How to Keep Children from Waking up Too Early
Identify possible reasons for your toddler's early wake time., Understand a baby or infant's sleep cycle., Use a later bedtime., Write the number of the wake up time on the clock., Explain the purpose of the number on the clock., Be firm about...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Identify possible reasons for your toddler's early wake time.
Many children wake up early in the morning due to noise, hunger, or light.
Try to keep a record of your child’s sleeping habits for one to two weeks.
Note what time your child goes to bed, what time she wakes up, and any naps she takes during the day.
You should try to identify any patterns in your child’s sleep, and if noise, hunger, light or too many naps during the day are causing the early wake time.If you are trying to get a baby or child under 1 year old to sleep in later, you will need to establish a sleep schedule for your baby and stick to it.
Babies crave routine and will fall into an established sleeping, eating, and napping routine within a few weeks of coming home from the hospital.
Babies will also wake up in the night or early in the morning due to hunger, noise, or light.
You should track your baby's sleeping habits for one to two weeks to check for any patterns, like waking up at the same time every night due to hunger or waking up sporadically throughout the night due to noise. -
Step 2: Understand a baby or infant's sleep cycle.
Babies, or any child under 1 year old, will have a sleep pattern that will change month to month.
It's important that you try to adapt to your baby's changing sleep cycle so you can ensure she is getting enough sleep and is not overly tired during the day.
Not all babies are alike, so use these month by month notes as guidelines for your baby's sleep cycle.By one month at home, babies will sleep about 15 hours a day, with about six of those hours during the day.
Many babies will give you a cue they are ready for a nap by falling asleep after a feeding or while they are feeding.
At three months, most babies will sleep through the night.
Your baby's stomach has grown, so she can eat more and sleep longer during the night, about 15 hours, with a decreased nap time of 5 hours.
At six months, your baby will need about 14 hours of sleep a day, with 4 hours of nap time during the day.
However, some infants may still wake up during the night and may wake up very early in the morning.
By nine months, your baby should be able to sleep through the night on a regular schedule.
She will need about 14 hours of sleep and only 3 hours of nap time during the day.
At 12 months, or 1 year old, most babies should sleep about 13 hours a day.
Your baby should sleep 10-11 hours a night, and take a 2-3 hour nap during the day.
Some 1 year olds may not be interested in napping, as they are too busy exploring the world and running around, but you should still try to encourage a nap time once a day.
This will help your 1 year old maintain a consistent sleep cycle. , Most toddlers between the ages of 1 and 3 years old need 12-14 hours of sleep and pre-schoolers between 3 and 5 years old need 11-13 hours, so if you establish an early bedtime, around 7 pm, your child will likely have an early wake time.
Encourage a later start in the day by moving your child’s bedtime to later in the night.You need to give your child time to adjust to a new, later bedtime.
Move the bedtime to later in the night in increments, about a quarter of an hour each night (15 minute intervals), until you reach the ideal bedtime.
If you would like your child to sleep until 7 am, for example, your child’s bedtime should be around 8 pm.
If you would like your child to sleep until 8 am, move your child’s bedtime to 9 pm.
Give your child one to two weeks to adjust her sleep rhythm to the new bedtime.
It may take a couple of weeks before you see any shifts in her sleep patterns and until she adjusts fully to her new bedtime. , If your child is old enough to read numbers, you can use a visual association on her alarm clock to help her remember her wake up time.
It’s important that you transition to the new wake time gradually, so start by using a time that is a half hour or 15 minutes after her normal wake time for the first week and moving the number slowly until you reach the new wake time.Set up a digital clock in your child’s room, by her bed.
Take a piece of blank white paper and write the number of her wake time in large print.
For example, if her wake time is 7 am, but she tends to get up at 5 am, write “5:30”.
Tape the piece of paper to the digital clock.
Place it beside the hour and minute numbers so your child can see both set of numbers. , Sit down with your child and explain that once the number on the clock matches the number on the piece of paper, she can come and wake you up.
But she cannot wake you up any time before or after the number on the piece of paper.After several days to a week, move the number up again so it is a half hour closer to the new wake time.
For example, “6”.
Continue to do this over a period of two weeks until you reach the new wake time.
Once you reach the new wake time, you can keep the piece of paper on the clock, as this will now be the set wake up time for your child to follow. , For the first few days, it may be difficult for your child to follow the new wake up time and she may come in to your room before the new wake up time.
If this happens, it important that you ask her if the number on the clock matches the number on the piece of paper.
If she says no, remind her she is not to come out of bed until the two numbers match.Try to be firm about sending her back to bed until the numbers match, as if you allow her to wake you up, you will be woken up the following morning too early again. -
Step 3: Use a later bedtime.
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Step 4: Write the number of the wake up time on the clock.
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Step 5: Explain the purpose of the number on the clock.
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Step 6: Be firm about enforcing the wake up time.
Detailed Guide
Many children wake up early in the morning due to noise, hunger, or light.
Try to keep a record of your child’s sleeping habits for one to two weeks.
Note what time your child goes to bed, what time she wakes up, and any naps she takes during the day.
You should try to identify any patterns in your child’s sleep, and if noise, hunger, light or too many naps during the day are causing the early wake time.If you are trying to get a baby or child under 1 year old to sleep in later, you will need to establish a sleep schedule for your baby and stick to it.
Babies crave routine and will fall into an established sleeping, eating, and napping routine within a few weeks of coming home from the hospital.
Babies will also wake up in the night or early in the morning due to hunger, noise, or light.
You should track your baby's sleeping habits for one to two weeks to check for any patterns, like waking up at the same time every night due to hunger or waking up sporadically throughout the night due to noise.
Babies, or any child under 1 year old, will have a sleep pattern that will change month to month.
It's important that you try to adapt to your baby's changing sleep cycle so you can ensure she is getting enough sleep and is not overly tired during the day.
Not all babies are alike, so use these month by month notes as guidelines for your baby's sleep cycle.By one month at home, babies will sleep about 15 hours a day, with about six of those hours during the day.
Many babies will give you a cue they are ready for a nap by falling asleep after a feeding or while they are feeding.
At three months, most babies will sleep through the night.
Your baby's stomach has grown, so she can eat more and sleep longer during the night, about 15 hours, with a decreased nap time of 5 hours.
At six months, your baby will need about 14 hours of sleep a day, with 4 hours of nap time during the day.
However, some infants may still wake up during the night and may wake up very early in the morning.
By nine months, your baby should be able to sleep through the night on a regular schedule.
She will need about 14 hours of sleep and only 3 hours of nap time during the day.
At 12 months, or 1 year old, most babies should sleep about 13 hours a day.
Your baby should sleep 10-11 hours a night, and take a 2-3 hour nap during the day.
Some 1 year olds may not be interested in napping, as they are too busy exploring the world and running around, but you should still try to encourage a nap time once a day.
This will help your 1 year old maintain a consistent sleep cycle. , Most toddlers between the ages of 1 and 3 years old need 12-14 hours of sleep and pre-schoolers between 3 and 5 years old need 11-13 hours, so if you establish an early bedtime, around 7 pm, your child will likely have an early wake time.
Encourage a later start in the day by moving your child’s bedtime to later in the night.You need to give your child time to adjust to a new, later bedtime.
Move the bedtime to later in the night in increments, about a quarter of an hour each night (15 minute intervals), until you reach the ideal bedtime.
If you would like your child to sleep until 7 am, for example, your child’s bedtime should be around 8 pm.
If you would like your child to sleep until 8 am, move your child’s bedtime to 9 pm.
Give your child one to two weeks to adjust her sleep rhythm to the new bedtime.
It may take a couple of weeks before you see any shifts in her sleep patterns and until she adjusts fully to her new bedtime. , If your child is old enough to read numbers, you can use a visual association on her alarm clock to help her remember her wake up time.
It’s important that you transition to the new wake time gradually, so start by using a time that is a half hour or 15 minutes after her normal wake time for the first week and moving the number slowly until you reach the new wake time.Set up a digital clock in your child’s room, by her bed.
Take a piece of blank white paper and write the number of her wake time in large print.
For example, if her wake time is 7 am, but she tends to get up at 5 am, write “5:30”.
Tape the piece of paper to the digital clock.
Place it beside the hour and minute numbers so your child can see both set of numbers. , Sit down with your child and explain that once the number on the clock matches the number on the piece of paper, she can come and wake you up.
But she cannot wake you up any time before or after the number on the piece of paper.After several days to a week, move the number up again so it is a half hour closer to the new wake time.
For example, “6”.
Continue to do this over a period of two weeks until you reach the new wake time.
Once you reach the new wake time, you can keep the piece of paper on the clock, as this will now be the set wake up time for your child to follow. , For the first few days, it may be difficult for your child to follow the new wake up time and she may come in to your room before the new wake up time.
If this happens, it important that you ask her if the number on the clock matches the number on the piece of paper.
If she says no, remind her she is not to come out of bed until the two numbers match.Try to be firm about sending her back to bed until the numbers match, as if you allow her to wake you up, you will be woken up the following morning too early again.
About the Author
Brandon Myers
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow crafts tutorials.
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