I think I've mentioned this before... Kendal Hate

[Koala]

but I really, really don't like Kendal. I know it's important for kids to get plenty of sleep, but something about the way she talks just sets my teeth on edge. Not EVERY.DAMN.THING has to be a battle. If it's always mommy vs. kids, you just might be doing something wrong.

thefatherknowsbest.com/2011/07/thats-too-early.html

Highlights:

This brings me to a.. well...sort of rant. This might be fueled by my lack of sleep. So pardon me if it offends! One of my biggest pet peeves is hearing parents complain about their children getting up at the crack of dawn. I hear exhausted parents complaining of this frequently. My question is, why in the world are you getting up that early and why aren't YOU setting the wake up time? How is getting up so early beneficial to anyone? Why are parents afraid to set sleep boundaries with their children?

My 3 girls, all different ages and different sleep patterns, have the same wake up time. We set the time and we make the girls stick to it. It works wonderfully and everyone is well rested and happy.

I often hear, well my child wont stay in the bed that long. Well, that's a discipline issue. We had the same issue with one of mine but we don't now because we dealt with it as an obedience issue. It was quickly resolved.

I so desperately want to be sympathetic when I hear parents talk of such ridiculous wake up times. But I also want to say it's your own fault. {oh that wasn't nice!}

Parents let's step up and enforce healthy sleep boundaries for our kids. You set the time, not your tired 2 year old. You wont regret getting the extra sleep you need to be the best mama to that little one(s). Your children wont die by having to stay in the bed a little longer, I promise. And you are teaching them valuable lessons while enforcing a set wake up time.

You can do this!!

Her responding to a comment:

The 2 big girls sleep together, so Evie can look at the clock and know when the wake up time is. So then they can get up together. Before Brinley moved into the room with Evie, we didn't allow her to get out of bed until we came to get her and we strictly enforced it. For us, if they get out of bed then it's a discipline issue just like anything else. If one wanders into our room at night, then we just take them back to their room, but that pretty much doesn't happen.

[treemom]

She has no ability to pick her battles.

[clibbyjo]

She is stupid, doesn't she homeschool? Whats the big deal? Maxwell schedule?(I don't know her)

My kids go to bed around 10pm.(ish) and they wake up when they want. I will wake them up if its going on 11am or if we need to do something early. I don't think waking them at 10:45am is unreasonable of me. :) The girl has my sleep problem, so she normally cannot fall asleep before 11 or 12 so she is usually the one who sleeps in. My 15 year old usually wakes up at 6:30 on his own and reads for a few hours every morning. Who would complain about that?

[emmiedahl]

She wants them to sleep in so that she can.

And once again, Kendal proves that she is a selfish mother and a generally horrible human being.

[treemom]

She wants them to sleep in so that she can.

And once again, Kendal proves that she is a selfish mother and a generally horrible human being.

I would have more respect if she would just say that. I had rules about wake up times (although not for children to young to read a digital clock!) but they weren't enforced the way I bet Kendall enforces her rules. They were just, go back to bed sort of enforcement. And my kid was 5.

And I fully admit it was because I wanted to sleep.

[bananacat]

If a kid is getting out of bed just for attention, then "discipline" is the most useless thing you can do. The best way to deal with it is to ignore the kid and simply return her to her bed until she gets the point. Yelling, hitting, or even time outs will just keep her stimulated.

But there is no point in trying to make a kid sleep when she just isn't tired. If you want a break for yourself, most kids can handle playing quietly for a certain amount of time, especially if it's routine. Why can't she just set an alarm clock and tell the kids to have quiet time during the morning until they hear the beep?

[keeperrox]

I learned how to tell time at a very early age (I was also speaking in complete sentences before 12 months and reading at around 2 - I'm not bragging, everything leveled out around 5th grade anyway), thanks to this watch that had a face-clock on one side and a digital clock on the other. Anyway, when my mom wasn't going to be home (she gets up between 4:30 and 5:00 to this day), my dad set the rule that if it was before 8:00, I was allowed to play in my room if I was awake. Once it was 8:00, I was allowed to come get him. I worked for us and I didn't even have to be beaten.

[SquirrelySquirrel]

There is no making a kid go back to sleep in the morning if they aren't tired. You can tweak bedtime and try to figure out what works best for your kid, but only a disgusting piece of shit would beat their child for being up and awake. Most parents I know have their toddlers in bed pretty early (between 7-8), so of course they're going to be bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6-7am. My 5 year-old has never had a bedtime earlier than 10 (thought that's changing soon with Kindergarten on the horizon) because that's what works for us. She falls asleep easily and sleeps til about 9am, which is far more tolerable for a night owl like me. But anyone who doesn't beat their kids knows that you only get so much control over when they will sleep.

[Beeks]

Yeah....my 2yr old wakes up at 5:30am pretty much every day. He is also asleep by 7pm and takes a 3+ hour nap every day, so he is well-rested and happy. We've tried everything (uh, except hitting, because we aren't sadistic monsters) to get him to sleep in later, but this seems to be his natural pattern and I've just resigned myself to being an early riser...for now.

When kids are really old enough to understand "don't wake up mom and dad before 7am" then I agree with her that it's a discipline issue. But expecting that from a 2yr old is crazy.

[TVR]

Well, bad parent that i am, I actually get up when my younger kids get up (actually, my dh usually gets up with them and makes the breakfast and let my pregnant self sleep a bit longer). Even when they play in their room, it is never all that quietly and I just get annoyed when I can't get back to sleep properly and that sets a bad tone for the day.

I'm glad she found something that works for her family, but honestly, I can't imagine why she would think the world would consider her rant pearls of wisdom!

[LIzzieB]

My niece has a clock with a sun and a moon on it. The moon displays when it's night-time and the sun when it's day-time. The clever thing is that you can set the time when the sun appears to whatever time works for your family. So my 3yo niece knows that if the sun is up on the clock (e.g. 7am), it's ok to get up and wake her parents. If the moon is still there, she goes back to sleep or plays quietly in her room.

Age-appropriate boundaries with no beating. Simple.

[emmiedahl]

My 4 yo gets up early and crawls in bed with me and her baby brother. She usually just snuggles, sometimes she brings a book. dh is an early riser, so there's plenty of room.

When dh used to work early, I would turn on PBS and nap on the couch until 7-ish while my preschoolers had cold cereal and watched Sesame Street. With a baby, it is not such a good plan. This one goes to bed late and gets up late; we lucked out because I have the same natural schedule.

Kendal said she is getting up at 4 AM with the baby, what's the big deal if the older kids do it as well? They can get an early start. And there's no shame in letting your kids watch a little PBS while you nap. I know the fundies are all against TV, but if it keeps you from needing to beat them...

[ladypuglover]

I used to be the kid that the crack of dawn was to loud and would wake the sun up. While under 3-4 my mom would be getting up herself(maybe because of me??) and would start breakfast. After that, on weekends, my mother wanted to sleep in until 6-7 am, so I was allowed to either play in my room or go find my coloring books or watch TV. Thankfully as a teen I wouldn't wake until the weight of the full sun of late afternoon was upon us. I agrew it when my body needed the rest but due to school I still had to wake up at 5 am and be in bed by 9 pm.

My oldest was just like me but with the added twist of being a night owl. It got even worse when I became pg again when he was 3 months old. So I baby proofed his bedroom and we would go in there with the baby gate blocking the door and I would let him crawl wild while I cat napped on the floor. [meaning I kept one eye on him and tried to half sleep] By the time he could really take off crawling there was no choice but to keep his hours. I took every chance of napping with him and later all the other babies and just kept thinking that this too shall pass. Now my baby who is nine is over his early morning parties and will sleep in until 8 am, a much more decent hour for this insomniac mom. I feel that I should be awake by 8 am anyway as my youngest is only 9 and I don't want him taking off for parts unknown when we have errands to run.

[ladypuglover]

My niece has a clock with a sun and a moon on it. The moon displays when it's night-time and the sun when it's day-time. The clever thing is that you can set the time when the sun appears to whatever time works for your family. So my 3yo niece knows that if the sun is up on the clock (e.g. 7am), it's ok to get up and wake her parents. If the moon is still there, she goes back to sleep or plays quietly in her room.

Age-appropriate boundaries with no beating. Simple.

Do you know where I could get one? I have a great nephew that could use that.

[LIzzieB]

I think it was online... maybe something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/GroCompany-HJ00 ... pd_cp_by_0

[ladypuglover]

Thank you! I might get one for my grand neice too.

eta, found some in the USA and thinkgeek of course has the cheapest price. I love thinkgeek.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/1-3- ... pg=froogle

[notsocommon]

This is what is so great about having an older child. When she pounces on my head at oh dark thirty, I tell her to go away, watch TV and leave me alone!

...and yes, it is because I want my sleep. Bad mommy!

[xDreamerx]

I used to be a early riser, until I attended my first sleep over and my friends kind of switched me. (i.e. they would bitch at me if I was up too early and all the good talking happens late). By the time I was a teen my body just...switched? I don't know. I find it very difficult to fall asleep early. I'm no longer a teen and I still find it hard.

My brother though, bless him, it's like he has a spring in his ass. He just pops out of bed and is ready, like really ready for whatever the day has in store. Has been since he was a toddler. Though now he is getting better, he sleeps later. He's a tween now so I think he might be hitting a growth spurt or something. Anyway, did he annoy me when he used to come into my room super early and jump on me? Hell yes it did. But I always tried to smile at him and talk to him and stuff. I didn't want to crush him or make him feel less excited about life. I think it's sweet that children are that excited. Sometimes, he would sit with me and just talk or make me do voices for toys or read to him, so I got a few minutes to wake up and he wasn't ignored either.

When I was little though, I used to wake up every Saturday like it was fucking Christmas, get my cereal and watch cartoons all morning. Does TV not have this anymore?

[darkplumaged]

My parents were lucky (in a sense; my mom still goes on about what unpleasant, non-sleeping babies we were): my sister and I have never been early-morning people. I don't remember ever waking up naturally before about 8 AM, even when I used to be forced into bed by 9 or earlier as a kid.

I'm just hoping my kids, if I have them, also are relatively nocturnal, 'cause that up-for-the-day-at-o-dark-thirty stuff is just... oh, I can't even think about it.

[Koala]

I used to be a early riser, until I attended my first sleep over and my friends kind of switched me. (i.e. they would bitch at me if I was up too early and all the good talking happens late). By the time I was a teen my body just...switched? I don't know. I find it very difficult to fall asleep early. I'm no longer a teen and I still find it hard.

My brother though, bless him, it's like he has a spring in his ass. He just pops out of bed and is ready, like really ready for whatever the day has in store. Has been since he was a toddler. Though now he is getting better, he sleeps later. He's a tween now so I think he might be hitting a growth spurt or something. Anyway, did he annoy me when he used to come into my room super early and jump on me? Hell yes it did. But I always tried to smile at him and talk to him and stuff. I didn't want to crush him or make him feel less excited about life. I think it's sweet that children are that excited. Sometimes, he would sit with me and just talk or make me do voices for toys or read to him, so I got a few minutes to wake up and he wasn't ignored either.

When I was little though, I used to wake up every Saturday like it was fucking Christmas, get my cereal and watch cartoons all morning. Does TV not have this anymore?

Aww...I remember Saturday morning cartoons!

They don't have that now....they are on 24 hours a day , 7 days a week :lol:

[bionicmlle]

My first thought upon reading this was a concern about if her kids had an emergency, scary dream or other problem. If they are "trained" (I am assuming with spanking) that they CANNOT go to mommy/daddy before a certain hour, what happens if there is a bonafide reason they are awake?

[Koala]

My first thought upon reading this was a concern about if her kids had an emergency, scary dream or other problem. If they are "trained" (I am assuming with spanking) that they CANNOT go to mommy/daddy before a certain hour, what happens if there is a bonafide reason they are awake?

I thought about this as well. What if they were to get sick? Are they just supposed to take care of themselves, so as not to disturb mommy dearest?

I would bet the farm that they are too scared to make the trip down the hall to wake her up, for fear of her "discipline" :( :(

[xDreamerx]

Or even worse what if there were a fire, a home invasion, some other type of danger? I hope they would run away regardless of stupid ass Kendal.

[Guest Anonymous]

My kid is a terror for sleeping. Its not a discipline issue. These people are NUTS.

We solved it this way: we baby proofed his room 100% and replaced his crib with a double bed put a baby gate across the doorway. (we WERE cosleeping but I'm sick of getting pinched every night by little hands in my sleep).

If we wakes up too early, my husband or I, goes into the room, and drowses on the bed while he babbles and plays with his books or his blocks. Not a discipline issue as he can't help when he wakes up. 90% of the time? he plays for about a 1/2 hour and then comes and cuddles on the bed until we get up.

I get really pissed though at other parents who harp on me for letting him stay up until 9/9:30/10 most nights. I'm a night owl, and if I put him to bed at 7, he'd be up at 5, a time of day which if I'm up that early it means I've not made it to bed yet.

I don't understand this whole discipline issue thing- the kid can't HELP when s/he wakes up!

[ladypuglover]

My oldest son had night terrors when he was 2. They would last anywhere from 2-8 hours! It went from once a month to every night. Thankfully it went away on it's own after the doctors and Chrildren's tried everything in their power. So my question is how would she handle night terrors? This is something that can't be trained out of a child but she be stupid enough to try?