(2016) Teach your child to sleep: solving sleep problems from newborn through childhood. (2017) Genetic basis of chronotype in humans: insights from three landmark GWAS. Kalmbach DA, Schneider LD, Cheung J, Bertrand SJ, Kariharan T, Pack AI, Gehrman PR. (2012) Normal sleep patterns in infants and children: a systematic review of observational studies. Galland BC, Taylor BJ, Elder DE, Herbison P. Make friends with other parents-to-be and new parents in your local area for support and friendship by seeing what NCT activities are happening nearby. You might find attending one of NCT's Early Days groups helpful as they give you the opportunity to explore different approaches to important parenting issues with a qualified group leader and other new parents in your area. Our support line offers practical and emotional support with feeding your baby and general enquiries for parents, members and volunteers: 03. This page was last reviewed in November 2021. As we know, the teenage years are particularly associated with later waking times (Roenneberg et al, 2007)! Then you’ll be banging on their doors, trying to get them to wake up, so look at the positives now at least… If not, they might be entertained by some books or a toy while you rest a little longer.Īnd try to remind yourself that children’s wake times do generally increase with age. Some parents choose to bring their child into bed with them in the morning, and if you’re lucky they might settle back to sleep.Older children might respond to using a reward chart each time they stay in their room. For older children, a ‘wake up’ bag with some favourite toys to occupy them might also buy you a few more Zzzs.
(See our article about how to help your baby adjust to clock changes for more ideas.) An alarm clock, or a ‘sunrise’ clock that gradually lights up at an acceptable wake up time, could also help them wait a while before bounding into your room.
An earlier bedtime can help some children sleep for longer (Mindell et al.Toddlers sometimes wake because they need a wee, so putting them on the toilet late at night while they're still asleep might help them sleep for longer (this is sometimes called ‘lifting’).If they’re getting cold in the morning, a sleeping bag is less likely to be kicked off than blankets.If you’re not coping with your child waking early and you think they (and you) would benefit from more sleep, you could try the ideas below. Is there an early bird in your relationship? How do you stop your child waking too early? Genes also influence our babies as larks or owls (Kalmbach et al, 2017). Sorry.Ĭhildren are more likely than adults to be early rising ‘larks’ rather than late to bed ‘owls’ (Roenneberg et al, 2007). Sleep patterns vary widely and some children need less sleep than others (Galland et al, 2012 Price et al, 2014). You could also consider whether your little one is actually getting enough sleep. Is something waking your child, such as a neighbour leaving for work or the heating coming on? Why does my child wake up early?īefore taking any action, it’s worth considering what the cause might be. But from around 24 months, most toddlers are waking between 7am and 8am (Mindell et al, 2016). It is normal for sleep patterns to change frequently in the first few years, and there is no consistent guide for all children.
There’s a big variation in the times under fives wake up, and even more variation for older children (Price et al, 2014). How common is it for children to wake up early?