WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR ADHD CHILD KEEPS WAKING UP TOO EARLY
As a parent, you are exhausted from everything you have to do throughout the day. You really look forward to bedtime. You already have difficulty falling asleep due to so much on your mind. When you do fall asleep, you wake up frequently throughout the night. Every morning your ADHD child storms into your bedroom. They are very loud and disrupt the entire house. Every. Single. Morning. Maybe you have other children, and now the other children are also awake. There’s no getting back to sleep now. Everyone is up, and the day starts earlier than you had wanted. It keeps happening every morning, and you don’t know what to do. All you want to do is be able to sleep in for one day! Just one day! You keep telling your child to stay in their room if they wake up early, but they don’t listen.
Below are tips to help your ADHD child stay asleep longer and stay in their bedroom if they wake up too early.
Establish a consistent bedtime routine
Children with ADHD often benefit from structure and predictability, so create a calming bedtime routine that your child can follow every night. This may include a warm bath, a story or quiet activity, and some relaxing music.
Set a regular bedtime
Consistency is key when it comes to sleep, so try to set a regular bedtime for your child and stick to it as much as possible. This will help their body and mind get into a sleep routine.
Create a sleep-conducive environment For your CHILD
Make sure your child's bedroom is a comfortable and calming space for them to sleep in. This means minimizing noise and distractions, keeping the room cool and dark, and making sure their bed is comfortable and supportive.
Keep your ADHD child entertained
Often, children who wake up early in the morning go to their parent’s bedroom because they are bored. They have all of this energy and don’t know what to do with it. They certainly don’t want to continue lying in bed. Is there anything more boring?
Work with your child on creating a list of activities they can engage in in their bedroom in the morning. If the child cannot read, create a visual list in which they select the images to represent each activity. When creating the list, make sure the activities are something the child can engage in quietly in their bedroom. Place the list of activities in an area where your child can easily see it, such as behind their bedroom door. Creating a list of activities with your child will ensure that your child has an interest in the activities. This will help keep your child busy in the morning while everyone else sleeps.
5. Let YOUR child WITH ADHD know when they can leave their bedroom
Children don’t understand the concept of time. Sometimes, if they see daylight out their window, they think it’s morning and okay to get up and start their day. Something that can be useful is an “okay to wake” clock. These clocks use colors to let the child know when they need to stay in their bedroom and when they are allowed to leave their room. Some of these clocks are customizable, and the child can pick what color they’d like to represent that they need to stay in their room and what color means they are allowed out.
6. Provide your ADHD child with praise
Each morning that your ADHD child can stay in their bedroom, give them praise. It helps if you tell other family members/friends how proud you are of your child right in front of them, as this will encourage them to continue to engage in this positive behavior.
In conclusion, dealing with an ADHD child who wakes up too early can be a challenging experience for parents and caregivers. However, implementing a consistent bedtime routine, creating a sleep-conducive environment, and helping them identify ways to entertain themselves when they wake up too early can be effective strategies that can help alleviate this issue.
Janine Kelly, MSW, LCSW, RPT, CATP, ADHD-CCSP, CCATP-CA is a Registered Play Therapist, Certified EMDR Therapist, and Perinatal Mental Health Therapist in Middlesex, NJ. Janine specializes in childhood anxiety, childhood OCD, childhood trauma, and supporting children who experience neurodivergence such as ADHD and Autism. She also specializes in pregnancy and postpartum mood disorders such as anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, depression, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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