9 year old son wakes up at 5am every day...

[doubletroubledoublethefun]

Good morning,

Is it normal for a children with these challenges to wake up at 5am and feel the need to wake everyone else up?

I used to send him to watch tv, but he recently smashed that, and I refuse to buy another one right now....

Any ideas of what I can do to help a) sleep more... Or b) play quietly in his room until the rest of our family wakes up...

Thanks

 

[InsaneCdn]

Is it 5am all year? or 5am in the summer?
If it's "summer"... then he may be light sensitive. Try to block out ALL natural light - black-out blinds or whatever else.

 

[tiredmommy]

Has he been evaluated for sensory dysfunction? I only ask because my daughter woke up at the crack of dawn every day until she was treated with the Wilbarger Protocol. She began sleeping better the very first night. Also, make sure you've ruled out allergies, asthma and sleep apnea. These conditions can all prevent a child from sleeping well.

 

[DDD]

How long has this been a problem? What is his usual awake time during the school year? What time is bedtime during the school year...and is it different in the summer? Has there been any change in medications? My suggestion would depend on those factors. DDD

 

[BusynMember]

What are his challenges?

Personally, I think some kids/adults wake up early and some are impossible to wake up (which is a bigger problem considering school!!) My Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) son used to wake up at about 5am every day after not falling asleep until 11pm. He did not seem tired and was as hyper as ever all day long. He is almost twenty now and still wakes up early.

Can you think of a creative way to let you sleep a bit longer? It IS my experience that challenged kids generally like attention and are behind their peers in maturity.

 

[doubletroubledoublethefun]

He's always been a early riser, he must wake us all up, he pesters until everyone is up... Not exactly a good wake up call everyday

 

[DDD]

Although I am not familiar with his issues I have to tell you that my first reaction is somehow so the rest of the family can smile.
What have you tried to keep him safely occupried in his room? DDD

 

[ksm]

Can you make a rule that first person to wake up others gets early morning chores? Is he the first to fall asleep at night? Would he be interested in staying up later if he can read a book in bed? What about melatonin? I know some children whose doctors recommended it for them. But, I don't know if it just helps them go to sleep faster or if it would also help sleep longer. Can you offer a special treat or reward IF he doesn't wake anyone up until 7am? Hope you find something that helps! KSM

 

[DDD]

I'm with you KSM. The big question is WTH can you do to keep him calm or controlled so the rest of the family can get their zzzzzzzzzzzz's. DDD

 

[InsaneCdn]

If he's an early-to-bed/early-to-rise kid, there IS a way to fix it... but I doubt you'd survive the fix. (You have to reset the body clock by working backwards... have him get up 15 minutes EARLIER each day, which means for a while he'll be sleeping in the day... Takes about 3 weeks to re-set... )

 

[Liahona]

The only thing that has helped difficult child 1 is medications. He also used to get up very early and he would get up in the middle of the night and wander.

 

[Wiped Out]

I feel your pain!! Since he was very young my difficult child was an early riser (along with that he often only slept a few hours each night-wouldn't fall asleep till 2 or 3 and up at 5). When he was up one of us had to be up. For him there was nothing independent he could do. He wanted someone up and would keep at it until one of us finally got up-we did a lot of tag team in those days (still do actually). He is now 16 and with the right medications will usually sleep til 5:30 or 6 (even later once in awhile). The good news is he will get up by himself for a bit. However, he usually still wakes us up to let us know he is up and comes up every 15-30 minutes to ask when we are getting up. Just recently we will give him a time to wake us up-say 7:00 and he will sometimes wait til that time to wake us.

If I had some great advice I would offer it but wanted to let you know you are not alone. ((((hugs))))