Quick and easy ways to get your tired tween up in the morning

Many parents of young children would give just about anything for their kids to sleep in now and then. But fast forward to the tween years, that pre-adolescent age of 10 to 12 years old, and parents can't seem to rouse their kids out of bed in time for school.

While many toddlers seem hardwired to wake up before the crack of dawn, the body of a preteen child needs to go to sleep later at night and sleep longer in the morning. This is a difficult fact of life for 6th, 7th and 8th graders who need to catch those early bus runs. Here are a few ways to get your tween up in the morning without a struggle.

Swap out that obnoxious beeping on the alarm for your child's favourite music. Also, factor in time for your tween to hit the snooze button. Set the alarm to go off about 15 to 20 minutes before he actually has to get out of bed. This will give him a chance to ease into the day instead of having to jolt himself awake in the morning.

This might sound next to impossible, but whether they'll admit to it, tweens still do enjoy a few things. Many children this age are experiencing growth spurts, so they're probably hungry in the morning. Have your tween's favourite breakfast hot and ready to go, and it's likely to tempt him out of bed and into the kitchen.

Also, remember that nothing is more important to a preteen than spending time with friends, so try to set up a morning carpool with a close buddy. Skipping the bus and riding with friends trumps sleep any time.

Explain to your tween that you'll call him or her once in the morning, but after that, it's up to them to get themselves up and ready in the morning. Since many children this age crave more autonomy, this approach is likely to work with your tween. It may be hard to stick to it when you realize that they stand a chance of missing the bus, but chances are, once they realize that the consequences for sleeping in are serious, they won't let it happen again.

Getting your tween up at the right time takes work, but with a little planning and compromising, they'll be able to get up on time and starti the day off right.