Getting a baby out of bed in the morning can be very difficult. Little sleepyheads can either pitifully wrap themselves in a blanket, begging for another minute of sweet sleep, or get annoyed, spoiling the whole family’s mood. To make life easier for themselves, parents come up with tricky ways to wake up a child in the right way. All of them are very individual, so we advise you to try a few – for sure something will work.
Why do children sleep poorly
Let’s immediately discard the most obvious reason – a lost schedule. This is when children play in the evenings, or do homework for a long time, or cannot fall asleep until they watch an interesting movie … Instead of 22:00, they go to bed at best by midnight.
For a child’s body, it is extremely important to “pour out” the prescribed norm. Otherwise, the whole next day of productive study or just habitual activity should not be expected. What is the optimal amount of sleep for children of different ages:
- From birth to 1 year – about 20 hours.
- From one and a half to 3 years – 16 hours.
- From 4 to 6 years – 13 hours.
- From 7 to 9 years – 11 hours.
- From 10 to 12 years old – 10 hours.
- From 13 to 16 years old – 9 hours.
Scientists believe that the human chronotype, that is, the individual feature of biological rhythms, is laid down genetically. So, it will not be possible to influence him in a cardinal way. But still, children have busy everyday lives, and no matter how much the “owls” would like it, they have to live in the rhythm of the “lark”.
Why does the child wake up hard, if it’s not like an “owl”, and went to bed on time:
- I Don’t want to go to school/kindergarten. An unpleasant association arises with unloved places. The child understands that he cannot refuse this (especially when it comes to school), feels annoyed and even regards it as violence.
- The day before, I was very overtired, experienced stress, and did my homework for a long and intensive time. In such a situation, the age-appropriate time for sleep will not be enough. If possible, let the child sleep. Even at the expense of skipping the first lesson.
- Dislikes or fears morning awakening rituals. Sometimes parents can choose very strange methods to wake the child – pull him out of bed by the leg, take away the blanket, turn on bright lights or loud music, call to wake up noisily. These rituals become a daily nightmare for children.
- Too lazy to do morning chores – exercises, shower, breakfast, etc. Perceives them as a duty, a parental whim.
How does reluctance to get up manifest itself?
Each child is individual, so the protests against morning awakenings are varied. Some children pretend to be asleep, even if they perfectly hear the alarm clock and the voice of mom / dad. Others beg for another minute to sleep. Still others begin to get nervous, throw slippers and express their dissatisfaction. And the fourth burst into tears from resentment for not being able to stay in bed.
Usually after some time the child comes to his senses, but if the need to get out of bed causes a violent protest, then there may be difficulties not only with awakening. It is hard to force such a capricious person to go to the bathroom, do exercises, eat and get dressed. He will not voluntarily pack a backpack to school, comb his hair and look for lost gloves. Any action can take place, as they say, under duress. And this is very annoying to parents.
In the morning turmoil, just the whims of the child were not enough. Adults quickly lose patience, they can yell at a stubborn person, send him out of the house without breakfast or in home clothes (as punishment or under the influence of emotions).
The mood deteriorates in all households, especially if such “concerts” take place every morning. This time of day becomes extremely stressful and unpleasant, so it is important to know how to wake a child in the morning without tears, tantrums and whims.
Waking up with joy: 15 tips for parents
Start by analyzing your mistakes. Think about something in your behavior that does not suit the child. And it is only necessary to change tactics, as the problem will be solved by itself. For example, do you wake him up too actively, loudly and persistently? Do not start his 10 alarm clocks with a nasty ringing?
If you don’t do anything like that, then you have to come up with some kind of tricky move to get the dormouse out of bed. Take advantage of our advice.
Time to take a nap
Always leave 10-20 spare minutes for the child to lie in bed, wake up calmly and at the same time not be late for anything.
A warm robe
In the cold season, it can be very uncomfortable to climb out from under the covers. In this case, buy a fluffy fleece robe for your child, which is so nice to wrap up in. And to him – cool slippers.
Correct content
Include a short cartoon or video that will attract the attention of the child and make him finally wake up. He will probably want to see what is happening on the screen, which means he will quickly get out from under the covers.
Nice alarm sound
Choose the most calm, melodious, soft sound of the alarm clock. This is very important, because unpleasant and harsh sounds seem to signal danger – a person wakes up in stress. But if an adult quickly comes to his senses and realizes that this is just an alarm clock, then such sounds can seriously frighten a child.
Sunlight
In spring, early autumn and, of course, summer, this is easiest. Do not cover windows with thick curtains or blinds. So in the morning the room will be filled with natural light, and the biological mechanisms that are responsible for awakening will start in the child’s body.
Delicious smells
Try to get up early and make breakfast. The aroma of coffee and pastries will lift even the most inveterate dormouse to their feet. The smell of citrus oils, basil, ginger also invigorates perfectly. Buy an ultrasonic diffuser, add a few drops of essential oil to the water and turn it on in the nursery in the morning.
Affectionate greeting
Hug the child, greet him quietly, wish him a good day, sing a song, tell him what you dreamed about. Speak calmly and kindly. Don’t be reminded to rush. Let the first minutes after waking up be filled with positivity.
Massage
Great help to wake up slowly, and then more energetic strokes on the arms and legs of the child. You can massage your hands and fingers and toes. Do “pulls” right in bed, there are even special exercises for “lying” gymnastics.
Charger
If you managed to pull the child off the bed, try to involve him in the exercises. Choose fast and versatile complexes that you can do together. Literally 5-10 minutes of vigorous exercise is enough for drowsiness to go away.
Water procedures
A shower or at least washing with cool water will quickly bring your “owl” to life. They say that to wake up, it is enough to moisten only your hands with cold water.
Invigorating drink
It is not recommended to give coffee to children under 10 years old, but a cup of tea, which invigorates no less, will come in handy. Teenagers can make coffee with milk, cappuccino, latte or some other interesting drink. If your family loves coffee, invest in a good coffee machine. Morning coffee drinking can solve the problem of waking up all household members.
Healthy breakfast
Even if you yourself are used to not having breakfast, children should have something to eat in the morning. In kindergartens or schools, the food is not always tasty, and glucose is needed to start the brain processes responsible for learning. Come up with some interesting and healthy breakfasts, fortunately, there are plenty of recipes on the Web.
Little tricks
Small children are easy enough to get interested in. For example: “Oh, I lost a delicious candy somewhere yesterday. And I think it’s under your bed, can you help me get it? Of course, your trick should not be unfounded – give the child a candy and let him eat after breakfast.
Careful preparation
If difficulties with awakening appear due to the child’s disorganization and haste, then try to prepare as much as possible in the evening – put textbooks and notebooks in a backpack, choose clothes, and clean shoes.
Best friends
It is good if there is a cat or a dog in the house. These are the most pleasant “alarm clocks”. Just invite the animal to lie down next to the child. Soon he will feel the presence of a furry friend, want to pet him and wake up.
If, despite your efforts, the child whimpers after waking up, do not get annoyed, do not give up. Your benevolent attitude should set him up to fight the morning apathy.
