Help for parents: 4 tips to help children sleep longer in the morning

Most babies and many toddlers wake up very early in the morning. To the chagrin of the parents. What exactly you mean by getting up early is of course entirely subjective. For some parents, 7 a.m. is already early, while others can get up at 5 a.m. without any problems.

However, whether children getting up early is problematic does not necessarily depend on the parents' subjective feelings. It actually only becomes a problem when waking up early puts a strain on the children.

When do children get up too early?

In general, the first thing to do is to find out whether the child really gets up too early. Good indications for this can be, for example, whether you appear fit when you wake up and can start the day well rested. If the little ones always seem tired when they wake up and are perhaps even whiny, this could be an indication that they are not getting enough sleep.

Very often, babies wake up earlier than most parents would like: If the child wakes up at 6 a.m., this is considered a wake-up time that corresponds to the development of babies and toddlers. So if your little ones get up with the sun in the morning, beaming like sunshine themselves and can't wait to start the day, you probably don't have an early riser problem at all. At least not from your baby.

Tips for parents of early risers

However, if your suspicion has now been confirmed that your child gets up too early and therefore doesn't sleep enough, we have a few simple tips and tricks for you. This is how you can, step by step, extend the nights for you and your sweetheart by a few valuable moments.

1. Don't skip your afternoon nap

In desperation, many parents eventually give upfail or even disappear completely. They hope that their children will be able to catch up on the sleep they lost during the day at night. But that's not how children work. On the contrary: children who are too tired have more difficulty falling asleep and wake up earlier. Regular naps can even help children sleep better and longer at night.

Of course, you should take the age of the children into account. The older the little ones are, the less sleep they need during the day. Babies between four and twelve months sleep up to four hours a day, while babies between twelve and 24 months only sleep two to three hours and toddlers from the age of two only one to two hours.

Also read:

Reading tips:

2. Go to bed earlier

Most parents try to push back their children's bedtimes because they think it will make their tired children sleep longer. But this doesn't work for the same reason that missing a nap doesn't work: overtired children sleep worse and less - and, by the way, are also in a worse mood. After all, we are not happy when we are overtired.

So it can help to move your bedtime a little earlier. Give it a try and send your little ones to bed 20 minutes earlier. If this proves to be successful, you can bring it forward by another 20 minutes - until you have found the ideal bedtime for your child.

Did you know?

3. Treat getting up too early like getting up at night

When parents get their little early risers out of bed in the morning and interact with them, they confirm getting up early. This means: You are suggesting to your child that this time is okay to get up and the day can start now.

So sometimes it can help if you treat your child early in the morning as if they got up in the night. Of course you can calm him down, but don't play with your baby at this time, speak in a quiet tone if at all, and don't turn on bright lights.

This gives your child the opportunity to fall asleep again. After a week your problem could have solved itself.

Reading tips:

4. Look for disruptive factors

Sometimes children don't wake up so early voluntarily; sometimes external influences also disturb their sleep. So it can help if you consciously set an alarm clock that goes off before your little one's usual get-up time. This way you can search for the source of the problem yourself.

It may be too bright in the room and you could hang a curtain or a blind. Maybe there is a bird's nest near the children's room and chirping wakes your baby up. In this case, constant background noise could help drown out the noise. Sometimes solving a sleep problem can actually be quite simple.

Also read:

Tips to help your baby sleep through the night

With smaller children, it is often not the fact that they get up too early that is the problem, but rather that the nights are far too restless. Constantly being awake gets on parents' nerves. But in the first few weeks this is completely normal. Babies first have to learn that there is day and night.

You can support your little ones step by step and work together and gently to ensure that one day they actually sleep through the night.

Also read:

And always remember: every child has their own pace. Don't be crazy if it takes a little longer for your child. Stay calm and give your child the time they need.

Sources & information:

• Professional Association of Pediatricians and Adolescents
• State Institute for Early Childhood Education (IFP)
• Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA)

Important note at the end:The information and tips in this article are suggestions only. Every child is different and reacts in their own way. It is therefore important that you listen to your child and find out which path is best for you. If you have any uncertainties, urgent questions or complaints, you should contact your pediatrician.