2 Year-old That Doesn't like to Sleep past 5Am

i agree with Deb K. 2 yr olds can be weird about sleep. it is a phase. one of my boys (the easier one) would go back to bed (sometimes back to sleep) if i put on music for him. i could usually get another 30 minutes or more of sleep that way. the other boy couldn't sleep if he was the slightest bit hungry. so i started putting a cup of milk in the fridge and a box of crackers on the table the night before. that worked great for him and i often woke in the morning to find him in bed with a bunch of books and his cup of milk, totally happy. good luck!

I would tell Sam that Avery won't come over to play unless she sleeps in.

We let our son get one quiet toy or book and get back in bed. Never more than one toy. We told him we would let him know when he could get up, but we expected him to be quiet and not wake us up until then. I usually spent the time reading since I was already awake. Nine times out of ten he would go back to sleep for another hour or so.

We had the same problem with our son. We hooked up a cute nightlight to a timer and now he knows that when the snowman light turns on it is time to come get mom and dad. We began using this method when he was 17 months and it has worked wonderfully - he is turning 2 today. We started having the light turn on about when he would wake up anyway (like 5:15) and have SLOWLY moved it back so that it is programmed to come on at 6:30. It is heavenly! He has really taken to the idea of the light and is excited to show us each morning that the light is on. If he wakes up in the night or too early, we ask him if his snowman light is on and when the answer in no, he knows that it is still time to sleep. Good Luck!

I am not a morning person. I never have been, and I hope that I never will be. My children, on the other hand, well they get up at the crack of dawn. It drives me crazy. They are just naturally that way. I have tried letting them go to bed later but it doesnt help. This may not be the best answer, but I put a gate in front of their door when they were little and put safe toys in their room, so when they woke up before I did, they werent destroying the house or getting into something that could hurt them. That way they stayed in their rooms and played until I got up. Now my son gets up around 5-6 am and gets himself ready for school...most days. I get up around 7 and make breakfast and then wake my daughter up, and get them off to school. (so having an early riser may be a good thing later)

Good luck!

Ha ha..I have a commrade...why else would anyone be up answering emails at 5:30...good luck with it...rest when you can!!! Been there for about a year. My son is 3!

I heard from my cousin's wife that for this situation it works to have an earlier bedtime. She said it worked for her kid. Maybe there would also be a way to cut out a nap or make it shorter. (Then she'd be ready to go to bed earlier!) Still, I doubt this would work for every kid.

This may not be a very popular suggestion, but when she gets up at 5 will she go back to sleep if she can get in your bed with you? I know that is not for everyone, but in my family if the kids get up super early they just crawl in bed wiht mom and dad and go back to sleep.

I'm guessing it's still dark when she gets up. When our oldest got his first big bed, we told him the rule is that if he wakes up and it's dark, he has to go back to sleep. If it's not dark in his room, he can get up and come get us. I think since you have that sun/moon light, she ought to be able to understand that she has to stay in her room (or her bed) until the sun shows up. She's definitely old enough.
Another thing is that if you push her bedtime 'til later, it might take a week or so before she sleeps in a little later to compensate. If you accidentally got home late from an activity with her, and she went to bed at 8, would she automatically sleep in until 5:30? No, she'd get up at her usual time, and might only feel a little extra sleepy that afternoon. So give it some more time. If you're going to use your sun/moon light, you'll want to slowly adjust that to turn into the sun a little later as you adjust her bedtime.

This is a phase, isn't it fun???
My son was up like clockwork at 5:30 every morning at this age. I would scoop him up lay him in bed with me and tell him he had to be super duper quiet for another hour. He shares a room with his sister who is a good sleeper.
Some mornings we just started our day at 5:30, lot's of coffee on those mornings! :)
Get black out shades for her room, make a rule if she gets up she cannot get out of bed, have a few books nearby and tell her she can quietly look at books until she hears mommy but not to get out of bed.
Or you can try laying her back down in your bed with you that early.
It is a phase, they are wanting to seize every waking moment and learning all this new stuff they don't want to bother with sleep. At her age she should be getting close to 12-13 hours of sleep a day, which sounds like with her nap she is.
Moving bedtimes didn't help my son, it wasn't until he gave up naps at about 3 that he slept longer. Sorry, not helpful am I? Maybe just letting her skip her nap one day and see what happens (and yes that dinnertime grump thing will happen). I let my son give up naps with the deal he would go to bed earlier then. So he at three started going to bed at 6:45 and sleeps until 7:00.
Now he is four I let him stay up until 7:30 but he still sleeps until 7:00 and if it is a dark or cloudy morning sometimes until 7:45! WOO HOOO!~
Hugs! This is normal.

I have a 2-1/2 year old boy who does the same thing. It doesnt matter if he goes to bed later or earlier he is ALWAYS up at 5:00 so I feel your pain. I wish I could say we have gotten past it but nope. I think that is just how some kids are wired.

Can you train her to stay in her room and play until you come get her in the morning when you wake up?

have you tried an earlier bed time? I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but try moving the bed time up (gradually) to 6:45 or 7pm, this may help her sleep longer. she is two, probably still needs her nap and lots of sleep at night. also, what time is her nap time? you might want to move that up a little earlier too