boy jumping on bed

Photo by jpgsmommy

When I was a teen, my father, Mr. Early Bird, would take great joy in waking me up each morning. He'd open my door and playfully exclaim: "Time to get uuupp," and then he'd start singing an annoying made-up song while opening my shades as violently as possible so the sunlight flooded my face.

I hated [grinding teeth] this, and he knew it, that's why he did it. He knew if I became irritated, it would be impossible to fall back asleep. Or it was payback for me, the "stair elephant," for waking him at night when I went to bed late.

So even though my kids aren't teens yet, I fully appreciate how difficult it is to wake a teen up in the morning, especially when they stay up way too late texting their friends and procrastinating homework.

One mom in the CafeMom Newcomer's Club discovered a kinder way to drag her teenage brother from his bed: She slid a plate of fresh baked cinnamon buns next to his pillow. I LOL when I read this. My own mom used that very tactic with me, with buns or muffins, or coffee cake. I was notoriously late getting out of the house for school. Half the time this was the only way to get something in my stomach.

Some of the commenters shared their methods for waking teenage brothers and children:

  • "I would have stripped that blanket off and yelled "WAKEY WAKEY BUTTHEAD!" and walked out. My brother and I have a very different relationship."
  • My aunt used to drip cold water on me!
  • Flipping the mattress worked to wake up my husband, who is a very deep sleeper. Remember the big earthquake in LA when all the riots happened? Yeah, according to my MIL, he slept right through it, and his bed moved from one side of the room to the other, his dresser toppled over, and everything fell of his walls. Sound asleep.
  • I give my kids a nice "good morning, time to get up" and after that, they know I don't play around and it's time to get up.

Does your teen have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning? How do you wake him or her?

 

Related posts:

When Big Brother and Big Sister Share a Bedroom

Is Your Teen Getting Enough Sleep?