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Home › Articles › Sleep Issues › The Early Bird: Waking up Too Early

The Early Bird: Waking up Too Early

An Excerpt From The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers & Preschoolers (McGraw-Hill, 2005)

By Elizabeth Pantley

Pages:  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  

  • Make a tape recording of your child's favorite songs or stories and show her how to operate the machine. Let her listen to her special tape when she wakes up.
  • Invite her into your room or your bed. Tell her that if she wakes up she can come quietly into your room. Let her climb in bed and snuggle with you or create a little resting area with a sleeping bag on the floor for her. You might even create a fort, such as using a blanket over a card table, and call it her morning nest. Put a few toys and books inside and see if she'll play quietly for a while before waking you.
  • Childproof, childproof, childproof! Make sure that your entire house is safe for your early riser so if she's wandering around while you're still asleep she won't get herself into trouble.
  • Practice. Once you've established some ideas for what you'd like to have happen in the morning, let your child show you exactly what she'll do when she gets up. By role-playing a few times she'll be comfortable doing as you wish when she wakes up so early in the morning – playing with her toys, climbing in bed with you, playing in her fort or listening to her music.
    • Will My Lark EVER Sleep Later?
    Oh, yes. Your lark will begin sleeping later in the morning – once she starts school and is required to wake up at 6 a.m. Frustrating, but true! As children get older many of them go through an Owl stage – finding it hard to fall asleep at a reasonable bedtime, but easy to sleep until noon.

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