Child Tired But Insists on Getting Up Early

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Naomi Aldort

Hello Naomi, My 6 year old has decided that she wants to be woken up at 7am. The thing is, she won't go to sleep before 10pm (we co-sleep). I have been waking her up at this time as requested, but she seems exhausted and miserable all day. If I don't wake her up, she screams at me for 2 hours for not waking her. Is it her choice when to be woken up, even if she seems to need more sleep?

Dear Parent,

Why don’t you give your daughter an alarm clock that she can set herself to her liking. Let her be in charge of herself. She will then learn from her own experiences over time. and make changes based on her own realizations. Spare yourself the power struggle and she won’t be driven to resist you. Instead, she will feel autonomous and come to whatever conclusions are wise for her.

Being tired for a period is fine; she will move on when she has the freedom to experience it and come to her own conclusions.

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Child Tired But Insists on Getting Up Early

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