Early Morning Awakening

I have found that when my kids are waking up that early it is because they didn't get enough sleep. People often don't understand that if your child is sleep deprived that they will tend to have sleep disturbances and wake up even earlier. they instead will feed the deprivation and figure their kid doesn't need the sleep and put him to bed later, hence making the problem worse. I would try putting him to bed earlier, and make sure his afternoon nap is not too late in the day.

I would not allow him to go downstairs and watch TV by himself at this age. Give him some picture books and explain that if he wakes up too early he can read his books quietly. I also got my kids a clock that lights up at whatever acceptable hour that you choose.

Having said all of that, I will say that some kids just have an internal alarm clock that is set earlier than most. My daughter used to be up at 5 every day, no matter what time we put her to bed. With a lot of training, we have managed to get her to go to around 6 (she is 9 now). I still think she could do better with some more sleep, but I am also a late riser.

It's good that he'll entertain himself. If he needs more sleep he'll make up for it with his nap. I suggest he's waking up because he's had all the sleep he needs for the moment.

Put up a baby gate or if he can climb over one add another one on top of that one to keep him in his room. Be sure that his room is a safe place to be.

Baby gate LOCKED...2.5 is way too young to be going out of his room (let alone downstairs) that early. When he wakes early and you hear him at the gate...do get up, go in, especially if you are potty training, see if he needs to go, give him a drink of water, and put him back in bed. Tell him he can look at his books, but must stay in bed until you let him know it's time to get up for breakfast.

If he sleeps with the door shut then put a door knob cover on the inside knob so he can't leave the room alone. I agree that he shouldn't be wandering the house unattended like that. Or find something that will let you know when he is awake. What if he sees something Scarey on tv or decides to eat. And the light from the tv isn't good for his sleep cycle

My son gets up at too early o'clock(I've managed to train it from the 4 am it was to 5, which is more manageable since he's in school).

The finding him curled up on the couch asleep is a hint.

I had a set naptime, no matter where I was visiting, and a set bedtime. I also have soothing music always playing.
What I found was that it was silence that woke my son up(something that my Mother said I always did), and upon my Mother's suggestion, I put a radio in his room tuned to the classical station. You can get a radio clock for rather cheap these days, and even set up the battery backups in case of power outages.
Or if you have an iPod and speaker dock, load up bedtime friendly music, and set it up at bedtime.

Hope this helps.