Sometimes the problem starts with poor sleep. Children who resist bedtimes end up groggy and usually a little cranky. If you're concerned that sleep is a problem but you haven't noticed any bedtime resistance, contact the child's pediatrician. Otherwise, the problem might not rest with insufficient sleep at all. Your child just might not be a morning person. This guide will show you how to turn that morning grouch into an early worm.
Tools for Success
We like to start with simple solutions. If a child is old enough to begin school, that child is probably old enough to use an alarm clock. Even if you still plan to wake your child up each morning, the alarm clock is a good way to get the child used to the idea of getting up at a specific time each morning - even before learning how to read the time.
Just the sound of the alarm clock can be enough to get those eyes open. If you don't want to shock your child with a loud and obnoxious alarm, try setting it for five minutes after your first wake the child up. Put the alarm across the room, or even in a hallway, so that one must stand up and cross the room to turn it off. Even if your child falls back asleep, the alarm will wake him or her right back up.
Restructuring the Morning Routine
Routine makes the morning go round. Kids need structure to guide them through the drowsy early mornings. Having a small, healthy snack ready to go is a great way to start the morning right - along with some fresh water to wash away the pre-brushing morning taste. Try buying some fun bathrobes to persuade kids to crawl out from between the warm covers.
Sometimes kids dislike the morning just as much as grownups, and sometimes it's easy to forget how important a good morning actually is. A regular sleeping pattern is an important part of childhood health, and both undersleeping and oversleeping are unhealthy - just because your child wakes up on the wrong side of the bed does not mean he or she should have to miss an entire half of the equation.
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