Argh! My Child Wakes Too Early!
Do you have a child who continually wakes too early in the morning, ready to start their day? Early morning waking is actually quite a commonly reported issued amongst parents and many are seeking ways in which they can push their child’s wake window out to a desirable time.
So, let me get down to the ins and outs of early waking so you can start to path the way to later wakes!
What is Early Morning Waking?
Early morning waking is when a child wakes up at any point between 30 minutes and 2 hours earlier than the desired wake-up time and does not go back to sleep. So, if you are aiming for a 7pm-7am routine and your child wakes between 5am and 6.30am, this is considered their early morning waking window.
Why is it so hard to resolve?
I believe that resolving early morning waking is one of the most challenging and longest process. It can take several weeks of using the right approach and strategy to change your child’s wake time to a more appropriate time of morning. This can be due to a number of reasons:
Typically from 3am, this is the lightest sleep phase and resettling can be difficult
Your child has already had a long block of sleep so their sleep drive is at its lowest
Melatonin levels start to ease off in those early hours, in preparation for waking
Increased adrenalin levels from over tiredness can make it harder for your child to resettle
You haven’t identified WHY it’s happening and are using the wrong approach!
To truly resolve early morning waking and guide your child to your desired wake time, we really need to know what is triggering it to happen in the first place. And, is your child ACTUALLY early morning waking, or are they just waking too early to start their day?!
What Causes Early Morning Waking?
Interestingly, yet annoying, there are 6 leading causes of early morning waking. Yes, you heard right, there’s 6 reasons! And before you an even start to create a plan to resolve your early waking issue, you will need to determine what is the actual cause!