the art of waking a teenager up {Help YOP Help You Blogger Campaign} #YOP

Every year when August rolls around, it feels a little bittersweet.  It means summer is halfway over and the kids are gearing up to go back to school.  It also means the anticipation {or dreading} the early morning wake-up calls.

With Miss S now a teenager and entering her first year of high school in September, trust me, I've had my share of different stages and reactions to being woken up in the morning throughout the years.  When I first met her, she was five and eager to get out of bed in the mornings.  I only had to wake her up once and she would jump out of bed the next second.  Wow, I would think to myself, this parenting gig is actually pretty easy!

And then she turned six, seven and eight.  Things were relatively easy - mostly because I worked during the week and my husband would handle the morning routine.

Then around nine or ten I started to notice a slight change.  She couldn't get out of bed right away and wanted to sleep in as long as possible.  Oh, how I remember those days!  Those days where I could just lay in my bed, cuddled up in between my sheets and not have a care in the world.  Those days where a four year old doesn't insist on rolling on top of you or kicking you in the face to wake you up while he continues to {miraculously!} sleep.  Those days where a one year old doesn't start screaming at the top of her lungs for you to wake up {right that second!} and pick her up from her crib.

How I would love to trade places with Miss S some days.


Eleven was pretty much the same as years nine and ten.

Then came age twelve.  Miss S was maturing and coming into her own.  She would tell me about how she would have to wake up early in order to drag her sleep deprived Dad out of bed in the mornings.  Mind you, we had a newborn in the household at the time and everyone was lacking sleep at this point.  It was funny and amusing to listen to her and her frustrations, which sound very much like my own.  Still, it doesn't change the fact that some days she has a harder time waking up than others and I have to go into her room three or four times, and maybe turn the light on {I hated when my own mother used to do that} and hope that she'll wake up this time.

Here's what a morning looks like with Miss S:

So peaceful, I hate waking her up!

Right after I tried waking her up

This was one of the tougher mornings!

And on Miss S's not so lucky days, sometimes, this happens:

The good thing about being older and more independent is that once Miss S is awake and out of bed, she'll make her own breakfast and lunch, and dress herself {luckily she's in private school so she only has to deal with uniforms in the mornings}.

Even though some days may be better than others, getting a teenager out of their bed in the mornings is always a challenge.  Good thing YOP has a variety of yummy flavours such strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and the new Orange Blast {coming soon!} to help your teenager with the dreaded early morning wake-up call!  Head on over to the Life Made Delicious Facebook page for frequent updates on YOP and to be the first ones to know when the Orange Blast YOP launches!


Disclosure:  I am participating in the Help YOP Help You Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada.  I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion.  The opinions on this blog are my own.