Tot Clock: early risers anonymous

jld49

My son is 22 months old and recently waking at 4:30/5am,crying, usually unable to go back to sleep, maybe goes back to sleep for 30 minutes after 30 minutes plus of crying. He's inconsolable when we enter his room unless we get up, turn on the lights, and play with him. So we're talking to him during the day, when he's calm, about staying in bed, trying to go back to sleep, talking to himself, and just playing alone. Our rule is 6am. We won't get him before 6am. So we're thinking we may need to introduce a tot clock to help him understand and have more control. Anyone recommend a brand? Can any of you share your experience? Success? Failure? He's a pretty good sleeper and used to be an early riser (5am) for his first year of life, but for several months has been sleeping til 6, 6:15 am. He doesn't express fear of the dark and has no night light so we're weary of introducing a clock with a light into his room-- and I've read some of them are quite bright. He goes to sleep early, around 7, and we've tried keeping him up later in hopes of sleeping later, but that hasn't worked at all. He's also already In a toddler bed, as of a month ago-- transitioned pretty successfully after two weeks. Thoughts?

bluejetta

This sounds very similar to our DD except that she wakes at 5:30 and is usually happily chattering. We did go through a couple weeks not long ago where she was crying and whining in the morning and part of it I think she just had to work through and we tried to stay consistent with our 6am rule like you have. She is still in a crib and I really just think she's had enough sleep by 5:30/6 most of the time.

I have a friends who used the OK to wake clock and Owl with some success. We are considering a sunrise clock (more expensive but more long-term use) that would come on starting at 6am and doesn't have any light at night to keep her awake. 

I have noticed that since we moved dinner from 5:15 to 5:45 she is less cranky in the morning. Could he be hungry or cold or something else? We

flyingsaucer

One thing that I have learned is that with sleep problems, if you hang in there and stay consistent, they will go away. First off, 7pm may be too early. Is your child napping during the day? Keep the nap down to 2-3 hours and don't let him sleep past 3:30pm. Then start to push bed time back... But only like 15 min every few days. So from Sat-Mon put him to bed at 7:15, then Mon-Weds bed time at 7:30, then by next weekend 7:45 (we find 8pm is best at our house). You have to do this very slowly and give it a couple of weeks. For us, it did help the kids begin to sleep later in the morning. Also, we used the "bunny clock" (bought at amazon), which is set for 7am. The kids can play in bed if they get up, but they have to "wait for the rabbit to wake up". You may want to start with 6 or 6:30. Stick to the schedule and give it some time. Things will get better. Here is the clock: https://www.amazon.com/KidSleep-KSCLB-Classic-Blue/dp/B000VVIHPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380416558&sr=8-1&keywords=bunny+clock