Much is written about getting kids to bed, getting them to stay there and to sleep through the night. As your daughter gets a little bit older, getting her out of bed in the morning can be as much of a battle as getting her into it used to be when she was a toddler! The good news is that there are things you can do to avoid or reduce morning battles.
Start with the obvious, is the bedroom warm enough? No one likes getting out of a comfortable warm bed into a chilly bedroom. If you can't provide extra heat in the bedroom maybe clothes can be heated so that your daughter will more willingly swap her girls pyjamas for her school uniform.
Is she getting enough sleep? If she can't get up in the morning then bedtimes may need to be earlier. This is a mixture of common sense and a lesson on behaviour and consequences. The thought of going off to her room at 7pm might be an inducement for your daughter to change her morning habits. This won't work if she has a computer in her room or other distractions. You'll need to assess and maybe change the bedroom environment to make sure that early bedtimes are something she wants to avoid rather than something she welcomes!
If you notice that your daughter's reluctant to get up on school mornings, but rises with the lark at weekends there might be a problem at school. Check this out with your daughter and with the school. Few children enjoy school all the time, but an ongoing unhappiness there is something that can and should be addressed.
If you've got into a situation where you knock, ring and call multiple time, and still find your little princess happily snuggled up under the covers in her girls sleep ware 10 minutes before the bus is due, then it's you who needs to change your behaviour before you can expect your child to change hers!
Talk to your daughter about what's happening in the mornings. Get her to make a list with you of things that might help. Guide her towards the idea of an alarm clock, or even two! Some of us need time to wake up, a clock next to bed can be the 'start to wake up' signal, the one on the other side of the room, next to the days clothing, is the one that says get out of bed.
Overall, you need to shift the responsibility for getting up in the mornings from yourself to your child. This might take time, and might even involve being late for school a few times. This is still a better option than having a fight to get her out of bed for the next 10 years! Talk to the school first, they'll almost certainly understand and support you in your efforts to move your daughter in the direction of taking responsibility for her own life.
Start with the obvious, is the bedroom warm enough? No one likes getting out of a comfortable warm bed into a chilly bedroom. If you can't provide extra heat in the bedroom maybe clothes can be heated so that your daughter will more willingly swap her girls pyjamas for her school uniform.
Is she getting enough sleep? If she can't get up in the morning then bedtimes may need to be earlier. This is a mixture of common sense and a lesson on behaviour and consequences. The thought of going off to her room at 7pm might be an inducement for your daughter to change her morning habits. This won't work if she has a computer in her room or other distractions. You'll need to assess and maybe change the bedroom environment to make sure that early bedtimes are something she wants to avoid rather than something she welcomes!
If you notice that your daughter's reluctant to get up on school mornings, but rises with the lark at weekends there might be a problem at school. Check this out with your daughter and with the school. Few children enjoy school all the time, but an ongoing unhappiness there is something that can and should be addressed.
If you've got into a situation where you knock, ring and call multiple time, and still find your little princess happily snuggled up under the covers in her girls sleep ware 10 minutes before the bus is due, then it's you who needs to change your behaviour before you can expect your child to change hers!
Talk to your daughter about what's happening in the mornings. Get her to make a list with you of things that might help. Guide her towards the idea of an alarm clock, or even two! Some of us need time to wake up, a clock next to bed can be the 'start to wake up' signal, the one on the other side of the room, next to the days clothing, is the one that says get out of bed.
Overall, you need to shift the responsibility for getting up in the mornings from yourself to your child. This might take time, and might even involve being late for school a few times. This is still a better option than having a fight to get her out of bed for the next 10 years! Talk to the school first, they'll almost certainly understand and support you in your efforts to move your daughter in the direction of taking responsibility for her own life.