How do you get your kids up for school in the mornings??

Question

This is nuts!! I know it takes a few minutes to wake up BUT ok, i have 3 kids 2 8 year olds that are in 2nd grade and my son is in kindergarten. He's easier to wake up...i can still make his stuffed animals talk to wake him up and he's just easier to get up in a good mood. BUT my daughters.....one will get up...take her clothes off and then just sit there in the bed and the other one...OMG...she's just like me in the morning...after i wake her up she keeps going back to sleep and then she get's as ill as a hornet!!!

Are they old enough to put alarm clocks in their rooms and will it work? It just takes me too long to get them up and then by the time i do they are all in bad moods. They go to bed at 8:30 and are asleep by 9:30 so they are getting plenty of sleep....what can i do????

Is it too early to make them start getting up on their own???

Or maybe i should have already started making them get up on their own...

How can i go about "training" them to get up on their own!!!!

Answer 1

Oh sister I hear you! Getting kids this age up can be a stressful way to start the day. Just like at bedtime, a morning routine can help. Have the kids pick out their clothes the night before to avoid rushing in the morning. Have a line up set for who gets the bathroom in what order. When all else fails, I have told my kids that not being able to get up in the morning means they need more sleep, so for every 5 minutes delay in getting out of bed they get 10 minutes of earlier bedtime that night, and I stick to it. As a last resort, I sing opera to them until they get up. No one seems to appreciate my singing...

Answer 2

What time do they need to get up? Maybe they aren't getting enough sleep.

My son will turn 8 in just a couple of weeks and is in 2nd grade. Lights go out between 8 to 8:30 at night and he has to be on the bus at 7:30 so his alarm goes off at 6:30.

He does have an alarm clock. I got a really obnoxious one that talks and vibrates his whole bed. Some mornings are better than others, but isn't that the way it is for all of us! :-)

I have gotten ice cubes to put in their PJ's a time or two in order to get them moving!

Answer 3

I have a 7 and 8 year old and I have NO problem getting them out of bed at 5:30 in the morning. It's all about routine. TRUST me on this one. We put our kids to bed at 7pm. Yes, it is early but it is well worth it. They are usually asleep by 7:30. At this young of age they still need about 10-12 hours of sleep. They work and play hard during the day. People have looked at me like I was crazy for putting them to bed so early but it DOES work. Not only do they get up right when they are told, but they are wide awake and in a good mood and well rested. PLUS, it gives you (and your husband if married) a few quality hours of alone time to get needed chores done or just some relaxation. It may be hard at first to get them in the habit of such a routine but once you do you will be so happy...and relieved when they wake up so well.

Answer 4

Alarm clock is a good starting point. When my husband was young he had two of them. Both on the opposite sides of the room set ten minutes apart from each other. He still needs to be shaken awake! His biggest problem though, is that he goes to bed too late. I would have them start getting ready for bed at 7:30pm and in their beds by 8, asleep by 8:30. It sounds like they need more sleep. Both my 4year old and 7 year old follow this routine and can wake up on their own and in good spirits. Good Luck!

Answer 5

My stepdaughter was pulling the same stuff when she was in second grade. I would do this...

Get an alarm clock and I hate to say this but set it for an hour earlier then they normally get up. Do this even on the weekends and get them up at the same time every day until they learn to get up on their own. I know how much a parent wants to sleep in on a weekend but you have to train them to get up at the same time.

I would do this for about 2 weeks and if they are still having trouble then maybe you need to set their bedtime earlier to like 7pm. This will force them up sooner or later because they have to go to bed earlier if they do not get up for you. However, I would let the ones that get up go to bed at their normal time as a reward.

I know this sounds like a punishment but it is better then running around in the morning and almost being stressed out and late every morning. Also, you can try a reward system. If someone gets up then they get 50 cents. If the others dont then they get nothing.

Answer 6

Well, better late than never!?!?! I believe the 8yr olds should be able to get up on their own, with the aid of an alarm clock by now. Maybe if you try to get a fun-type of alarm clock for them, (they have all sorts now) they will enjoy the idea of rising in the morning to a SpongeBob alarm clock or some sort of other characters. I did this with my son plus I invested in a teaching clock as well so both ideas went hand and hand. He made it into a fun activity in the morning to see how long it will take him to brush his teeth, get his clothes on etc.etc. After a while he was waking me up!!!

Answer 7

They are still to young to make them get up themselves. If they wont do it for you, then they wont wake up on their own. I do however suggest you turn on the light and put on a little music to get them up and going. You can also try a cold wet wash cloth and wipe their face off with it when waking them up.

I would reccomend having them in bed by 8:00 and trying to get them asleep by 8:30. 9:30 is a bit late for them at that age.

I wish the best of luck to you and I hope this helps!

Answer 8

Our 9 yr old, I just have to tell her. Daddy used one of his late mornings when she just wouldn't get up to teach her the consequences of not getting up when she was told to. He woke her three times then just let her go until 10 minutes before the school bus showed up. Then he marched into her room, pulled the mattress out from under her and followed her all through the house to "hurry, hurry, hurry" till she was at the bus stop. She never did that again. Our 7 year old just heard the story and her sister confirmed it, we've never had a problem with her. Our three year old, after the second time of trying to wake her in the mornings, I pull the pillow out from under her head. That seems to work for now.

Answer 9

Try sending them to bed earlier, say 7:30 and see if they can wake up earlier too. They must also be relax before sleeping, no heavy meals or the like or any spooky stories that will bother their subconscious when sleeping. Try many possible solutions and observe what made them late riser, even when you send them to bed early.

Answer 10

absolutely not. put an alarm clock (loud and annoying as possible) on the opposite side of the room so they actually have to get up and turn it off. i have a son who's in kindergarten and he wakes up before i do and my daughter who's 4 and in pre-k however is a nightmare!!! she doesn't want to wake up cranky and moody. luckily right now she's small enough i can just pick her up and get her out of bed and dress her etc. i find if my son wakes her up she's more receptive to waking up. if all else fails send the exuberant kindergartner into their rooms to jump on the beds and bug them til they get up and get going.