes I wake up at 330 to make breakfast as my husband leaves early

For our child, we snuggle with him or tenderly wake him up, with Good Morning Sweet Heart greetings,(I am enjoying this, as he is growing so fast! and I have a reall Boy-Boy)

We are very affectionate! To start Clothes are ready set for a jumpstart, breakfast is in the air, and then off we go! We drive a good 22 minutes to arrive at School.

Come Friday evening, We simply get him so tired, lots of mental Activities, a good long walk and or bike ride, It works I have discovered that making the shades in his window darker have help up even more, I purchsed these dark thick curtains from Ikea, in dark blue... They are awesome.

He sleeps well, in the morning veyr little noise, and when he wakes up, he wlaks to us and sometime even goes back to sleep.

Mind you I am a night owl, and sleep real light, it was affecting him! We just made minor adjustments

Good Luck

crazy as it sounds, we told our 35 month old that if its still dark outside, she cannot get up. If she wanders into our room on the early side, we tell her she has to go back to bed. We thought it was a long shot, but to our utter amazement, she went back to bed. This weekend she slept until 7:30. She had gone into my husbands room (we don't sleep together when he is on call) at 6:30, and he told her she had to go back to bed. Again, miracle of miracles, she did it and slept another hour. Try it.

My boys are a lot younger (2 and 4) but they usually look at books and chatter in their room for a while in the morning before letting me know they want to get up. I think mine are up earlier on the weekends because they know I'm home, whereas weekdays my husband's home (he works evenings). Saturdays I let him sleep in and I get up with the, so I don't really have a sleep-in day either, even though I get up a little later on Saturday than a work-day. Some mornings I also wish they would sleep longer. The clock idea might work and be firm with the "come out of your room" time.

Leaving a snack at my son's door (like cereal and fruit) is effective in holding him off for awhile. He also knows he is not to come out except to use the bathroom. I don't really sleep because I still have to listen in to see if he is getting into trouble but laying in bed for a little while is nice.

This is what works for me...
During the week the kids are not allowed video games or tv-so the weekends they make up for it. They get up, and do what ever-and eat what ever. and I do not complain-so, yes, it may be ice cream and cookies. Since they let me sleep we both turn the other cheek. It works for all of us. there is no sleeping in.

haha! Would love a good answer to this O.. I have O. son, 7, and although he is much better about getting up on school days than he used to be....he is UP at the crack of dawn of Sats & Suns.....and the old stay up later b/c there is no school tomorrow is a SHAM in our house b/c he won't sleep in anyway, so I try to stick to a normal bedtime, even on the weekends.....
From what I understand, in about 6 or 7 more years we'll be begging them to get up before noon......but right now that's hard to imagine!

I got a digital clock. DD can't make noise or leave her room until 7:00 on weekends.

Just tell 'em they can watch tv until you wake up... That gets my kids quiet. They don't get tv very often, so I think on the weekends they relish being able to get up and just veg in front of the tube. I usually have to get up no more than an hour later to feed them or else they turn into monsters, but, hey, 7am has become "sleeping in" in my house!

At my mom's house, we used to have a TV downstairs that was for us kids. There was an N64 and moves for us to watch. We were not allowed to go upstairs on weekends (unless we needed the bathroom) until my mom told us we could. Which was fine, because that was pretty much our only TV time.

I have my kid's tv set up where they can only access cartoons. I let them know the night before that they are to stay in their room & play quietly or watch tv until I wake up. I let them know that if they wake me up before i'm ready, then they will loose all game, tv & special priviledges for the day. I've never had a problem wth them getting it. Not only do you deserve a morning sleeping in, but look at it as a valuable opportunity to educate & guide your children in the ways of having respect for other people. It can't always be about them, it just isn't preparing them for the real world. Best of luck & happy sleeping!!

If none of these work, and if you can afford it, get a trusted babysitter to get a key from under the mat in the morning and have her stay for a few hours so you can sleep in! If all else fails, don't worry, as they get older they usually sleep longer. Also, maybe bribe them (Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do) - show them Fri. night some donuts or something yummy that they get if they let you sleep in, and if they don't, don't give it to them.

The 7 yr old should be able to read to the 4 yr old till you are up.