At what age should children be getting up on their own?
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At what age should children be getting up on their own?
| Tue, 08-28-2012 - 11:15am |
I'm wondering what everyone thinks is an appropriate age for a child to wake up with an alarm clock as opposed to a parent going in and waking them up?
Does anyone have a child you can not wake up with an alarm clock?
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I have a friend whose dd was getting up by herself at age 5. They set a computerized Arthur stuffed animal to wake her up and she got up on time, dressed herself, got ready for the day, and met her parents at the breakfast table.
9 or 10 sounds pretty reasonable to me.
I think it really depends on the child. Neither my ds12 nor my ds10 uses an alarm. Ds12 is almost always up by 6am and if he isn't up by 6:45, I wake him. I wouldn't want him to have an alarm go off, because it would wake ds10 (who doesn't need to be up and is a worse sleeper).
Dd22 ALWAYS struggled, although she's pretty good now (and she lived on campus for four years and seemed to survive, although she'd occasionally sleep through her 8am class). We definitely have gone into her room with two alarms blaring and found her deeply sleeping. Dh and I are light sleepers, so I can't imagine this!
Dd19 has been waking herself up at least since middle school, probably earlier. She's very good. I never think to check when she's awake or if she's awake. Dd22 (who is living with us right now)... well, if I go by her room at 7am, I do give a knock on the door.
I honestly am prejudiced because I hate alarms. I rarely use one and if I need to get up and dh is home, I'll ask him to wake me.
I have a son who is going to be 17 on Sat. & sometimes he can't wake up w/ an alarm clock. Last year we actually went to a sleep specialist dr. because he has a seizure disorder and it's important for him to get sleep. The basic problem was that even if he went to bed at a reasonable hour he just could not fall asleep--therefore, he was too tired in the am to wake up. The dr. instructed him how to reset his sleep clock, which involved taking Melatonin & some other stuff and for a few months he did wake up on his own, then he got lax. I just dread the beginning of this school year since he has been staying up late & waking up late all summer.
I was the kid that needed someone to wake me, but couldn't touch me to wake. My mom had to stand at the edge of my room and quietly say, "time to get up!" I was not an early riser!!!
Oh, Theresa, that's so funny. I HAVE to have an alarm, or I wake up from 3am on, worrying that I've overslept. OTOH, if I've set an alarm, I can sleep peacefully til it goes off. I set an alarm 7 days a week, even on vacation!
Kelly
I HAVE to have an alarm, or I wake up from 3am on, worrying that I've overslept. OTOH, if I've set an alarm, I can sleep peacefully til it goes off. I set an alarm 7 days a week, even on vacation!
I can understand that. Sometimes when I have something important going on in the AM I'll get up a few times in the night with a "Oh my gosh, have I overslept?!" panic. Mostly though, there is just no chance of oversleeping. Dh is up by 5 or 6 most days, as is ds12 (and the rest aren't far behind). I was up at 5:30 today without an alarm and that's pretty standard. I wish dh and I had the ability to sleep in, but I don't think I've slept late (say past 7 or 8) for decades. Part of the reason ds12 has the same bedtime every day of the year is that he seems physically incapable of sleeping in, no matter when he goes to bed. I keep wondering if that will change as he hits puberty. I think those light alarms would be cool (slowly mimics daylight) but not sure if they would work on a heavy sleeper like dd.
My kids each got an alarm clock when they were 10 and starting 5th grade (middle school). During the elementary years, I didn't normally go into their rooms and wake them. They went to bed at appropriate times and usually woke up within the right window of time. It was very occasionally that I had to knock on their doors or call their names.
Mindy
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