9 Ways to Wake Up Kids Early for School Without Screaming

I need you to understand one thing:

Getting a sleepy kid to wake up early is going to be a big pain in the ass, especially in the first few weeks of resuming school after a long holiday.

Sometime you’ll feel like yelling and hope that your angry tone will get them out of bed. But they’ll eventually get used to you shouting, start nagging, and maybe even become troublesome.

At the end of the day, your goal is to wake up kids as early as possible so that they can get ready to go to school on time. And there are better ways to do that than screaming at them at the top of your voice.

How to Wake up Kids Early for School

1. Customize Your Child’s Sleeping Schedule to Longer Hours

It’s okay to let your boy or girl stay up late during school breaks. But you want to make sure they go to bed on time during school days because staying up late can interrupt their sleep patterns.

Get them to eat dinner and make sure go to bed early so that they can have enough hours of sleep. This will go a long way to enable them to wake up on time for school the next morning.

If you find them awake in the night, be stern and instruct them to go back to and sleep.

Never mind if they throw tantrums or take loud footstep as they go back to bed. One day they’ll be glad you trained them to sleep on time.

2. Get Your Child an Alarm Clock

The best alarm clocks for kids are popular for a reason. They can help to get your child out of bed on time. And they’re a good investment because they work really well.

Some clocks have single alarms that go off only once. These one are good for kids who you would consider light sleepers. Some have dual alarm built-in. If your child manages to sleep through the first alarm, the second one will definitely wake them up.

And of course, if your kid has difficulty waking up in the morning, an alarm clock for heavy sleepers will really be helpful. A good example would be the Sonic Bomb, which goes off so loudly that it can shakes even the deepest sleeper out of bed.

3. Limit Your Child’s Use of Electronics at Night

Kids love to play computer and mobile games. Once they grab their gadgets and load their favorite games, they become hooked. And school never seems to be an issue for them.

While digital games are important for their cognitive development, the use of electronics at night can negatively affect your child’s sleeping pattern as well as their morning routine.

It’s your responsibility to make sure your child isn’t using their laptop or tablet at night. You can do this by teaching them the importance of going to bed early. And if they don’t want to fall asleep yet, tuck them in bed and have them read their favorite bedtime stories. Better yet, read one for them.

4. Gift Your Kids Occasionally for Waking Up Early

Buying your child a gift simply because they woke up early for school doesn’t seem like something that makes sense for sure. But it’s a good way to appreciate them for keeping up to such an important morning routine.

The gift doesn’t have to be expensive or extraordinary. It can be something as simple as a kid’s activity tracker for exercise, a laptop for a 10-year-old for education, or kids’ headphones for music.

These items aren’t expensive. At the very least, they only cost a couple of bucks, which shouldn’t strain your budget. And the best part is you’re buying them occasionally, like when schools close and the kids are home for the holidays.

5. Get Your Child a Morning Routine

Before your child goes to bed, make sure you let them know what they need to do the following day and at what time. The routine doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be a list of tasks a child can do every morning immediately they wake up.

A good morning checklist can be something like making their bed, taking a shower, getting dressed, eating breakfast and leaving home for school. Remind them that if they wake up late, they’ll disrupt their routine and fail to get things done.

6. Let Them Choose Their Own Breakfast

Sometimes kids love to get things done on their own. And this is a good way for them to learn some important life skills. So give them an opportunity to choose their favorite breakfast and make sure it’s something they can easily prepare on their own.

It could be scrambled eggs, wheat flakes, bacons, or just about anything that they like to eat. When waking them up, remind them that their treat for breakfast is only valid when they get out of bed in time.

7. Give Your Children Some Competitive Advantage

This is something that you probably haven’t tried yet. But giving your children a competitive advantage is a good way to wake them up on time.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, by the way. Make it as simple as letting your kids know that whoever wakes up first and gets ready for school will have the largest share of their favorite snacks or breakfast in the morning. Or you can suggest that the first person to wake up gets to have a long and uninterrupted bath.

8. Prepare Your Children Early

If you want your kids to get to school on time, then you need to make sure you prepare them as early as possible.

Let them start going to bed early a week before schools open. They’ll stop staying up late and gradually adapt to the new sleeping pattern.

Plus, the earlier they go to bed, the more hours of sleep they get. And when it’s time to get up, they’ll do so easily and without hesitation.

9. Is Your Son/Daughter Late? Let Them Learn from their Own Mistake

Sometimes it’s reasonable to let your kids know that experience is the best teacher.

As far as being late for school is concerned, they’ll miss breakfast, go to school in an empty stomach, and feel hungry for the better part of the day. They’ll eventually wake up early so as not to miss their morning meals.

Moreover, going to school unkempt can be a reason for a tutor to get mad at your child and probably send them back home. Worse, other kids may even laugh at your kid if they notice that they aren’t clean.

Eventually, your child will learn that to avoid being a target of ridicule at school, they have to get up early, prepare well, look smart, and get to school clean and in time.

Some Words of Advice

Remember, children become a replica of who you are. If you wake up every morning all moody and grumpy, they’ll most likely pick the same habit.

Teach them the beauty of waking up early instead. Help them set their objectives for the day. And don’t forget to remind them that they can achieve anything they want if they wake up on time and get down to it.

With that, they’ll realize how each morning presents them with an opportunity to become better human beings.