Why is it difficult for children to get up in the morning?
There are several reasons why a child has difficulty getting up in the morning.
Poor sleep schedule
The baby's body does not have enough time to recover. In other words, the daily need for rest is not met.
This also includes the quality of sleep: daytime experiences and fears develop into nightmares, which prevents the child from fully resting.
Read an interview with a psychologist on the topic “Good sleep!” How to get rid of nightmares in children and adults?
Parents' inability to properly wake up their child
A sudden awakening has a negative impact on the nervous system. Therefore, the baby will pretend to be asleep until the last moment in order to delay this unpleasant moment.
Changing your daily routine
If a child is used to sleeping until lunch, and then they suddenly start waking him up for kindergarten at 8 o’clock, then, of course, it will be very, very difficult for him to immediately get used to the new regime.
Change of season
It’s hard even for an adult to wake up when it’s dark and cold outside, let alone small children.
Psycho-emotional well-being
Often, heavy morning rises are associated with the child’s psychological distress. He may have conflicts with peers or teachers, or he may have become a victim of bullying. Hence the reluctance to get up in the morning and go to kindergarten or school.
We wake up on time and in a good mood
Getting to kindergarten
If the child goes to bed on time and follows the routine, there should be no problems with waking up. But in practice, things often turn out differently.
How to wake up a preschooler without whims and tears? Experienced mothers on forums share their secrets:
“My son is 3.5 years old. Morning exercises help us get up in the morning. I sit down on the child’s bed, begin to slowly rub his legs and arms, then bend and unbend them to some funny rhyme, and then he joins in. We do a couple of light exercises and get up to get dressed.”
“And our daughter only wakes up to cartoons. Until you turn it on, your head will never be lifted from the pillow.”
“It’s better not to touch my princess for the first 20 minutes after waking up, hysteria is guaranteed. And then nothing, she gets up and slowly begins to get ready.”
What teachers and psychologists advise:
- Golden rule: first the parents wake up, then the child. This motivates and mobilizes him to get out of bed.
- Try to make sure that your child has something pleasant waiting for him when he wakes up. A delicious breakfast (the aromas of which get you out of bed better than any alarm clock), your favorite drink or a funny cartoon (just choose ones that are not very long, otherwise you risk being late for both kindergarten and work).
- Waking up should be smooth, without loud sounds or bright lights. Use tactile contact: gently touch your baby and tell him in a calm voice that it’s morning and it’s time for him to get up.
- Your child's morning should be filled with positive energy. Therefore, in order not to be nervous yourself and not to lash out at your baby, you must have a reserve of time so that the child’s body can transition to a state of wakefulness.
- Not only evening rituals, but also morning rituals are useful. This could be a funny song, after which you can no longer lie in bed, or morning exercises with dad, or preparing a delicious breakfast together. The main thing is that the child receives positive emotions and a boost of energy for the whole day.
Getting ready for school
To wake up your child for school, you can follow the same rules as with preschoolers (see above).
Here are some more recommendations:
Control your gadgets
A child at this age is already able to understand the importance of sleep for the body. Moreover, he must learn to wake up on his own or with the help of an alarm clock. But many schoolchildren prefer to spend their evening and night time on gadgets, forgetting to go to bed on time. As a result, they don’t get enough sleep, are late for school, and spend the entire day nodding off.
Therefore, it is important for parents to monitor their child’s compliance with the daily routine, as well as the use of smartphones and tablets.
Use the Kids360 application, which not only limits work with the gadget by screentime, but also filters unwanted content that a child may receive. Thanks to the application tracker, parents will always be aware of how much time the child spends on a smartphone or tablet. You can also create a schedule (at what time and what applications your child can access or play) and control access to applications.
Encourage proper bedtime
Make a rule: no Internet or computer games after 10 pm. The time remaining before bed can be spent getting ready for the next day, taking a relaxing bath, or talking about plans for the next day.
Don't rush in the morning
Allow your son or daughter to lie in bed for 5-10 minutes after the alarm goes off.
Start your morning right
A glass of water at room temperature or light exercise will start processes in the child’s body and help him stock up on energy for the whole day.
A morning shower will also help drive away drowsiness and invigorate you.
Learn to get ready in the evening
The child’s briefcase and clothes for tomorrow should be prepared in the evening. Let this become a habit for your student.
Possible reasons for failure and solutions
When a child is just getting used to the garden, the new environment and the lack of familiar home rituals may prevent him from falling asleep. There is no loved one nearby (mom, dad, grandmother, nanny), so it’s scary to fall asleep. For older children, other reasons are possible: for example, the child gets up late in the morning and comes to kindergarten later than other children. Or his sleep-wake rhythm has been disrupted after the weekend.
The period of adaptation in kindergarten. The first weeks in kindergarten, the child psychologically adapts to the new rhythm of life, to new people, rules and activities. At this time, even despite visible fatigue and the desire to sleep, he may not want to go to bed, because for the first time he remains for a long time outside his usual environment and without loved ones. He may also have difficulty connecting with other children. When he gets used to the new situation and makes sure that after sleep there are interesting activities or walks, and in the evening he will definitely return home, he will go to bed with pleasure.
The fear of separation from the mother in the first months of visiting kindergarten also increases the baby’s anxiety and prevents sleep. It is most difficult for children of the younger group to cope with separation - at this age it seems to them every time that their mother has left forever.
During the adaptation period, it is important for parents to spend more time with their child outside the kindergarten, play and communicate. Therefore, it is better not to leave the child for the whole day at first, but try to pick him up immediately after sleep and go for a walk together in order to gradually teach him to go to the garden with joy.
In conversations with your child, you can encourage him to sleep during the day in kindergarten. A feeling of confidence can be conveyed by the words: “I know you can handle it, you will succeed”, “I will definitely come for you in the evening”, “I won’t be there, but Natalya Romanovna will be next to you, she will help you sleep.”
To reduce the level of anxiety, you can give your child a toy in kindergarten that the child is used to falling asleep with at home, or give him another, but also favorite one, with which it is pleasant to sleep in an embrace. It may be possible to negotiate with the teacher so that she sits next to the baby several times and reads a “home” book, helping him fall asleep.
Noisy neighborhood. Perhaps an active neighbor is preventing the child from sleeping. Here again, the teacher can come to the rescue. It is she who observes the situation during quiet time and may know better than others the reason why the child does not sleep. She can also ask the most active and vigorous ones to behave more quietly. Or organize quiet leisure time for them in the next room - in kindergartens they are increasingly creating such mini-groups for awake children during quiet time, especially in older groups.
Rituals before bed. Home rituals that precede daytime sleep (rocking in your arms, the presence of your mother, your favorite song) are not always possible in a kindergarten setting. And without them, the child may simply not be able to sleep. Therefore, it is better to give up pre-nap rituals at home in advance and teach your child to fall asleep on his own. And it’s better to move family bedtime traditions, such as reading together, talking, quiet games, to the evening.
Waking up late in the morning. The reason for refusing daytime sleep can also be a late rise - in this case, the child simply does not have time to get tired by quiet time. The optimal wake time for children aged 3–6 years is approximately 6 hours. Daytime naps in kindergarten usually last from 13:00 to 15:00. If a child, for example, wakes up in the morning at 8:30, then at 13:00 (4.5 hours later) he simply does not want to sleep yet.
To find the optimal morning wake-up time, start waking your child up between 6:30 and 7:00. Once he starts taking regular afternoon naps again in daycare, you can gradually move his morning wake-up time back a little later.
Weekends, holidays and holidays. Even if the whole family gets up at 6:30 a.m. every weekday, on weekends the situation can change dramatically, and sleep patterns get lost again. If it is difficult to get up “as usual” with the whole family, you can use a trick and arrange “duty”: for example, dad monitors compliance this weekend, and mom the next. You need to remember to maintain a sleep schedule not only on weekends, but also on vacation, and even on sick leave.
Lack of self-care skills. In kindergarten you need to change into your pajamas yourself and then put them back on. If a child has not yet fully developed these skills, then he will begin to worry long before quiet time, and then there will be no talk of any sleep.
Home training will help you learn to change clothes faster in kindergarten. You can turn the process into a game: race to get dressed or come up with a little rhyme that will make the dressing process fun. It is better not to buy clothes with complex fasteners or small buttons in which the child will get entangled; the best solution is Velcro wherever possible, clothes with elastic bands and a wide collar.
Physical discomfort. Sometimes a child has difficulty falling asleep because he doesn't feel well, he ate too much at lunch, he's cold, or it's too hot in the bedroom. Some children refuse to sleep because they are afraid of falling asleep too deeply and waking up in a wet bed; Perhaps this has already happened to them in kindergarten, and they have encountered negative comments about it.
A role-playing game can help to find out the reasons for the reluctance to sleep in the garden - for example, situations related to sleep in kindergarten can be played out at home with dolls or animals. Let the toys become a group, someone will be a teacher, someone will be a nanny. Often, problems in relationships with other children or the teacher, as well as uncomfortable sleeping conditions, are revealed precisely during such play.
How to put a child to sleep correctly: tips for parents
In order for a child to get up in the morning cheerful, rested and full of strength, it is necessary that he rest properly at night.
As a rule, children are reluctant to go to bed, preferring to watch another cartoon or play another interesting game. Therefore, it is important for parents to know how to properly prepare their baby for bed:
- Try to put your son or daughter to bed at the same time, focusing on the daily sleep requirement. For example, if you need to get your preschooler up at 7 o’clock, then he should go to bed no later than 9 o’clock in the evening. Children under 8-9 years old are recommended to be laid down by one of the parents. The child can go to bed himself; you just need to tuck in the blanket or say good night.
- If you have to change your routine due to moving or going to kindergarten, adjust your bedtime gradually over 2-3 months.
- On weekends, it is important not to disrupt the child’s sleep and wake schedule. A deviation of an hour and a half is allowed, but no more.
- Balance physical and mental stress throughout the day. If a child spends the whole evening doing homework after school, he needs a walk or a little physical activity before going to bed.
- A few hours before bedtime, eliminate all noisy games and the use of gadgets. Set your child up for a “calm wave”. A relaxing bath, a light massage or a good fairy tale can help you with this. It's good if this becomes your little ritual before going to bed.
- Try not to scold or punish your child before bedtime.
- Also an important factor for a child to fall asleep peacefully is the general daily routine in the family. It is not necessary to go to bed at the same time with your son or daughter. It is enough to turn off the TV, dim the lights in the rooms and eliminate loud conversations.
- A soft toy will help your baby fall asleep faster and not be afraid of the dark.
- A goodnight hug or kiss creates a feeling of security, which promotes good sleep.
- Teach your child to get ready for tomorrow in the evening. Prepare your clothes, pack your backpack, learn your homework. This way he will have the opportunity to sleep longer in the morning and not fuss around trying to get everything done.
By following these simple rules, you will teach your child to have proper rest after a busy day.
10 conditions for comfortable sleep
- Going to bed at the same time.
- The air temperature in the bedroom is not higher than 20 degrees.
- Humidity within 60%.
- Dinner 1.5-2 hours before bedtime.
- Soft sleeping clothes that allow the skin to breathe.
- Fresh bed linen made from natural fabrics.
- A night light with dim light if the child is afraid to fall asleep in the dark.
- Comfortable, spacious and safe bed.
- No loud sounds or extraneous noise.
- Bedtime ritual (fairy tale, relaxing bath, warm shower or massage).
How much time does a child need to sleep?
Sleep is a special physiological state of our body. During sleep, physical strength is restored, important hormones are produced, and the brain absorbs all the information received during the day.
Each age has its own daily sleep norm:
- babies under one year old need to sleep from 12 to 17 hours a day;
- Children from one to three years old are recommended to devote 11-14 hours to sleep;
- preschoolers (3-7 years old) should sleep 10-13 hours;
- schoolchildren (7-14 years old) need 9-11 hours of sleep per day;
- Teenagers (14-17 years old) should devote at least 8-10 hours to sleep.
The older the child, the fewer hours he needs to restore physical and mental strength.
But it is difficult for children to understand the importance and necessity of this process. Therefore, in the evening they try to delay going to bed as long as possible, and most often simply ignore daytime rest.
