Maybe you thought, hoped, wished, or dreamed that your zombie days were over when Baby started sleeping through the night, but many parents have a second sleepy challenge to face in the second year: early rising toddlers. If your toddler is waking up in the wee hours of the morning and trying to start their day too soon, chances are that your day is getting an unwelcome jumpstart as well.
Why so early?
This might be hard to hear, but waking up early is actually pretty typical of children this age. It could just be that Baby‘s internal clock says it’s time to get up at 6 a.m., so that’s when they leap out of bed. If they seem energetic and refreshed despite the early hour, you’re looking at a typical case of Early Bird Syndrome.
On the other hand, if your toddler tends to crash a few hours after waking up or takes unusually long naps during the day, it could be that they isn&;t getting enough sleep at night. It doesn’t make a ton of sense, but if Baby goes to bed too late, they can wake up early and feel extra tired throughout the day. Toddlers need 11 to 14 hours of sleep per night, so if Baby is groggy during the day, take another look at their bedtime.
A third option (and the most fixable one) is that something is waking Baby up in the morning, which is what gives them the great idea to come wake you up!
Is this going to be forever?
Um…maybe. If there’s nothing in particular causing Baby to wake up when they do, and they are functioning well during the day, you might just have an early riser on your hands, at least until the teenage years hit.
There are, however, a few things that could be waking Baby up early. Their aforementioned bedtime could be too early or too late, they could be sick or hungry, they could be waking up because of outside noises or light, or there could be developmental changes (teething, growth spurts) or life changes (sleeping without pacifier, sleeping alone) making it difficult for them to sleep.
What can you do to help?
- Bedtime is too early or too late: If Baby‘s bedtime is too early, causing them to naturally wake up a little early without tiredness, try putting them to bed a little later. If they are waking up tired or becomes tired within an hour or two, set their bedtime a little earlier. You can also adjust nap times a little until you find just the right sleep scheduling if needed.
- Sickness or hunger: If Baby finds themself hungry in the morning, you can try giving them a snack before they go to bed. When they are sick, you can try child-safe medicine or keeping them in your room so you can quickly attend to them when they wake up because of a symptom.
- Outside noises or light: If Baby is waking up because they hear cars outside or the toilet flush in the house, you might try putting a white noise machine in their room to help control volume levels and help them sleep. For light, you can try blackout curtains (or just regular curtains).
- Ch-ch-changes: If there are developmental or life changes that are disturbing Baby‘s sleep, just hold tight and understand that this sleep pattern is temporary and will stop when Baby passes through this phase of life, whether it’s a growth spurt or just getting used to a new situation.
If the problem is made worse by Baby refusing to go back to bed when you tell them that it’s not time to get up yet, there are a few strategies for coping. One especially useful one is setting an alarm for the time you want them to get up that turns on a light or music when it’s really morning. If they get up before that, treat it just like they had woken up in the middle of the night; don’t let it slide just because it’s close to morning. You can go check on them, but leave them with a firm “see you in the morning,” and make a big deal about waking them up when it really is morning.
When you do get these rise-and-shine morning visits from Baby, try to look on the bright side: they are in a great spot to make you breakfast in bed one of these days!
Sources
- “How Much Sleep Do Babies and Kids Need?” National Sleep Foundation. National Sleep Foundation. Accessed June 5, 2017. https://sleepfoundation.org/excessivesleepiness/content/how-much-sleep-do-babies-and-kids-need
