For a lot of my clients,
spring forward and the time change fixed their early rising problem, but not
for all of them. Early Rising is common for babies and young children. Waking between the hours of 6 and 8 a.m. is typical for most young children. But waking up before 6 a.m.
and being ready to play is an early rising problem you must address.Understand the Cause
Early rising is typically
caused by one of these four problems and identifying what is the cause, will
help you find your fix.
- Too late of a bedtime
- Not enough daytime sleep
- Staying awake too long between end of afternoon nap and bedtime
- Going to bed too drowsy.
Earlier Bedtime
Keeping your child up
later will not help them sleep later in the morning and could be the cause of
early rising. For the first 5 years of a child's life, bedtime is usually
between 7 and 8 p.m.
Napping
That old myth of keeping
your child awake all day and they will sleep better at night, is an
untruth. Skipped or short naps will create early-rising, more night waking, and poor quality of sleep - not to mention and over tired and fussy child. Try to
pay attention to the schedule and awake windows to increase your daytime sleep. Or review my blog on sample schedules for children from 6 months to 5 years old.
Awake Windows
Awake windows are
basically periods and when you can expect your child to be awake between his or
her nap. Too large of a window between the end of the last nap of the day and
bedtime can also cause early-rising. For a child on one-nap the average awake
window is around 4 hours. You may also review my blog on schedule, naps and awake windows.
Medical condition
Sleep apnea is
frequently overlooked in children and can cause a very stubborn early-rising problem so speak to your child's doctor if you suspect any medical issues that have not been addressed. If your child regularlly snores or you hear them gasping in their sleep, please discuss this with your
pediatrician.
Dark Room
Ensure that your child's
room is dark in the early morning hours. Purchasing room darkening or blackout
shades / curtains will block out the most light. Too much light can
definitely cause your child to wake up earlier than normal.
Hunger
For a child under 8
months of age the cause of early-rising could be hunger. If you think this is
the cause of your early rising, try an experiment. Give your child a dream feed. This means you
would feed your baby one more time before you go to bed. The hope is that baby
will eat and go right back to sleep. If after a few days you do not notice a
change in the early rising you could end this experiment and rule out hunger.
Going to Bed too Drowsy
Make sure your child is
going to bed awake. It should take your child at least five minutes to fall
asleep when you put them into their crib. Many parents get confused by this
term and put their child into bed too sleepy. If you are putting your child to
bed, too drowsy - they will not be able to put themselves back to sleep in the
early morning hours which is the hardest time of day to practice that skill.
Have a Morning Routine
Make a big deal about
the morning wake up and have a morning routine that could include: opening up the blinds, turning on the light, singing a good morning song and having the happy voice when you greet your baby. This
will help your child to differentiate between morning time versus sleep time.
Sweet Dreams,
Michelle S. Donaghy
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