My daughter is not a morning person .. i need ideas of how to best wake her up without causing a fight?

Question

she is 12 years old and A.D.D. and hormonal.. tried tv/ radio on she just yells and turns them off and goes back to sleep .. any other idea on how to get her up in a positive way where i am not the big bad mommy?

Answer 1

My 13 year old son is ADHD...He has a horrible time getting to sleep and getting up. I wake him up by playing his favorite songs loudly and dancing around his room and I dont stop until he is up and dancing too...or saying funny stuff to him...like "who's the cutesy wootsy teenage boy in this room? who's the big bad boy of (our road.)" Just whatever to make him laugh. He doesn't react well to "get the heck out of bed..." Do something funny...OR have her favorite snack. I do this too. (I've got an oreo cookie with your name on it!!)

Answer 2

I am A.D.D and was really bad with this same thing at that age. There's good news and bad news.......Bad News is that I STILL have major sleeping issues (can't fall asleep, can't wake up, etc.)and as hard as I try to fix it not much works. Good News is that there are a lot of things you could try. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you should try to avoid anything that is abrupt and loud, which I'm sure you're thinking most everything is right away in the morning:) But, let me give you some examples: turning the light on will probably just make her scream and feel like you're being rude - especially if you walk away after turning the light on, water will cause a violent reaction - I know this from firsthand experience and saying her name - or anything for that matter - consecutively will probably make her react pretty agressively also. I have an alarm clock that beeps, but it starts out quiet and builds up louder and louder the longer I wait to turn it off. I also purposely put it across the room from my bed so I know I can't just give it a good smack and pass out again - although I will warn that this doesn't always make much of a difference. I also set my alarm for about 20 - 30 mins. earlier than I actually HAVE to get up because I know it will take me that long before I truly face reality. Unfortunately, no matter what you do mornings will probably continue to be very difficult and moody for her, however if you give her something to look forward to every morning - something that she REALLY likes - that'll help motivate her to get up and give her a better attitude when she wakes up - just be careful because when I am real excited about something that's going on the next day I will sometimes not be able to sleep at all! Good luck and God bless
Oh and just to put your mind at ease (or maybe this would ease her more) it generally is something that gets better as you get older. I still have sleeping problems, but I have 2 kids and until having my 2nd and becoming a stay-at-home mom I also had a full time first shift job and I had only slight problems getting up in time for work and I have never slept through my kids waking up or gotten short with them when I first wake up - so, rest assured it won't be like this forever!

Answer 3

Take back control and don't worry if you look like a big bad mommy. That's the point - you're the mommy and what you say goes.
If she won't get out of bed on time and in a decent mood, send her to bed an hour earlier until you find the magic hour that turns her into a civil human being.
Letting her get away with this behavior now is not doing her any favors. She needs structure and a mom - not a buddy.
Good luck!

Answer 4

I saw an episode of "60 Minutes" awhile back about how teens really aren't meant for the schedule that most schools place on them. Their body clocks don't really start to function until 9 or 10 a.m. That said, your daughter needs to get up and moving in the morning, so my #1 suggestion is that she needs to go to bed earlier. If she's dragging in the morning, it's probably a lack of sleep. Her medicine may make her more tired, too, so an earlier bedtime is key. She's not too old to be told what time to go to bed. #2 is make sure there aren't bigger issues that make her want to avoid school. Being ADD and hormonal don't usually add up to wanting to sleep the day away. Make sure she's not suffering from a bit of depression. At her age, she should be enjoying so many things...despite those awkward years! Good luck!

Answer 5

Sounds like bad sleeping habits to me. This is just my personal experience, but it may work for you. I used to have alot of trouble waking up at a civilized hour and a civilized mood. At that time, I was getting maybe 5-6 hours of sleep a night. My doctor recommended a way to readjust my body clock. My bed-time to this day is 9:30, lights out at 10. If I'm feeling particularly restless and am having trouble unwinding to prepare for bed, I take one benadryl tablet at about 8:30. In the morning when my alarm goes off, the very first thing I do is turn on several lights. The brighter the light, the easier your body clock resets to prepare for the day. Once the sun comes up (I get up at the butt-crack of dawn), I'm good to go for the day.

I still have my days which I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, don't get me wrong, but it's NOTHING like it used to be. I don't want to sound like I'm recommending drugging your child, but benadryl is non-habit forming and a very gentle antihistamine. The antihistamine helps you sleep. It’s maybe, once every couple of months, that I might take it just to help me get to sleep.

Take it or leave it, but definitely take back control and get her to bed at an earlier time. She needs a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night. If she has to get up by 6, she needs to be asleep by 10. Even if she needs to be up by 7 or 8, I really wouldn't let her go to bed any later than 9:30, lights out by 10.

Also, a bedroom should not be for anything other than sleep. Remove the computer and TV, if she has one. These have been shown time and time again to be MOST detrimental to ANYONE'S sleeping habits. Have her do her homework in the living room, kitchen, or another room preferably away from distractions. Bedroom = ONLY sleep.

Answer 6

Your Doctor is right! My 5 year old was going through the same thing last year but her sister, who was sleeping right next to her was unaffected. The Doctor said it was Bug bites and that it was coming from her mattress/pillows, etc. He said that bugs are sometimes just drawn to certain people/blood types. My 5 year old was dealing with it for about a month or so and was COVERED with these sores. The Doctor suggested getting covers, which go over the mattress, & pillows, and willl keep the bugs from getting out and attacking her. I found the covers at Walmart in the pillow sections and have since put them on all beds/pillows in the house. Needless to say my 5 year old wakes up bug bite free now and her sores have all healed. Please listen to your Doctor, I know it doesn't make sense - we couldn't understand why when two kids were sleeping next to eachother only one would get bit, but it happened. Good luck to you and check out the covers, I hope things get better for her soon!

Answer 7

I wake our 12 year old up by asking her if she is up. When she responds, I leave her alone and come back five minutes later asking her again if she is up. I will repeat this process 3 or 4 times telling her what time it is each time. Sometimes if time is running out to get ready for school I will remind her that she will have a bad day if she goes to school late and unprepared. This seems kind of high maintenance, but that's what I do, and for the most part, it works.

Answer 8

I like the love and logic approach. Instead of you being the bad guy, the consequences are the bad guy.

If she doesn't get up on time what is the consequence?
- Late for school
- Leaves the house without breakfast
- Goes to school in her jammies with her hair a mess

Let her suffer once or twice and hopefully she will decide to start getting herself up.

Answer 9

sure, ask her what kind of sports or things she likes. then put her in one of those, one she likes, of course an activity that starts early so she wakes up early with a goal u know? if she likes that activity she cant deny going. u know? try it will help. keep her bussy, ooorr!! another activty but more physically like football, hockey, soccer, etc, and its doesnt matter at what time, she will be exhausted and will go to bed earlier.

good luck

Answer 10

Get a grip. She has to get up. My 5 yr old doesn't like it either but he has to get up and get his school clothes on, like it or not.
Pour cold water on her face and she'll be out of that bed like a fire alarm went off...stop babying her. It's time for her to wake up and smelll the coffee...this is life, get used to it.