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

[Kelya]

Goddess, can the kids not just play quietly in their rooms until she decides to get up? I used to color and hang out and generally have a good time from the hours of five to seven as a kidlet.

[nutella addict]

I was the child who never slept, and actually never really slept that many hours a night until now (grad school). We'd go to bed at like 8:30 or so, my sister and I would talk quietly awhile (we shared a room) and then she'd fall asleep and I'd play with my stuffed animals in the dark silently and daydream for a long time before I finally slept. All of us would get up early (except school days, when we'd be half-asleep while Mom dressed us, for some reason) and if we didn't run in to wake up Mom and Dad we'd just quietly turn on the tv, read, or color. We would wake up especially early when we visited relatives in California because of the 3-hour time difference, and so one of the adults would hear us moving around, tiptoe out, put on the Disney channel (part of cable there at the time and not at home, so this was super exciting for us - Duck Tales and everything!) at a very low volume, and we'd all sit quietly watching while the parents slept a few more hours. By the time I was older I would stay up late reading (even later than my parents knew :-p) and wake up early and read for hours too.

Also, my brother was climbing back in with my parents every night as soon as he figured out how to climb out of his crib (later, get out of his bed), even until he was 4 - then we moved and he crawled in with me instead for another year. I find this happens in other families of 3 kids as well - one of the girls I babysit always climbed in with her parents or her brothers when she was little. I don't know about onlys, but I'm guessing these youngest didn't like being in a dark room alone and their older siblings shared rooms so why couldn't they?

Most parents of preschoolers I know will just ask their kids if the sun is up yet, or alternatively will say "When this number on the clock is a 7, THEN you can wake me up for breakfast" and put them back to bed, if it really is that ridiculously early. Either that, or put on the tv or get out coloring books or something quiet. And if the kid is really hungry, hand them a granola bar to tide them over, before they make a mess trying to make their own breakfast. There are so many ways to treat this as normal and healthy, and NOT beat your children for it...

[zeebaneighba]

We had a problem with Kiddo #1waking me up too early when #2 was an infant (I don't think #2 slept through the night until she was in kindergarten; I kid you not!) After being up half the night with #2, I was NOT ready to get up at the crack of dawn with #1. We made her a pretty clock and taught her how to tell when it was ... 9:00, I think?... (this was 20+ years ago). She could play quietly or look at books or whatever, but she was not to wake me up before the specified time. I don't recall there being a problem with emergencies or anything. I am a very light sleeper, and I'm sure a distress call or cry would have awakened me.

[yetanothermeg]

We've tried the clock thing with my 2.5 year old but it just doesn't work. He wakes up between 5 and 6 every morning. First it starts with the calling, "Mommy, Daddy!" until one of us goes into his room. If we try to explain that its too early he just cries, so then we take him into bed with us. Then the script starts. The exact same script he has been using for months. "Mom. I'm getting hungry. Can we go downstairs now? How about some yogurt? That would be great!" He repeats this over and over until I get up and take him downstairs for some effing yogurt. The other day my husband left for work early and we went through this whole rigamarole and I guess I drifted off to sleep because all of a sudden I heard this slurping sound. I opened my eyes and there was my kid eating his little yogurt in bed with me, yogurt smeared all over the sheets. That boy loves his yogurt! Seriously though, I can't wait until our lease is up because we are definately moving to a single-storey house, so I can send him to get his own damn yogurt in the morning with no worries.

[formergothardite]

So children are a blessing, she just doesn't want to be bothered by them and wants them to just stay in their rooms and leave her alone. Oh yes, that is exactly the attitude Jesus had towards children. "Just take those annoying little brats away so I can focus on myself." That is just what Jesus said. A real follower of Christ she is.

Now that my daughter is older she doesn't get to wake me up at the crack of dawn either, but she has food she can get on her own if she is hungry, knows how to work the tv if she wants to watch cartoons and also knows she can play in her room if it that is what she chooses. But when she was younger, I sucked it up and got up to feed her and rest on the couch while she played in our child safe living room. I don't think Kendal really likes being a parent.

[contrary]

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.

i have been looking for this thing! i read an article about heidi klum using something similar, where she could set the wake-up time (or the "ok to leave your room and wake up mom and dad time") and i want it!

my kids get up between 6-6:30. I'm okay with 6:30, but we go through phases where they're calling out or wandering into my room looking for juice closer to 5:45 or 6...i'd love to have a good 6:30 visual for them to use.

[Effie]

Kendal doesn't know any other way to raise a child. She was spanked by her parent(s). She thinks it worked fine with her.

Well, that could be an explanation, but never an excuse.

[Turtle]

God, what a depressing way to be a parent. They are little for such a short period of time. Some of the sweetest moments of my life have been when my little boy crawled in bed to snuggle with mommy and daddy. I also love how excited he is to see us every.single.morning. "It's morning mommy! I love you! What are we going to do today?"

Imagine being two years old, waking up from a scary nightmare, lonely and looking for comfort from the person you should trust more than anyone...and they smack you and send you back to your dark room?!

[keen23]

Maybe it's because my kids are older, but I have very strictly imposed bedtimes in our house. My kids are in bed by 8:30 at the absolute latest. Because by then, I am done with it, and I need my alone time. My oldest can read for 30 minutes, or until 9:00, but the younger two are lights out at 8:30. They get up on their own on the weekend mornings- by 7:00 it seems, and then go downstairs and watch TV or play by themselves until we get up around 9. On the weekdays, I get them up at 6:00 AM to get ready for camp or school, and we are out the door at 7 AM.

My kids are 8, 6 and 4 and are fully capable of turning on the TV, playing together or getting themselves a drink or granola bar without assistance. When they were younger, one of us would get up with them on the weekends at 7. But if they got up before then, they were expected to stay in their room and not wake up the house. I'm sorry, but the kid does not rule the house or set the wake-up times. Its a great start on teaching a child how to occupy him or herself so that you do not need to be the source of entertainment 100% of the time.

[forever ago]

I see nothing wrong with letting a kid go to bed when s/he wants. It's not a discipline issue. If it works for everyone, it works for everyone and there's no reason to send them to be earlier just because. On the other hand, if you're out shopping at 9 pm and your kid's getting fussy... why the hell are you taking your kid shopping with you at 9 pm in the first place?! Teens are one thing, but I'm talking young children.

Kendal is a fucking moron. If your kid cannot cooperate with you because of lack of communication skills or their own bodies, it's a "discipline issue" and the kid is a willful, spoiled brat. Bullshit. I hate fundie "parents" who think everything needs to revolve around them.

Turtle: I had a horrible phobia of thunderstorms up until I was 18, when I went to college. I still hate them, but I'm not really phobic. Whenever a storm came at night, I'd hide in my parents' room. When I got older I slept on the floor with the softest and thickest blankets I could find. This went on until I figured I was too old to be cowering in my parents' room, so I took to my completely windowless bathroom where it's harder to hear thunder. I can't imagine living in a fundie family that would beat me if I was out of bed. I'm an insanely light sleeper to begin with- if someone even so much as walks past my bedroom door I wake up. I'm not going to lay in bed freaking out over a thunderstorm, I'm going somewhere that feels safer and quieter and entertain myself there for the next hour or so. I can't imagine being a scared little girl, seeking the comfort of my parents during a nighttime thunderstorm and having them beat me and send me to a dark room.