I have had a lot of parents contact me and ask about early mornings in the last couple of weeks.
It is likely due to the change in weather and they are getting cold in the morning. It could be something else for your little one, here are a few tips to help.
Now when I talk about an early morning I am talking about a child who wakes before 6.30am.
So what can you do to prevent an early morning waking, here are a few things to think about.
- Firstly make sure the room is dark, if it is light it can encourage them to wake.
- Are they warm enough? You can try a warmer sleeping bag or turn the heater on in the early hours of the morning.
- Is their a noise in the morning that is disturbing them? It could be traffic outside, someone else in the house getting up. White noise can help with this.
- What time are the naps? Are they getting ready to drop a nap, or their first nap of the day could be too early. Try to keep it after 9am.
- What time is bedtime? If bedtime is too late they may be overtired. If your little one is overtired this can encourage them to wake early.
- When your child wakes early how do you respond? If you little one does wake early encourage them to go back to sleep, keep the room dark and interactions to a minimum until the desired wake up time.
Their can be a number of reasons a child can wake early, figuring out why is the key.
What time does your child wake up?