How to Try to Get Your Children Up in the Morning

Without proper sleep, children may do poorly in school due to fatigue and lack of concentration.

Getting children up in the morning can be a difficult task for any parent. A child's sleeping habits can often change quickly as she grows up, which can make setting a normal sleeping and waking routine challenging. Additionally, tactics for getting her out of bed may need to be varied depending on how well she slept. Experiment with different strategies until you find the ones that work best for your children.

Instructions

1. Wake your children at the same time every morning, even on the weekends. Setting a consistent waking time helps a child's body and brain become accustomed to waking up at that time. Changes or a lack of routine in a child's sleeping schedule, such as staying up late on the weekends, can disrupt this consistency and make it difficult for her to get up.

2. Set an alarm clock for your children. Some alarm clocks have soothing sounds like chirping birds or wind chimes. Find an alarm clock with a sound that your child likes, or program your CD player to wake her with her favorite song in the morning.

3. Use breakfast as an incentive to get your children up in the morning. The smell of their favorite foods can entice them to get out of bed. Although it's not a healthy option every morning, you can also offer kids a sweet breakfast treat, such as a donut or a croissant, if they get up on time.

4. Turn on the lights, pull up the blinds, and open windows in your child's room. Natural sunlight and fresh air will often help children ease into the day and become ready to get up.

5. Remind children what they may miss if they don't get up. Explaining that you won't have time to stop at the toy store, prepare for a sleepover, or visit a friend's house unless the child gets out of bed and starts the day is often an effective way to get kids up.

References

• She Knows: How to Get Your Kid Up