Does your 3 year old get up and play by himself quietly?

[dullified]

Hi My 3 years and nearly 4 months old still wakes up in the morning and shouts for me (mummy) to come and get him - this morning because he had a bad dream at 6:00am. My partner says I am pandering to him and he should get up and play quietly with his toys by himself at this age - is this right? Does your 3 year old get up and let you have a lie in??? While of course being considerate enough not to wake up his one year old sister too?

[Pickle]

Our kids only started doing this once they started sharing a bedroom last year, aged 5 and 3.5. They will play happily for ages, however as I type I can hear crashing and banging through the wall with shouts of "aaarh me hearties", so it can't really be described as quiet ;)

[Sanne Panne]

At that age it may be hard for them to just wait for you to come get them but if you use e.g. the Groclock they will know that when the clock is blue they need to be quiet and when it turns yellow they can come get you.

We used it from age 2.5 mostly without problems, you may feel you're being tough while trying to enforce it the first few days but they get used to it so easily - in fact now if I come to my daughter's room when the clock is still blue she sends me away.

[ClareC]

Mine have just started this. Although they don't share a room, they do now have adjoining bedrooms with a connecting door.

The eldest is 2 1/2, younger one 16 months. Little one still in a cot but his sister entertains him. We get around an hour before they get bored. I think it's the connecting door that made all the difference!

[Belle]

I am waiting for my 3.5 yr old to do this but he says he likes people to play with...

[number 2]

i would say that "getting up and playing by himself" is a pretty big ask for a 3 year old. we have had a lot of success with a groclock and he now stays in bed until 6.45 and knows not to come down before then. sometimes he's not particularly quiet though!

[Polly D]

No!

But then his room is pitch black and he can't reach the light switch yet. At the weekend he comes up to our room once he wakes up and we usually take it in turns to give each other an hour or so lie in.

[echo]

As soon as my two wake up they want mummy... 2 and 4

[crystal7]

No! Wake up call at 6 every morning. Sometimes she thoughtfully brings books into our room for us to read to her, sometimes we can persuade her to read them to herself first! Tricky though as baby often awake at 5.30 which perhaps wakes her.

[wellington]

My eldest didn't start to do this until he was past 5 years.

Some children/people are just social and like to be with others lots of the time. Some children are happy to play alone. You could put some special quiet toys out at the weekend and see if he'll play by himself but I generally think it is unrealistic to expect him to do so at his age.

[pebbles]

I 2nd the groclock. We introduced at about 2 1/2 with our eldest son and although there have been blips he pretty much stays quiet until it turns yellow. He's now 5 and I would say only n the last year has he played in the morning rather than just staring at the clock. When he couldn't reach the light switch we gave him a side light. He has a tool box of Lego and playmobil that lives next to his bed and that's what he plays with.

We gave our daughter a Gro clock at same age and we set it 15 mins earlier so that when she wakes she goes downstairs to play with her brother and then when his clock goes yellow they are allowed to come out. During week they come to our bedroom and at weekends they now go downstairs and eldest knows how to work tv so we get a bit of a lie in.

It all seems hunky dory from this but there are blips like when they hurt each other or when no2 needed a wee before she could do it herself etc etc but our saviour has been the groclock.