Any suggestions for getting a 4 year old up in the morning?

Question

Unfortunatley..I have to work an hour from home. That means getting my son to daycare around 7:00 in the morning. He's such a good boy, but he's such a pain to get out of bed!! I was the same way when I was little so I guess I'm paying for it now...lol. He does eventually get out of bed..he just moves so slow. I've gotten in trouble at work for being late because of him. Any suggestions on how to get him moving in the mornings? He goes to bed around 8:00 every night and doesn't seem tired in the mornings...he just takes his time :0)

Answer 1

Make it exciting for him to get up. Place things for him to do, on the kitchen table, Crayons, paper. Tell him you need a picture to place at work from him.
Make breakfast fun, tell him to draw you happy faces on cereal, pancakes..etc with fruit in the morning, so you may eat it.
tell him he needs to get up and help you pick out your clothes, you cannot find what to wear.
let him help you put the toothpaste on your toothbrush.
In other words make him feel important and useful to you.
Let him know you cannot function without him in the mornings.

Answer 2

Alot of kids have their set schedules the same way we do. However they sometimes lack the understanding or reasoning to be as punctual as we need them to be. That being said I would start trying to rise him earlier. Also, if you have the daycare feed him breakfast try offering a snack or juice to get the ball rolling. When we wake our blood sugar levels are at their lowest, and you can't really get moving on an empty stomach, esp children. So we have bought some Welch's fruit snacks. They are really good and have lots of Vitamin C! Also, give him a Flinstone vitamin. Once you establish a routine he should be quicker to rise thinking he is getting his treats! Also they will give him more energy to get the sleep out of his muscles.

There is a great show on Playhouse Disney that runs all throughout the morning. It is called Breakfast with Bear, it shows this really cute wake up dance. Get ready to get ready for a brand new day! We have ours shake out and stretch out to start out their morning, eat, get dressed etc. Their energy seems boundless!

Good Luck!
Amy

Answer 3

Some kids are just impossible to get out of bed -- I have an almost-14-year-old who is a bear to get up.

He might be dragging his feet because he doesn't like daycare or he's feeling pushed and is being rebellious in a quiet manner. He might think if you lose your job, you'll stay home.

Have a heart-to-heart Mommy-and-me chat with him over dinner at McDonald's or some place equally kid-friendly. Don't excuse your choice or tell him why you go, just *listen* -- I'm sure he wants you to be home with him because all kids at this age want their mommies. When he's done expressing himself, repeat his comments back to him (reflectively respond). Then we move in with reality. Explain simply that Mommy isn't going to stop working even if she loses this job because she's late, but you hear how he feels. Then work with him to find Mommy-and-Me solutions for quality-quantity time. Think of things HE wants to do.

While it might not do too much to change the slow mornings, it will at least make him feel like he's not being shuffled and shuttled around like a nuisance in Mommy's life. I know it's not popular to say that boys especially at this age want their Mommies desperately, but ask any adult who was in day care as a toddler and that adult will probably either say, "I'd rather have stayed at home but what can you do?" or "Well, my mother wasn't very maternal, so being at daycare was okay."

I was a stay-at-home mother when my son was 4, but that was because he had cancer. At that point, my husband and I decided because of medical issues over the following ten years, it would be better for me to stay home. While, yes, I would prefer to go to work to earn money towards the family (pay down debt faster, etc. etc.), at this point in time I am at home because of his educational needs.

Answer 4

Have her take a bath at evening and set out her very own outfits the evening in the past. whilst she gets up in the morning do no longer conflict along with her. tell her as quickly as to consume, dress, tooth, and hair. Then bypass away her be. If she refuses to do those issues take her to college the way she is it quite is time for her to be taught the implications for her very own movements. additionally maybe you predict slightly too plenty from her do you help her brush her hair and make her breakfast for her or are you purely busy getting your self waiting? maybe she isn't getting sufficient sleep at evening so she is drained in the morning is she getting a minimum of 10 hours of sleep? in case you have had the comparable ordinary for 4 years she can be bored and it of course isn't working for you so replace the ordinary slightly.

Answer 5

Lay out his clothes for him the night before. Same with backpack and anything else he needs to take to daycare with him.

Get him a loud, obnoxious alarm clock. We got my 7 year old who is hard to get out of bed one that talks, vibrates and shakes his bed.

No TV in the morning unless he is dressed and ready.

Some kind of incentive for cooperating each week. A special dessert on Friday nights? Getting to stay up late on Friday night?

Answer 6

One thing I have recently started doing to help my four year old son get out of bed easier is turning the light in his room on about 10 minutes before I actually wake him up. We also have a little thing we say about the sun being awake...since on Mommy's day off he knows he can get out of bed and wake me up as long as the sun is awake, and I sing Its time to get up, its time to get up, its time to get up in the morning.....like my Dad would when I was little, which is pretty annoying, but works!! He is also pretty sluggish about getting ready, so I try to have a little routine, he uses the restroom, washes his face and hands, eats breakfast while watching one 30 min show, then he gets dressed, brushes his hair and teeth, and any time he has left before time to go he can play, draw, read, whatever he wants while I finish getting ready.

Answer 7

I have 3 to get ready.
Sometimes one will turn a TV program on which helps wake them up.
Then I'll turn off so they can focus on getting ready.
But I still have to help my 5 year old with a few things in the morning like laying his clothes out just right and getting his shoes on or we'll never get out of here

Answer 8

he is 4 right? physically pull him out of bed, nothing voilent or anything but just like when he was a baby you pull away the covers and pick him up out of bed and make him stand up, then you watch over him getting ready, make sure he does it at a reasonable pace, if needed help him with the difficult parts like dresseing himself and brushing teeth.

it may mean you getting up earlyer and getting yourself ready before him.

or and this isnt going to be popular with him, put him to bed much earlyer, my 5 year olds go to bed at 7pm so a 4 year old at 8pm seems a little late, if you put him to bed earlyer he should naturaly get up and be awake sooner, my twins wake up at about 6:30 and then wake me up!

i am guessing your single, but if you not and if dad doesnt have such a tight time table as you, get him to do it, and you just focas on yourself.

Answer 9

Make it fun for him. Is it possible to wake him 10 minutes earlier to read him is favorite story? My Mom used to wake me up every Friday morning with a very loud chorus of, "IT'S FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY! I thought it was hilarious. Try waking him up and being silly with him for a few minutes in the morning. Hide under the covers from the tickle monster, and always seems to find you both anyway. Something like that might help.

Answer 10

What has worked for me is putting on music the child likes.

Usually a video game soundtrack.

It can make a kid jump right out of bed.