Sleeping FAQ: 18-24 Months – Early Morning Waking

Since the clocks changed back my 23mth daughter is waking early in the mornings.

I am very confused as to what to do about the 6/6.30am early morning waking that I am now experiencing. My daughter of 23mths goes down at 7pm settling to sleep straight away and always used to be woken at 7am. Since the clocks went back a month ago she has woken early. I have tried giving her 2 1/4 hours sleep at lunchtime, 1 1/2 hours at lunchtime any times between 12.30pm and 3.15pm. She always has to be woken from this nap.

Nothing seems to work to get her to sleep back through to 7am. I have not gone into her room before 7am and just left her there whinging and calling out for us – which we hate, but want her to realize that its still sleep time. This has not worked either. She is in a sleeping bag, in nappies, eats well, and is active and quite normal. It is just difficult to know what to do. Do we cut right back on her lunchtime sleep, or settle her later than 1pm? Do we let her sleep as long as she likes at lunchtime? Should we go into her room when she wakes up in the morning and explain its still sleep time, put a book in her cot – although she wouldn’t be able to read it as its too dark. I just really need help on this part of the routine as it doesn’t explain what to do anywhere.

All the other problems I have come across with my daughter I have been able to rectify with the help of your website and books. I would really also like to know when you should be cutting down the lunchtime naps, at what age, stage, signs, and the times they should be sleeping from and to as they grow up. I have a 9 mth old and another on the way so I really do need my sleep until 7am!
At present my daughters lunchtime nap can be from 12.30-2.30pm, 1-2.30pm and 1-3pm.

The amount of sleep needed in the day at this age can vary from child to child. Some toddlers are much more active but don’t sleep for long, so overtiredness can become a problem. It is also quite difficult to be specific about the age a toddler needs to start reducing the length of the daytime nap. Reading the last two chapters of Gina’s Complete Sleep Guide may help and also look at the case study of Heather on the site.

Now your daughter no longer has a morning nap try to get her to 1pm until she has her lunchtime nap. This may be difficult at first, whilst she is still waking early, but push it forward by a few minutes every few days. Once you put her down for her nap, allow her to sleep for two hours

At the same time bring her bedtime forward so she is not going down and falling straight to sleep. This is a common reason for early waking in the morning. By settling her into bed at 6.40pm this should give her time to chat for a while before going off to sleep. Don’t expect to see a change straight away. As you are re-setting her body clock cycles, it may take a week or more for her to begin to sleep on until later in the morning. Once you notice an improvement in the time she wakes in the morning begin to move her bedtime back towards 7pm. Keep an eye on how tired she does get in the day. Toddlers of this age are full of energy and don?ft always rest in the day as much as they may need. Try to build quieter times into her day when you sit and look at book together, if only for 5-10 minutes.

The lunchtime nap may stay from 1-3pm for another year or your daughter may show signs of not needing so much sleep, by taking longer to settle to sleep at this time or by waking earlier. It is a good idea to keep up some kind of daytime rest or quiet period even when the nap itself has been dropped. By the age of three most children will have dropped this sleep but still need a time of quiet in the middle of the day to recharge.

At present it would seem your daughter still needs her full two hour nap in the day. By letting her sleep to 3pm it should help her get nearer to 7pm without getting too tired. Once the early morning waking is adjusted she will still need this nap but in the next year may begin to cut back on it a little. It can be difficult as some toddlers seem to need a one and a half hour nap one day and a two hour nap on other days, depending how tired they are and what they are doing in the day. Watching her for signs of overtiredness will help you decide what is best for her needs and adjust the times accordingly.

If your daughter is not getting too upset when she wakes in the mornings it may be best to leave her, providing she is not disturbing your other child.

If you do decide to go in to her room, you will need to lie her down and tell her that it is still night time and she must go to sleep. Depending on her speech development she may try to get into a conversation with you. This is not a good idea. Consistence and firm handling at this time of day are the best way for a child to understand that it is too early to be awake. Take a look at Contented Baby to Confident Child, page 171, which addresses the problem of early mornings and how to deal with them.

Since your daughter was such a good sleeper previously, adjusting her bedtime and moving her lunchtime nap so it is always from 1-3pm should help her get back into her old pattern of sleeping until 7am.