Far too early!

Ever since the clocks changed back in October Isaac and Eliza just don’t seem to be able to sleep past 5.30am and they deliberately wake Sebastian up as they know that I will get up if he is awake.  Now he is also programmed to wake up at that time and its leaving me exhausted.

I toyed with the idea of trying to change routines over Christmas but the excitement levels were too high to even think about it.  Now we are back in the routine of school, and with their behaviour starting to deteriorate thanks to the lack of sleep I tried to force them to stay in bed, which just resulted in lots of shouting and screaming and still no sleep, so I emailed Fi at Childcareisfun for some sleep training advice.

The plan is super simple and tailored for me as all children are different, but it is starting to work already *touches wood*.

I have invested in another Gro Clock so they have one in each of their rooms and we are using a sticker chart with Isaac and an “Awesome Behaviour Jar” with Eliza as she has a tendency to peel stickers back off her sticker chart.  I am finding it tough making them stay in bed when I am downstairs with Sebastian but it is going to be worth it in the end.

Isaac is also learning to tell the time using his new watch he got from The Watch Hut at Christmas.  He understands the digital display on his clock, and is making good progress with a clock face – we made sure we taught him 7 o’clock as that is time he goes to bed as well as when he is allowed to get up.

Having a watch makes him feel like a big boy and he proudly wears it wherever he goes.  You just have to be prepared for it to be thrust under your nose with demands of “is it half past five” or other time related questions though.

Hopefully this time next week I will have three children that all sleep beautifully and I will be back to moaning about how to drag the teen out of bed!