How do I get her to sleep later in the mornings?

Question

My 21 month old daughter wakes up between 5.30 and 5.45 every morning. She goes to bed between 7.15 and 7.45pm.

There is a blackout blind and curtains with fairly thick lining at the window in her room.

She generally has 1 nap per day which lasts about 40 minutes. She is a happy, active, placid and loving child.

When she wakes up in the mornings, she won't stay in her cot and play with toys or books - she wants company (mine!)

Anyone got any suggestions how I can get her to sleep a bit longer in the mornings? Even sleeping until 6.30am would be a luxury for me!

Answer 1

Sounds like you have an early bird. Many children go through this during the summer. Somehow they just know when the sun is up. I was one of these obnoxious children, and now have one myself. She's 2 and a half, still naps most days about 2 hours, and wakes up before 7:30am almost every day, sometimes earlier. Putting her to bed earlier doesn't seem to effect what time she wakes up, just how cranky she is. Later bedtime, crankier baby.
Try adjusting her bedtime, if that doesn't work just go to bed earlier yourself. I know it sucks, but according to experts waking automatically at the same time each day indicates healthy sleep habits and that she'll have an easier time when she starts school.

Answer 2

Know the feeling. My 18 month old goes to bed at 8:00 and is up and running at 6:30 when her 8 week old sister gets up and wants to play and everything. What I would do is try sending her to bed thirty-fourty minutes later. If she still wakes up, buy a few videos and put a video that will stay on for a while and tell her that these people can keep her company. Or maybe she could lay in your bed while you sleep, just make her promise she'll keep quiet.

Answer 3

My son is 15months old. He has always been in a good routine with his sleep time. At present he goes to bed at 7.00 - 7.30 pm and usually sleeps right through. He often wakes up when my husband goes to work in the mornings at 6.30am ish and will cry. We found that if he has a bottle (only 3-4 ounces) he will drink it and go back to sleep, usually until gome 8.00am.

However some children need less sleep than others. My son has a 1 1/2 - 2hr nap every afternoon and will also sleep for the odd 20mins in the say if we are driving or he has been verya active.

What does your daughter do if you just leave her in there. I am sure she would eventually get used to it not being time to get up. Put some toys in her cot if she doesn't already.

You could try giving her a let bedtime but if you are anything like me i then feel that that cuts ou my time for making dinner, spending with my husband and putting my feet up. I think 7-7.30 is an acceptable time for a child of that age to be going to bed.

Get her into a good bedtime routine (if she isn't already) make sure she has milk or something right before bed (is it that she wakes up hungry or just because she is awake?), give her a nice warm bed and make sure the room is nice and cosy for her.

Personally if it was me with my child i woudld give them some milk and leave them to it. it is unacceptable for them to want to get up at that time - parents need sleep too!

Give it a try and see what she doesn. It may seem bad if she cries but we did leaving my son to cry and go to sleep himself from the age of 3months and he has been a dream ever since.

Good luck x

Answer 4

Make her new bed time 8:00 or 8:30. She's almost 2...I don't think thats too late. As she gets adjusted you may even find she's napping longer during the day for you. Don't give her a nap untill like 1:30. That way she'll be able to make it to 8:00 or 8:30 without being a Grump about it. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

we got the bunny alarm clock. check local baby stores, about £20. when bunny is awake, then it's time to get up. also, check the room really is dark, our blackout curtains are too far forward, away from the window because of the design of the rail. we had to make blinds as well. also, is she hungry or thirsty? put a beaker of water where she can reach it. is she still dry? maybe the next size up nappy will have a bit more absorbancy. does anyone else in the family get up at that time and disturb her? my son always woke up about 6:30 until my partner went away for a couple of weeks with work. now i have to wake him about 8! good luck, make a deal with her. if she stays in her own bed until bunny is awake, then she can have a sticker and a trip to the park. use whatever treat works for her. get a calendar for her room and put a smiley face on every day she stays and if she gets a line (a week) then she gets a big treat. i reccomend the bunny with all of my heart, it is so simple and clear, even to a one year old. many of them don't know when getting up time is.

Answer 6

Keeping her up later by fifteen minutes a week for several weeks might help to get her to sleep in later in the mornings. It's worth a shot, right? My kids don't sleep as late as I'd like them to either but they already go to bed at 8:30pm. I would say she is getting the amount of sleep she needs and that's why she's up so early. Again, try pushing back bedtime. Remember though, that it will take more than a few days to truly affect the time she gets up. You'll need a month of steadily putting her down later and later! Good luck!

Answer 7

i hate to say this but my son did the same for years nothing, and i mean nothing worked - he is 13 years old and still an early riser - tell me about it its awful, i am constantly tired - the strange thing is - if we had a day by te beach, or a busy day havving fun, tearing about, late nite, we'd expect him to sleep in - quite the opposite - even now when he's busy he sleeps less than wjen he has a nice relaxing day. i have found also that a spell in front of the telly then a story, a bit of quit calm time before bed helps a little - sorry i can't be of any more help - i've been looking for an aswer to this question for many years. good luck

Answer 8

I completely understand. When are her naptimes? I put my son down to take a nap around 11:30 and he will wake up around 2. and he is in bed by 8:00 latest. Usually he wakes up around 7:30. As long as I am consistant with his naptimes he seems well rested. So what time is her naps???

Answer 9

My toddler is two and a half and I started shortening his daytime sleep about six months ago by ten minutes at a time over a four week period until he no longer needed a daytime sleep. I also started putting him to bed at 7.00pm instead of half past seven. I have to wake him up now at 7.30am and at weekends he sleeps until around 8.00am. By slowly dropping his daytime nap he slept for longer at night. Hope this helps. By the way I've heard that keeping them up later just means that they get over tired and wound up and their sleep quality is poorer and they will just be unmanageable the next day. I know it sounds silly to try an earlier bedtime but it does work - honestly!!!

Answer 10

this sounds harsh, but try keeping her up a little later in the evening. Playing with her until about an hour before bedtime, then the whole bath, book, bottle thing seems to work for my son....the later time and the wind down time may help...

good luck, and happy sleeping....