A normal wake-up time for a child is 6 a.m.–7:30 a.m. It’s not a great idea to start your child’s day prior to 6 a.m. unless you have a specific need to be out of the house that early. If your toddler wakes up early, it could be for one of the following reasons.
Your Child has a Sleep Association
If you feed, rock or cuddle with your little one in the early morning hours and she or he then falls back to sleep, the feeding, rocking and cuddling end up being unhelpful sleep associations. Toddlers are capable of getting themselves back to sleep on their own, they just have to be given the opportunity to do it. You may think that your little one can’t get back to sleep on his own but he can! Give him the opportunity to show you he can do it!
It’s Bright When Your Toddler Wakes Up Early
Light and the absence of it are instrumental in establishing and maintaining a consistent circadian rhythm. If your child’s room is too bright during the early morning hours, that light could be the reason for early morning wake-ups. If you don’t have or don’t want blackout shades, there are inexpensive ways to make the bedroom darker. Dark, plastic garbage bags or aluminum foil secured with painter’s tape can do the trick.
Too Much Daytime Sleep
Naps are great, but too much daytime sleep can account for too little night sleep and early-morning waking. If your toddler has a daytime nap that’s longer than two hours, it could possibly be the reason for not enough night sleep. Kids need a fairly set amount of sleep. If they’re getting too much during the day, they may need less at night. Try shortening the daytime nap by 5-10 minutes every few days to see if it brings back a greater amount of night sleep. Aim for 10.5–12 hours of night sleep and a 90-minute nap for kids between the ages of 18 and 36 months.