[blparent] Early Riser

Sun Feb 26 09:43:04 UTC 2012

I think that being an early bird is a great habit for your daughter to get
into and something that will benefit her in life for future school and jobs.
I completely understand that this isn't complimenting your lifestyle right
now so depending on your daughters age you could tell her how she's a big
girl now and can do some fun activities on her own before you get up.  These
can be some very simple activities that make her feel like a million bucks
and more mature.  You could have a snack that is already prepared in a
container all ready for her to have while watching her favorite shows or
playing with her toys.  To be honest, this is probably a better time for
some educational television since it seems to really steal their attention
nicely where playing with toys could turn into your daughter wanting to be
more interactive with you because of her young age.  It's wild but my 16
month old son already knows how to put a DVD into the player and hit the
buttons it takes to turn his favorite shows on.  He then knows how to stop
the video and turn the TV back to satellite for regular shows again.  How
funny is that?  Because my son knows how to do these things I schedule his
few shows into the day as a special treat while he eats his lunch or for
when I really need those extra few minutes to get things done.  Letting him
control the DVD player and TV has really been a wonderful opportunity for
confidence building and learning how to be gentle with things since this is
done under supervision right now since he's so young.  Depending on how old
and careful your daughter is with that type of equipment, she might be
really proud of herself to get into a routine of getting up on her own,
grabbing a snack you have ready for her and sitting down to watch Sesame
Street or something like that.  You could then work with her on looking at
the clock and at least showing her that mommy needs to sleep until the big
hand and little hand are in a certain spot or you could simply set an alarm
that will let her know that she can come in and check on you.  I'd make sure
that it's clear to her though that if she's hurt or there's something wrong
she can always come and get you so she doesn't feel like she's stuck without
a parent in a crucial situation.  It's amazing what our munchkins can get in
their little heads all on their own.

Hope this helps.

Erin
-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Melissa Ann Riccobono
Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2012 7:43 AM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] Early Riser

Austin used to be an early riser...  Now I'm not sure how we're going to get
him to kindergarten on time in the fall because he does not like getting up
early in the morning!  I'm sure we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

	Anyway, does Sarah have any music or audio books she likes?
Favorite toys or games she likes to play?  Crayons or any other quiet things
she likes to do?  Austin really likes music and audio books so I used to
send him back to his room for a little while to listen to something.
Depending on how early it was I would tell him he either had to listen to a
whole CD, or I would tell him he had to listen at least until a certain song
or story was over before he could come in and get me.  Sometimes this
worked; sometimes it didn't, but it would be a place to start.  Sometimes I
would also tell him he could play with a certain toy, stuffed animals, look
at books, or something else quiet while he listened.  This was especially
important when I was pregnant with Oriana and just needed that extra five or
ten minutes to get myself going in the morning.  Austin sounds a lot like
Sarah because when he was awake, he was really awake and wanted me to be
just as awake and active as he was.  Again, this phase might pass--it
certainly has in our house.
Good luck!
Melissa

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 1:18 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: [blparent] Early Riser

Hi.  For those of you with toddlers and older kids, have any of you had an
early riser?  Sarah is turning out to be quite the morning bird, and I'd
like to find a few tricks to keep her in bed a little longer.  She usually
wants to come get in bed with her dad and me, which would be fine if she'd
snuggle down and go back to sleep for a little while.  But she wants to play
and whisper and move around, so nobody gets any sleep.  I know the first
sensible thing would be to alter our schedules to fit her habits, but that's
more easily said than done, since her dad has specific hours that his shop
is open, and I've tended to work at night after she goes to sleep.  I'd
really rather not hear again that working from home and taking care of a
child isn't a good option, because good option or not, that's the way it is
for now.  Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Jo Elizabeth

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of
the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of
these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist
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