At some point in each of my little ones toddler/preschool years, they began waking up at the crack of dawn (often around or near the time change). They could be the greatest sleepers but at some point, their little internal clocks pop them awake. Never fails. They all were in toddler beds by the age of 2 and generally figured out they could get out of the bed on their own somewhere around 2 1/2.  Most, if not all the time, they still needed more sleep. So I started the "wait for the paper" rule. Recently, we had to implement this with my 3 year old. Her average wake up time was 7 am but suddenly, turned to 5:15 am.

I told her I would put a paper under the door when it was time to get up and she was to stay in bed until then. (She can get up to go to the bathroom if needed but most of the time she doesn’t). Around here, 6:30 am is an acceptable wake up time. I have a monitor in my room and can hear if there is a problem. More often than not, she falls back to sleep until 7.

It's fun to draw a little picture or a message on the paper for them to find.

                                             Tea Time