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A Bedtime Story About Waking Up Too Early
Some children wake up ready for the day while it is still dark outside, and want everybody else to be ready too. Small children cannot tell the time, so “it’s not morning yet” does not mean much to them at five o’clock. What they can understand is a light, and a plan for what to do while they wait.
The story below follows an early riser through those quiet minutes: waking up, checking the clock light, staying in bed while it is not green yet, looking at a book with a cuddly toy, and then, when the light turns green, saying good morning. Read it at bedtime so the plan is fresh when they wake.
✨ Or make one starring your child, free in seconds ↓
What will happen, in order
- Wake up, still dark
- Check the clock light
- Not green yet: stay in bed
- Quiet book, cuddle Bear
- Green light: good morning
Read the steps together in the daytime, more than once. The free printable below has these steps at the top and the bedtime story underneath.
Ollie and the Green Light
A free story to read aloud tonight
Ollie always woke up first. Before the birds, before the sun, before anybody. His eyes popped open, and his feet wanted to run straight down the hall.
But on Ollie’s shelf there was a little clock with a light, and Ollie knew the rule. Orange light means night, even if you are awake. Green light means morning. He looked. The light was orange, soft and round like a sleepy sun.
So Ollie stayed in bed. He did not have to sleep. He just had to stay. He pulled Bear onto his tummy and told Bear about the dream he had, the one with the giant strawberry. Bear listened very well.
Then Ollie took the board book from the basket by his bed, the one about the trucks, and looked at every page. The dump truck. The digger. The little road roller, going slowly, slowly, back and forth. Outside, a bird began to sing, just one, very quietly.
Ollie’s eyes got a bit heavy again while he waited. He tucked Bear under the blanket and closed his eyes, just to rest them, and the room was quiet and gray and cozy.
When he opened them again, the light was green. Green! Ollie jumped out of bed and ran down the hall, and Mommy and Daddy were already sitting up and smiling. “Good morning, Ollie,” they said. “You waited for the green.” And tonight, when the light turns orange again, Ollie will snuggle down with Bear and sleep until it’s green.
How do I stop my toddler waking up so early?
Things that often help: keeping the room dark in the early morning, a simple clock that changes color when it is time to get up, and keeping the first early wakings calm and boring rather than starting the day. Some families find an overtired child wakes earlier, so a slightly earlier bedtime can help. If early waking comes with poor sleep overall, check with your pediatrician.
What is an ok to wake clock?
A small clock with a light that changes color, often from orange or red to green, at a time you set. It gives a child who cannot read a clock a simple way to know when it is morning, so the rule becomes “wait for green” rather than an argument.