Your 4-Year-Old: Rise and Shine!

Rise and Shine!

The early bird catches the worm — but sometimes also catches grief from a sleepy parent who isn't ready to play at 5 a.m. You can't control the exact times your child actually falls asleep or wakes up. The best you can do is to instill routines that encourage predictable sleeping and waking times — and have a plan in your back pocket for when things go awry.
希望這種情形不要發生啊！小馨很少很少早上五點起床說睡不著，不過倒是有一次，不到六點就醒來，然後自己打開電視看，當然這樣一來我也沒睡好啊！

Your 4-year-old now:
Often, 4-year-olds who are otherwise good sleepers wake up too early, long before the rest of the household is ready to start the day. If it's a chronic issue, the trouble may be too much napping or a bedtime that's too early. Most 4-year-olds have given up naps, but if she's still napping longer than 30 minutes, keep in mind this will be subtracted from her nighttime sleep.
是啊，小馨已經不用午睡了，在家裡要帶她午睡也是件困難的事情，反而不如讓她繼續玩玩玩，撐到晚上八九點反而容易入睡，不過有時下午在外面玩，一上車就想睡覺，要注意不要讓她睡太久，不然會影響晚上睡眠啊！

If early wake-up calls happen only sporadically, there's no harm done, and you don't need to get up early, too. By 4, your child is old enough to understand that she shouldn't wake up others but is welcome to stay quietly in her room (or come and join you for a morning snuggle). Keep quiet playthings in her room. Try leaving out fresh books at night so she'll have something interesting to look at when she wakes up.我覺得這點建議實在太棒了！在她房間放幾本「新鮮」的讀本，萬一她提早起床，就有事情可以做，而不是只會打開電視看（唉唉...我真是不良示範啊） Agree on a signal that indicates it's time to "get up" and leave the room: your alarm clock going off, for example, or your calling to her. Try putting an analog clock without a second hand in her room and place a sticker on the hour at which it's OK to get up.

Your life now:
Now is a good time to check whether your child's immunization record is up-to-date. This is a requirement for enrolling in kindergarten, so if your child's annual exam falls after the school registration date, you may need to make a special appointment to get shots taken care of. For example, the final doses of DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), MMR (measles-mumps-rubella), and polio are due between ages 4 and 6.