Ds wakes up too early....any ideas?

hifromkgh

Mon, Jun 16 2014, 7:47 am

My son age eight began waking up by five o'clock every morning since he turned four years old regardless of what time her goes to sleep. He usually goes in between 7:45and 8:00 and falls asleep immediately. I hear him up and getting dressed by 5 am and sometimes even before. We tried all the obvious tricks such as clocks going in earlier/ later......hot baths before bed...he's usually quiet but he stomps around ,closes door too loud and usually wakes up others kids or myself. By the end of the day he's totally exhausted and acts out.....not sure what to do any suggestions?

Bruria

Mon, Jun 16 2014, 8:26 am

I would suggest a later bedtime.
Let him go to bed at 9 or 10, maybe he'll start waking up at 7 or 8 instead.

Or.. could it be that sunlight is waking him up?If he is very sensitive to that, I would suggest darker curtains for his room.

Shira9

Mon, Jun 16 2014, 10:01 am

My 7 yr old has been has been doing this since she's 3! We've tried moving bedtime etc. but it hasn't worked. Fact is that some ppl need less sleep. She's in bed by 7:15 these days so I know she's getting some sleep... I leave her crayons, coloring books, activities... to keep busy while the rest of us sleep. Btw, if you do want to experiment w changing bedtime hour, keep in mind you gotta give it abt 2 wks to kick in! Don't try it for 2 nights only and say it doesn't make any difference cuz you won't see a difference after 2 nights. Good luck!

hifromkgh

Mon, Jun 16 2014, 9:19 pm

Been there done that...tried earlier for a few weeks and tried later....he does need more sleep...by end of day his eyes are all red....black out curtain? We got them years ago...he wakes up before the sun!!!got sound machine...doesn't help....any other suggestions?

Bruria

Mon, Jun 16 2014, 9:33 pm

Hmmm, maybe a different type of meal at night? Or passion fruit juice, passion fruit is very good for that. Or chamomile tea!

Shira9

Mon, Jun 16 2014, 9:41 pm

My dd is also ready for bed by the time she comes home from school! Those hrs can be extremely difficult. It's definitely a kids nature though cuz she sleeps in an extremely dark room w no windows (seriously can't tell the difference between night and day) and sleeps extremely tight while sleeping. One thing you can check, make sure your kid is eating a full supper and isn't waking up for food. Good luck!

ibelieveinhim

Mon, Jun 16 2014, 10:27 pm

Are there vitamins that are supposed to help children sleep better? Someone once mentioned to me something about melatonin supplements but I don't know much about it...

5*Mom

Tue, Jun 17 2014, 8:51 am

Could something possibly be interrupting his sleep at night and not letting him get enough restorative sleep, like sleep apnea or frequent night wakings, nightmares, night terrors...?

hifromkgh

Tue, Jun 17 2014, 8:20 pm

Thanks for the replies....passion fruit sounds interesting maybe ill try that. Yes he seems to be eating dinner he eats mostly salad but he will peck at chicken...maybe I'll give him star snac before bed. Not going to try melatonin...it's a hormone with not enough studies..my pediatrician doesnt go for it
Rodent....really? You have same issues? How do you stay sane?

granolamom

Tue, Jun 17 2014, 9:58 pm

Rodent wrote:

It's just normal for some kids. Mine are the same.

my dd was like this and then she became a teenager...now she can sleep till noon! so there is hope.
although, my dh is like this too and no matter what time he goes to bed he is up by 5:15.

I dont know if there's anything you can do about it, heaven knows I tried everything with my dd. its really hard getting up that early, especially if he's waking the other kids.

MaBelleVie

Tue, Jun 17 2014, 9:59 pm

Would he be willing to agree to read in bed with a flashlight until a more reasonable hour so he isn't disturbing the rest of the household?

hifromkgh

Tue, Jun 17 2014, 10:39 pm

He's no longer waking them up purposefully like he used to...but he walks to the bathroom...drops the toilet seat.negl vsser cup comes crashing to the bathroom floor...eats breakfast on his own... Can't ask him to read under blankets for three hours

Shira9

Tue, Jun 17 2014, 10:51 pm

I've been leaving activities, a snack/bowl of cereal and drink for ages! I also kept reminding her that if anyone gets woken up through her and I therefore get woken up too, I'll take her back to bed once I'm up anyway. It took lots of training and has its ups and downs (some mornings are horrors with my house being raided..)

hifromkgh

Wed, Jun 18 2014, 6:20 am

He takes breakfast himself so that's not an issue. He also got sooooo much better at the noise but....because he's bored and wants a little company he bangs around when getting dressed...closes his drawers hard....falls to the floor to get pants on...can't punish for that....

amother

Wed, Jun 18 2014, 12:53 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

Would he be willing to agree to read in bed with a flashlight until a more reasonable hour so he isn't disturbing the rest of the household?

This is not good for the eyes.

animeme

Wed, Jun 18 2014, 1:10 pm

Can you have a system where he takes his clothes out the night before and puts them in a spot downstairs? Then, he wakes up and heads for the downstairs bathroom where he takes care of his needs, gets his clothes and gets dressed? Less noise to wake others because it takes place a floor down.

Three hours? Everyone else in your house sleeps until eight? That can be really late for any kid. He can eat breakfast, read or do drawing or some other activity in the playroom, and at 6:30 or 7:00 you can come down and be company for him as you start your day, make lunches, etc. If you know you will have that time you can save some of the evening clean up from the night before and do it then (or with ds) so you can get to bed a little earlier.

hifromkgh

Wed, Jun 18 2014, 7:11 pm

Tried that he almost always had a reason for coming back up ...I know it's because he's bored but he will say...I needed to get my Lego or something....err....ver frustrating