And I say that NOT as a relaxing ahhhh,but as a what-am-I-going-to-do!?! AHHH.
Why does everything roll down-hill?
It's like a wave on the sea-it starts out small and then as the water rushes towards the beach (or in my case,a rocky cliff!!) it builds bigger and more powerful effecting all the water around it.
Bad habits in this house are like that.
My children are the wave-they learn from each other,feed off each other.
I am the rocky cliff that it all crashes against!
In this instance,I am referring to the misunderstanding being passed down through my children :That 5:00 AM is a grand awakening time!
With my oldest child (who has some challenges) I finally gave up ever getting him to sleep in....I had to settle for being able to get him to go to sleep at all and be content with that.
But then,a couple of months ago he started teaching Jeremiah to get up early-which made Jeremiah nearly intolerable!
Last week,Jeremiah started waking Payton up at wee-hours of the morning (they share a room).
I am trying SO hard to be consistent and not give up!
I will sleep-train (or whatever you want to call it!) these children.
When I hear little voices and see a light flip on,I just outta bed (I'm usually up nursing Jacobi anyway) and walk in,usher them both back to bed and turn out their light.
It doesn't work....most of the time they get back up at worst and stay awake at best.
So,I have been getting to bed earlier!
I am one tired mommy,but I know I have to stick with it!
We really hope it gets easier once we are in a home with more bedrooms.....
I just need to continue to be a strong,steady rocky cliff and not crumble!
I am more than happy to hear ANY suggestions!!
Give them a consequence for getting up too early.. "You get up early, *this* is what happens" type of thing. Something mildly unpleasant... they do it again, make it more unpleasant. It can take a few days for them to retrain themselves to get up at a new time. My other advice? Let me come over for a while (or have them come here - lol)! So I can understand where you're coming from and brainstorm (better) what things might work in your home :-P Don't give up!
ReplyDeleteSteph
I totally did that the other day during naps!
ReplyDeleteI told (especially Jeremiah) that IF he wanted to go with G&G to the zoo lights,he had to take his nap (I woudn't have let him go without one anyway,but it reinforced the notion) and he took his nap!
I think the boys get overly tired and can't settle down. But I WON'T give up! I KNOW they are neurologically sound and able to sleep better! (thanks!)
It helps when you can start reasoning with them. Like you said to Jeremiah about the zoo. When they start understanding those kind of consequences it can be a big tool in eliciting proper behavior! I do that in the store too. I remind them every time we go in one "if you don't behave, you have to sit in the cart" - that's their punishment - lol. Because they understand and don't want to sit in the cart they are on their best behavior (and when they aren't they get "time out" in the cart) :-)
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