3.5 year old waking up at 5am

[Anonymous]

My former amazing, 7-7 sleeper is now up in the 5am hour on a regular basis. He switched to a toddler bed, dropped the paci and dropped his nap all in the last few months (bed was about 4-5 months ago, paci dropping just happened, naps may happen 1-2 times a week but are mostly gone).

He has no trouble going to bed at 7 and seems ready to do so, but we’ve always had a strict bath/bedtime routine so I suspect he just doesn’t know he could protest this. But he’s up and at em at 5, 5:30.

Is he just getting older and doesn’t require 12 hours of sleep? Is it the summer months and the brightness (despite his blackout blinds)? Is he ready for an 8pm bedtime, or maybe 7:30?

He’s my oldest so appreciate advice from moms who have been through this stage before. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I would push his bedtime back by 30 minutes and see if that helps. I think this transition, away from baby/toddler sleep patterns to “big kid” patterns, is really hard for parents. You get acclimated to naps and early bedtimes and structure their lives around them. But as kids age, they no longer fall asleep easily when it’s light out.

One thing we did when our kid went through this is help develop some independence. We started letting her look at books in her bed on her own for 15 minutes after we’d done bedtime but before turning out her lamp. This allows us to keep an earlier bedtime but allows her to fall asleep a little later, which helps prevent super early morning wake ups.

We also developed opportunities for her to be more independent in the morning, so an earlier wake up didn’t automatically mean we had to get up at 5:30. She couldn’t get herself breakfast at age 3, but she could use the bathroom solo (assuming just pee) and could engage in some solo play activities. Then when she got hungry, she’d come wake us up (closer to 6:30 or even 7). This really helped us stay sane during this weird sleep time, with fewer 5am wake ups. Meanwhile her bedtime slowly moved from 7 to 8 and sometimes even 8:30 when she reads in bed for a bit, and now she naturally wakes up at 6:30 or 7. Our family schedule is much more in sync.

[Anonymous]

Time to teach him how to quietly occupy himself until 7

[Anonymous]

When mine did this it was because he was waking up to pee then couldn't get back to sleep. We ended up waking him at 10 pm to go, then he could make it till a more normal time in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Ouch! I would definitely try a later bedtime. 7 is really early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ouch! I would definitely try a later bedtime. 7 is really early.

Is it an American thing to put kids to bed at 7pm I wonder?

[Anonymous]

You’re expecting too much sleep. I agree you should try pushing bed later like 7:30-8. Might be tough with such early morning wakes but it’s like he’s in a different time zone and he needs to adjust.

[Anonymous]

12 hours of sleep???! Let kid stay up later into the evening. You are expecting this kid to sleep all the time. Tell your kids they need to entertain themselves in their own rooms until the sun is all the way up (7-8). You can read a book in bed, etc. Just be quiet enough that everyone else can get more sleep.

But putting this kid to bed at 8:30-9 will help a lot. Also, take this kid outside to run around at a playground and make your kid start walking more often. Stop using the stroller so much. Your kid will sleep like a brick once you start making him or her walk.

[Anonymous]

Push back the bedtime. 7 is very early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ouch! I would definitely try a later bedtime. 7 is really early.

Is it an American thing to put kids to bed at 7pm I wonder?

??? Most Americans I know put their kids to bed later than that. I think it’s just an OP thing.

[Anonymous]

12 hours of sleep is a very normal thing to expect at this age without a nap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12 hours of sleep is a very normal thing to expect at this age without a nap.

Until it doesn’t work anymore…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12 hours of sleep is a very normal thing to expect at this age without a nap.

Until it doesn’t work anymore…

Well 10 hours definitely isn't enough. That's what my 6 year old does. The bedtime isn't the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12 hours of sleep???! Let kid stay up later into the evening. You are expecting this kid to sleep all the time. Tell your kids they need to entertain themselves in their own rooms until the sun is all the way up (7-8). You can read a book in bed, etc. Just be quiet enough that everyone else can get more sleep.

But putting this kid to bed at 8:30-9 will help a lot. Also, take this kid outside to run around at a playground and make your kid start walking more often. Stop using the stroller so much. Your kid will sleep like a brick once you start making him or her walk.

While I agree with this in general, not all kids will “sleep like a brick” with enough exercise. Kids are different. I’ve had parents tell me my kid “needs more exercise”, and often they have kids who will play hard at the playground for two hours and then pass out the minute they go to bed. But my kid will run around for 20 minutes at the playground, then spend 40 minutes playing some pretend game with grass and sand while sitting quietly. And at bedtime she will take longer to fall asleep because her brain “feels busy.” She just has a different energy and speed, and there’s no point in trying to turn her into a “play hard, sleep like a brick” kid. Different kids are different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:12 hours of sleep is a very normal thing to expect at this age without a nap.

Until it doesn’t work anymore…

Well 10 hours definitely isn't enough. That's what my 6 year old does. The bedtime isn't the problem.

My 3.5 year old sleeps 8:30-7. If we had 7 pm bedtime then she’d be up at 5:30 too.