Thayer's internal clock goes off almost every morning in the 5 a.m. hour -- no matter what time he goes to sleep. Believe me, we've tested it! So, we've told him that, unless there is an emergency, he needs to stay in his room until 6 a.m. I've tried extending that until 7 a.m. on Saturdays, but, inevitably, he has to use the restroom or he now ends up in the kitchen (since he is tall enough to reach bowls, glasses, pitchers, etc.) -- all of which we, as well as his sister (who does sleep a little more) all hear. I have to add at this point, too, that Rob has had something every Saturday morning for at least the last month that has required him to rise to an alarm by 6:30 a.m., too, and then Sundays he always has to get up around 5:50 a.m. to attend to Church duties. So, Thayer knows we are up, too.
Here's my question: How can you get a child to sleep longer? Any suggestions on fighting fatigue?
10 years ago
5 comments:
One of my favorite books is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. It has guidelines on establishing healthy sleep patterns from infant to I think even teenage years. Perhaps you could check it out at your local library. Good luck!
Uncle Dee Says: get him a morning paper route or have him go to early morning swim practice!
Richard's clock has been set like that forever! No matter how late he is up he wakes at 6 am. At least we get the extra hour! I've told him the same thing. He needs to stay in his room and if he has to get up he has be be SILENT! When he was little we talked about how quietly the native Americans could sneak through the woods and surprise their prey or enemies. We practiced walking on clouds, closing doors holding on to door knobs and turning them softly instead of clacking the doors shut, etc...
I wish you much patience and hopefully as he gets a bit older he will catch on!
Molly does the same thing - especailly when she hears the shower go on! School morning are not so bad but the weekends drive me crazy ;)
My girls do the same thing--always have, although Leah would sleep longer if Brita would let her. It makes me nuts when Leah is peacefully slumbering, getting her much-needed sleep, and Brita wakes her up. Once they were about four, we'd just let them wake up and have the run of the house. It's the only way I've been able to maintain any degree of sanity. If you find any tips or tricks that actually work, pass them along!
Jackson is my early bird. He has two rules: do not wake anybody up, and do not wake anybody up. When he was Thayer's age, he absolutely knew how to turn on the TV downstairs and VERY QUIETLY watch it. If we could hear it he got a big unpleasant early morning rant from his frazzled mom. I also used to set out a plastic (like rubbermaid or tupperware) bowl that is NOISELESS and a plastic spoon so I couldn't hear any clanking, and put cereal in it. The milk was tricky, and sometimes he just had to eat dry cereal but now he's pretty good with milk. I suppose you could set out a glass of milk in the fridge for him to pour on his cereal. I am NOT a morning person, even after four kids, and so they've learned to just go downstairs and watch TV and forage QUIETLY for food (crackers, bread, etc) that can be eaten QUIETLY in the living room. Luckily they're pretty responsible unlike my sisters kids (who also tried my ideas) and her son poured out the entire box of cereal on the living room floor and then a gallon of milk and was happy as a lark. You know your son the best and can see if the "get food by yourself quietly" idea will really work.
on the inauguration prayer, my goodness, was I disappointed also in the lack of reverence. I didn't mind so much the applause or shouting during the prayer (this is a black cultural thing, as I'm sure you know) but the "may the white do what's right" comment--PLEASE. DIDN'T WE JUST ELECT A BLACK PRESIDENT? That was the "right" thing, wasn't it? And he's also as much white as he is black, but people would be horrified if anybody referred to Obama as white, which he is every bit as much. Weary of the double-standards and the ridiculous rhetoric.
thanks! I feel like that was quite a catharsis for me.
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