Burning Question: Early Risers
Almost every morning for as long as I can remember, D wakes up before E. Sometimes hours earlier. When we are at home, that's no problem. She gets a few quiet moments with my husband and I before the get-out-the-door hustle really begins. When we travel, though, things get tricky.
Usually one parent gets up with D and escorts her outside for a tour of the property, waiting for a phone call saying that everyone else is awake. On the rare occasions when we have multiple rooms or a large balcony, we are able to order breakfast and keep her entertained with a meal and a coloring book. Still, more often than not she ends up waking her brother - which means he's tired throughout the rest of the day.
Readers: What tricks do you have for dealing with an early riser when you are traveling? Tell me in comments
5 comments |
Posted on September 3, 2009 |
Save to del.icio.us
Subscribe to our feed
Comments
Linda on September 3, 2009 at 9:36 p.m.
Do they have different bedtimes, or does brother just need more sleep?
I'm lucky that my kids are sound sleepers; I attribute it to having them nap as babies in the portacrib in the living room with all the household commotion surrounding them. When one wakes up earlier than the others when we're traveling, however, I usually put the TV on quietly or have him read until the others are up.
When we're on a roadtrip, we often all go to bed at 8:00--parents included--it's easier to get the kids settled if we're all in bed. We're all pretty early risers, though, so I suppose I'm not a lot of help.
Debbie on September 3, 2009 at 10:59 p.m.
Brother just needs more sleep than D, even though they go to bed at the same time. In general, he's better about sleeping in when he needs it - where she gets up at the same time each morning like clockwork.
I should try the TV. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that!
Victoria Wallop on September 4, 2009 at 2:33 a.m.
We have the same problem but haven't found a solution. Generally the earliest riser wakes the other two up and we try and keep them quiet with books etc but usually end up switching on the TV until a reasonable hour. The only thing we do do, is try and get the tiredest child to have a nap later on (in car or on bus etc) so that he's not too worn out by end of trip. It's a lot better now they're a little older (7, 5, 3). They sleep a bit later (6.15/6.30 instead of 5/5.30) and they're not as badly affected by the early waking. At home we get them to read in bed like you do.
Lora on September 4, 2009 at 2:45 p.m.
You bring up a VERY good dilemma. This used to be a bigger issue when my little one was younger. Back then he woke up by crying, then everyone was up. Now he's okay to snuggle in our bed for sometime until a more reasonable hour. Or, like you mentioned, he gets to walk around with one parent.
WanderMom on September 27, 2009 at 7:46 p.m.
I think I've mentioned this to you in conversation: I have one night owl and one early riser. It's not a matter of nap or nap habits when they were babies, my kids have opposite diurnal cycles. The nightowl deals with the first day or so of time zone changes better, the early riser has a strong internal sleep/wake schedule which means he settles into a routine in a new tz more easily.
When we travel, I'm on early shift, getting up and exploring with my early bird and my husband's on late shift. It's the only thing that's worked. Now that the early bird is older, if we're in a hotel, he usually grabs a book, ipod or gameboy and pillows or cushions and makes himself a nest between the curtains and the window and waits until he hears me wake. But this is one reason why I usually opt for condo/house/apartment vacation rentals.