Toddler sleep: What to do if your toddler wakes up early

Toddler sleep: What to do if your toddler wakes up early

Do you have a toddler who wakes up with the birds? Many toddlers have sleep patterns that wake them up early - and parents wonder if they can do anything to improve their sleep routine and get a few more hours of peaceful sleep. There is some good and bad news when it comes to unusual sleeping patterns - there are routines you can try to get your toddler to sleep in later - but some children are just the type that wake up early.

Toddler sleep routines

Most toddlers need about 10-12 hours sleep each night, so if their routine has them in bed at 7pm and then up again at 5.30 or 6am, they've probably had enough sleep. A later bedtime can sometimes help, often though toddlers will get up at the same time, regardless of when they've gone to sleep. Strangely, an earlier bedtime can help a child that is overtired sleep more soundly and for longer.

If you think your child is still tired in the mornings and needs to sleep longer take a look at some of the things that may be waking him.

Is something waking your child?

  • If the sun is streaming through his bedroom window early in the morning, you may want to try block-out curtains or blinds to keep the room darkened.
  • The early hours of the morning can be quite cold, so make sure he is warm enough and not waking because he's cold.
  • A soggy nappy can wake a child, try a night-time or super absorbent nappy to help remedy this.
  • Is he needing your help to go to sleep at night? Sometimes a child who is used to a parent being there when he goes to sleep, wakes and needs the parent to go back to sleep. Encourage him to try to settle without you should he wake up.
  • Some parents put a clock in their toddlers room and say they can not get up until they see a certain time on the clock. This is probably only suitable for an older toddler.

If all else fails, remember, toddler sleep patterns change and there will be a time when you struggle to get him out of bed - so an early waking toddler won't last forever!

Read more about parenting and toddlers

This article was written by Corinne Draper for Kidspot,  Australia's leading education resource for parents. Sources include: Women's and Children's Health Network and Health Insite.

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