Mommysavers › Forums › General Discussion › Family Matters › Toddlers & Preschoolers › when preschoolers wake up early
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

when preschoolers wake up early - Page 2

post #11 of 18
8/10/12 at 12:12pm

My 5 and 4yr old are early risers. They have clocks in their rooms that change color when they are allowed to come downstairs. It is set for 7:15. I usually get up around 6 but need some time to myself before having kids run around. My oldest has always been a great sleeper even when he was in preschool. He now is never up before 8 unless it is a school morning. 

 

Kelly

Reply
Reply
post #12 of 18
8/10/12 at 12:16pm

my 7 yr old is just starting to do this now and breakfast is pop tarts of cold cereal. So a preschooler no.

Reply
Reply
post #13 of 18
8/11/12 at 7:12am
Thread Starter 

Laying in bed this morning I was thinking, how much freedom kids have when they wake up probably has some to do with house layout. We have a small ranch. Down the hall are 3 bedrooms and the bathroom. That can be closed off with a gate. The gate separates the bedrooms from the sala. Off to the left of the sala is the kitchen where there is also a gate. Off the kitchen is the laundry room where there is a third gate. In the laundry room is a steel door that leads to the addition of a back hallway. Off that hallway is the deck, the garage and my office. The steel door has a deadbolt since it used to be the back door once upon a time. I know I will soon be comfortable with ds getting up to watch tv in the sala but he is right down the hall. Sure wouldn't feel that way if the sala was on a different level of the house or back where my office is. 

Reply
Reply
post #14 of 18
8/11/12 at 7:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by raetonycass View Post

Laying in bed this morning I was thinking, how much freedom kids have when they wake up probably has some to do with house layout. We have a small ranch. Down the hall are 3 bedrooms and the bathroom. That can be closed off with a gate. The gate separates the bedrooms from the sala. Off to the left of the sala is the kitchen where there is also a gate. Off the kitchen is the laundry room where there is a third gate. In the laundry room is a steel door that leads to the addition of a back hallway. Off that hallway is the deck, the garage and my office. The steel door has a deadbolt since it used to be the back door once upon a time. I know I will soon be comfortable with ds getting up to watch tv in the sala but he is right down the hall. Sure wouldn't feel that way if the sala was on a different level of the house or back where my office is. 

I'm sure some of it might be house styles, but some of it also is probably parenting styles. My kids have never lived in anything but a two story home with a basement also. So two sets of stairs. I never had a single gate in my home anytime, including when they were babies, toddlers, or preschoolers. I was always just up when my kids were and was wherever in the house that they were. I never left my kids to roam the house unsupervised. Might not have worked for everyone, but it was what I did.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 18
8/11/12 at 8:51am

I would have a different answer if we had a two story house. My single story house is 1100 sq ft, including the garage. I hear my ds6 get up and turn on the tv, then get up when I hear dd or ds comes to tell me he's starving, usually about a half an hour later. It means I get to sleep in to a lovely 7:30 am sometimes :)

 

We also consider this a privilege he earned by making responsible choices. If we found he watched something we had not approved (I check the Netflix history and he has a pretty short list), he would lose the privilege, of the tv and being able to get up alone.

 

Before ds was 5, he always came and got us immediately. If he had to go as far as downstairs, I would not allow it yet. And he is still not allowed to go in the kitchen, that is the one room we continue to keep gated (though more for the dog than the kids at this point). My dd2.5 is definitely not allowed to get up and roam around the house without a parent.

 

Like I said, once school starts this only happens on the weekends, no tv on school mornings and I prefer to be up earlier than everyone else.

Reply
Reply
post #16 of 18
8/11/12 at 9:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by liamsmom View Post

 

Before ds was 5, he always came and got us immediately. If he had to go as far as downstairs, I would not allow it yet. And he is still not allowed to go in the kitchen, that is the one room we continue to keep gated (though more for the dog than the kids at this point). My dd2.5 is definitely not allowed to get up and roam around the house without a parent.

 

This is why we have so many gates actually. With so many kids in my house sometimes the dog just needs a break where the kids can't get to him. He is also the absolute worst about food snatching so he gets gated in the laundry room when we eat. We will keep the gates long after I no longer have little ones around, IF that time ever comes LOL

Reply
Reply
post #17 of 18
8/11/12 at 9:06am

I find gating children really weird. They should know if you don't want them roaming the house, and if it's a rule then they just need to abide by it. I've also seen more kids fall down the stairs when there HAS been a gate, especially toddlers, then if it wasn't gated at all. They pull themselves up to stand against it and it doesn't always hold. Scary. It's different parenting styles I guess, but I've always just chalked it up to supervising your kids.

Reply
Reply
post #18 of 18
8/11/12 at 9:35am
Thread Starter 

The gates we have are attached to the walls/door frames and have latches to you can walk through. They were very very important when I was pg with DD3 and on full bed rest. I had an 18 month old I physically couldn't chase after. Gates were a lifesaver. Honestly, unless we need to gate the dog during meal times and unless I have a house full of extra little ones, all gates are open. Like on weekends. Gates are all open and my kids have access to entire house. They generally play in their room or the sala. At 3 and 4 I don't feel I need to be in the same room as they are all the time. I can hear them always and check on them but they play by themselves often. 

Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Toddlers & Preschoolers
Mommysavers › Forums › General Discussion › Family Matters › Toddlers & Preschoolers › when preschoolers wake up early