Help How to Get Toddler Out of Bed in the Morning (Without Tears..)!!!!

She sounds like my 3 year old! :) Have you thought about a sound machine alarm clock? You can set the alarm clock to go off, but using the soothing sounds of the sound machine. That way, she is waking up on her own, with an aid, but you aren't the bad guy and she most likely will get used to that sound being a pleasant experience. I'm thinking Bed, Bath, and Beyond would have something like that. Also, my little girl needs something to focus on, a mission, a job, when she wakes up cranky. I usually have her help with something I know she loves, so it takes her mind off what she is leaving...her bed, her blanket, her stuffed animal "friends". Just some thoughts....I think "morning people" and "night people" are really linked to personality and those qualities show up early! Isn't it great that she has such a peaceful and loving environment that enables her to get that kind of quality sleep? Good Job, Lisa!

My thinking is it is not how to get her up in the morning, but why she is sleeping so much. A three hour nap is excessive for a 3 year old. If you think about it, she is sleeping 15 out of the 24 hours a day.

Do you have her involved in any activities? Does she sleep soundly at night? And one last question, have you asked your pediatrician about how much she is sleeping?

lisa, yes this can be a problem, but i would suggest putting her to bed earlier, and then making a breakfast that smells really yummy, like bacon and eggs, and not feeding her at night, so she gets up on her own, maybe she has nothing to do when she is up, try turning on the tv, and put her favorite show on, she will come out when hungry and has a reason to get up, most kids will not want to get up if the room is nice and clean and house is dirty, we all fare better in clean spaces, maybe she is lonely and when she gets up you take off for work and she has to be wehre she dont want to be ? i dont know, but try different things, i would definitely put her to be sooner, 9 o clock was my deadline for my kids, especially when started school, if she gets up and plays with her toys move her toys somewhere else, just keep trying and enjoy life, D. s

Hello Lisa, It sounds like your child is slow waking up in the mornings. I am the same way, and need quiet time until I've had at least one cup of coffee. Don't do the tickles, or songs. Simply wake her up by giving her a 5 minute warning, then pick her up and carry her to the other room. Ignor her behavior if she throws a fit. Put a hook lock on her door if that is what it takes to keep her from going back into the room. Keep things very layed back and give her the space she needs to slowly wake up. There are good kids cartoons in the morning. Maybe a half hour show would help before breakfast. Keep her bed time and waking time on a sceduale. If she cannot wake up well, then move her bed time up a half hour until she is waking up better, maybe she simply isn't getting enough sleep for her body. We all need different amounts. Good luck.

I always threatened my (now older) girls that they would go to be earlier that night if they don't get up and get moving. Once they were up I'd explain the reason they need to get up - Mommy has to get to work (or whatever works for you) so they understand. If it took me awhile to get them up then I would stick with my guns and put them to bed early that night. It turns out to only be a "warning" and its always worked for me.

Good luck!

my 2 1/2 yr old loves to sleep too! she has to be up at 6:15am 4 days a week for daycare and grandma's house...i put her to bed early at night (7-7:30pm at the latest)...then give her a 10 min. warning in the morning (sometimes another 1 min.)...and then we bribe her w/ her favorite cartoon to get out of bed and dressed...i tickle, try jokes, "steal her blankie", etc...

very few times i have had to pick her up and try to cuddle and settle in front of the tv, but she throws a temper tantrum! it's awful and very frustrating! so removing her from bed is my last resort...

then on weekends, she sleeps in...sometimes until after 10am! and this is still going to bed by 8pm (latest time)...it's crazy! i guess she needs her sleep! she still takes a 2-4 hour nap EVERY afternoon - no exceptions! i hate to wake her early on weekends because she does the same thing...

i'm hoping it will pass! but both mom & dad are big sleepers too so maybe she got it from us! i remember my mom spraying me w/ water to wake me up for school! i'm hoping it never comes to that! ha! good luck!

I think you are letting your daughter sleep too much. I think that maybe if you give her a shorter nap and shorter bedtime she would get up on her own. Have you ever slept more than you're used to and you end up being more tired than you would have if you slept less. Try giving her 1 1/2hr nap and 8 hours rest at night for a few days and see how she adjust to it. Another thing that i do with my children is if they dont get out of bed when i try to wake them up, i make everything that has to be done for the day sound exciting to them and it makes them want to get up.

Hi, Lisa. I would take her in to see her Pediatrican just to be SURE she doesn't have a medical issue causing fatigue. It is most likely behavioral. Children know exactly what causes Mommy to become upset and they love to push your buttons.I would go in all cheerful as usual and when she says that "she's not awake yet" just CALMLY say "OK" and leave the room. She'll realize that your no longer playing the game and she will eventually get up. Since pre-school is coming up the more reason you need to nip this. If she misses out on something fun she'll learn that she has to get up. My daughter (now grown) did this all through school. It was a nightmare every morning. I would end up frustrated and mad. Hindsight being 20/20 I realize it was about power and control. What I should have done was given her one warning (we have to leave in 15 minutes, etc.)and when she wasn't ready, CALMLY shrugg it off with "Oh well. I guess we are not going to the park, to visit Grandma, shopping" whatever and STICK TO IT. It won't be long and she'll realize if she doesn't get moving you are not going to wait, plead and beg! Denise.

I would definitely just let her sleep on days that you aren't going anywhere! If she's not in school yet, then I would let her wake up on her own. Obviously her body needs more. Maybe shes going to have a growth spurt.

Hi Lisa, no answers for you (sorry) just commiserations. I also have a 3 year old who goes to daycare 3 days a week and needs to be up at 6:30 on those days. Usually two out of three days are a struggle but on the days she can stay in bed she is awake by 6:20 - go figure!

I don't think it will be an issue for ever - just hang in there.

If you don't have to go, let it go. If you need to go somewhere, tell her the night before. I wake my kids up and expect them to get themselves ready at the age of 5. Set an expectation and stick to it. So much of this is just consistency. Your daughter isn't listening to you. So when she wants to play ot go somewhere, reverse the role. She has to wait for you and teach her what she is doing wrong in her morning routine.

My daughter didn't get ready when she was starting school. One time (and it only took one time) when I said we were leaving in 10 minutes and then 2 minutes, she wasn't ready and I took her out the door as is (no schoool clothes, no brush through the hair). The next time I said she had 2 minutes, she was running. She is rarely late, because she has learned it has consequences.

Some people are just not morning people... Even kids.

When my 7 yr old was littler I would go in and physically pick her up to get her up. That way she gets a few minutes of cuddle time and we can chat about her night and the coming day.

Try to keep things calm in the mornings. Give her extra time to get moving even if that means starting to wake her earlier than you HAVE to...

The bright side of the story for me is that my almost 8 yr old girlie now wakes up naturally for school at 7am. Exactly when I would have to get her up anyways. There are still days I do have to go in to get her, but I usually only have to pull back her covers and help her sit up.

If you turn it into a power stuggle than it will be that way always... But if you say "Its time to get up honey", and help her up and help her walk out of the room to the bathroom it gives them no option.

Lisa,

We had to get an alarm clock to help my little guy get out of bed for school. We still use the alarm clock even though we are homeschooling and it has really helped our son stay on a schedule - because of this he sleeps better at night and wakes up at the same time every morning.

If you do decide to use an alarm clock start the new routine 3-6 months before you really need to use it. This way your daughter won't be adjusting to 4 or 5 new changes in the fall, but instead only 2 or 3.

Good luck!

-C..

I have a 5 year old who also doesn't like to get up in the morning. What I do is sit on the edge of his bed for aobut 5 min talking and easing him into his day. I try to find something to remind him of that he is looking forward to doing that day to talk to him about during this time.

He loves Youtube he likes the chicka chicka boom boom song,& Eric Herman videos, at first I would use those as an incentive to get him moving and we would watch 1 video of his choice before anything else. Now that hes a bit older we have progressed to watching his songs AFTER he is all ready to go in the morning, the quicker he gets up and around the more time he has to listen to/watch his songs. Good luck to you.