Today I’m answering a reader’s questions about how to wake up without waking the kids. This can be difficult for moms and if you’re struggling to get up in the morning before the little ones wake up, I’m sharing a few of my tips and suggestions!
Also, please note, this blog post was written a number of years ago when my kids were still pretty young.
Q: Hi Melissa! I am reading through some of the Spring Cleaning reading you’ve given us, and I’m coming across a question that I’ve had in the past and have never come up with a solution for. How do I manage waking up early for devotion and getting breakfast ready for my family without disturbing their sleep?
I have two kids (ages 2 and 3) who are light sleepers, and I worry that an alarm will wake them since they’ve been known to wake up at the sound of a car driving by outside. They generally wake up around dawn anyway, so I really don’t want to wake them earlier because they won’t be getting enough sleep. With this in mind, I have wanted to wake in the morning to do a devotional each day and start the day off right, but I can’t figure out how to make it work without disrupting the rest of my family. Do you have any suggestions? Or alternatively, do you have any suggestions on how I can do a morning devotional if they’re awake with me?
I’m sorry to bother you with such a silly question, but it’s something that’s been circling my mind for months and I just don’t know what to do with it. I know that as they get older things will be different, but I would like to find at least a temporary solution for now.
— Amy
A: Hi Amy, I understand how hard this can be. I had a baby, (she’s 9 now) who would wake up at any noise and was sooo hard to put to sleep! This is not a silly question! I am so glad you asked!
First, I would pray about it.
Second, go to bed early enough that waking up early is easy.
Third, ask God to help you wake up at a specific time. I can’t count the times I have asked God to wake me up at a certain time and He has!
I use my cell phone for my alarm clock. My husband uses our actual alarm clock. But with my cell phone I can set the ringer on real low – say 2 or 3. and it will wake me up. I don’t know if that would work for you.
So, if none of those ideas work, I’d have my devotions at the breakfast table either during or just after we ate.
I usually do family worship with my kids just after breakfast. Since your children are little you could have family worship and then tell the kids to go play for 15 or 30 minutes (whatever you feel your kids can handle) while you have your Mommy Worship Time.
If they try to bother you during that time tell them that they have to wait until you are done. If you have a problem with them listening to you, try setting an egg timer and telling them that when they hear it “ding” they can come out of their rooms (or where ever they are playing).
This time will pass quickly and it will get easier as time goes on. One day you will miss all this! I hope these suggestions work. May God bless your efforts!
— Melissa
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