summertime bedtimes?

[emmasmommy]

y'all are making me feel better for being the 'meanest mom ever.'
LOL
my kids are too little to have 'night time' activities. emma is in soccer but her games are usually saturday am.

and my children are then ones who go to bed later and get up earlier too :/

 

[Keely~B]

When my kids were younger their bedtimes were only maybe a half hour later during the summer. Now that they're older they don't really have a set bedtime. As long as they're sleeping enough and behaving accordingly, there's not set time during summer break. My youngest is usually out around 9 or 9:30, the oldest will stay up a lot later. The kids can sleep in, but only to a point, I won't let them sleep away the day. It is really hot here and we are limited by the weather, we tend to take advantage of the evenings and nights when it's cooler and we're not getting fried.

 

[SeattleSheri]

Bedtime is at 9:00am for both of my sons (ages 4 and 7) and is not seasonal. Neither requires a lot of sleep, so our ped told us this was fine.

 

[JulieB146]

Ah, summer bedtimes. Last summer was a sleeping and nighttime disaster. It drove my husband and me NUTS because the kids went to bed later and later. This summer, there's going to be a cut-off. They might be able to stay up in their rooms, but not in the rest of the house. Arrrrgh!

 

[Keely~B]

Just wanted to add, that they can stay up but they don't have run of the house or technology.

A few weeks before school starts we start easing backing into our school schedule, they go to bed earlier and get up earlier. That is one parenting thing that I can say I've done right LOL. It lessons the back to school "wig out".

 

[Jennilyn]

During the school year the girls (9 & 5) start getting ready for bed at 7:30 and are in bed by 8. During the summer & on weekends they start getting ready at 8 and are ready by 8:30. Next school year Kristen (9) will be going to bed at a later time because I don't think it's fair for her to always do as her younger sister does.

 

[farrijc]

So are most of your children not involved in evening sports activities?

My oldest plays baseball in the fall/spring, but we don't do anything in the summer. It is just too hot here, I don't even present it as an option!

My 4 and 7 year old go to bed at 8:30 p.m... year round. Exceptions are when we are on vacation or have special visitors, like having family in town. We're rarely out late and normally have a sitter when we are, so that doesn't affect their bedtime. My 2 year old goes down around 8 p.m. Not sure what I'm going to do with her this summer. She will only take a nap at school, so not sure how we're going to survive without a nap in the afternoon. Quiet time is o.k. for a break but doesn't help with her lack of sleep!

 

[kscwgirl]

fri & sat nights they get to stay up. J will SOMETIMES sleep in but Abby usually gets up normal time.

 

[rachaelsscraps]

Ours go to bed at 7 no matter what (almost 6 & almost 2 years). We thought that letting them stay up later at night, mostly in the summer since it's lighter until like 8/9, that they would sleep in later in the morning, but that didn't work out. They'd always still wake up at 6am. So we're sticking to the 7 pm bedtime so that we can chill out at the end of the night. Our kids are extremely active all day long and we often look forward to being able to sit and relax at the end of the night. I did kind of feel bad at first making them stay at their 7pm bedtime, but then decided it was fine, since they both fall asleep right away and sleep all night long with no problems. They actually get tired starting around 6 and right at 7 they run to the bathroom to brush their teeth without even being asked!

 

[Tracie Stroud]

Ya we generally do 30 mins - 1 hour ish later in the summer.

 

[hmlentz]

When we're home as usual, it's to bed as usual. I find that being consistent makes my life sooo much easier. It's a LOT harder to get them back on schedule in the fall if we go off schedule. Their little bodies just get use to going to sleep at a certain time- that works for me.

 

[Milmomma]

Well with Baseball and ballet over we don't have much right now that keeps them up late. Though we still go to tons of festivals and the beach and such. When we go out all day, they don't tend to go to bed till 9pm. They sleep untill 7-8am. Oh and they are almost 6yrs and 4 yr. My 4 yr old will sleep in till noon if you let her though. On regular days they go to bed around 8-8:30 including school nights. If they are cranky I send them to bed early! We are not sure what we will be doing as far as summer camps yet, so I guess we will see how things go.

 

[color of my heart]

am i a minority when i say that once i was like, 10, i didn't have a bedtime? my brother did. because mom would like, stick him in his room and close the door at 8:30, or he wouldn't ever sleep. but me? growing up, i was asleep by 8 or 9 every night, and that's after i was old enough to set my own bedtime. even in high school, i was out by 10. i knew that sleep was needed (i needed at LEAST 9 hours when i was younger), and i'm not fun when i don't get sleep.

oh. and in the summer, we got to stay up later. just to make this be relevant to the topic at hand.

 

[mummytothree]

am i a minority when i say that once i was like, 10, i didn't have a bedtime? my brother did. because mom would like, stick him in his room and close the door at 8:30, or he wouldn't ever sleep. but me? growing up, i was asleep by 8 or 9 every night, and that's after i was old enough to set my own bedtime. even in high school, i was out by 10. i knew that sleep was needed (i needed at LEAST 9 hours when i was younger), and i'm not fun when i don't get sleep.

oh. and in the summer, we got to stay up later. just to make this be relevant to the topic at hand.

As long as I lived in my parents house I had a "bedtime". Now it did vary and once I got in the late teens it turned into something like a "curfew", but as long as I lived in my parents house I followed their rules.

If I was home (no school event or sports event or church event) I was in bed by 9PM until I graduated from High School.

If I was at a school event (dance) or sports event or church event I had to be home as soon as it ended (well after factoring driving time ).

Once I graduated I had a curfew and honestly I can't remember what it was but I'm gonna say...unless it had a specific ending time...I had to be home by 11PM. So if I was at a dance that ended at midnight I was allowed to stay out till midnight but if I was just at my friends house or boyfriends house or our shopping ect....I had to be home at 11PM or it might have been midnight...I really can't remember!!!

I plan to have the same rules for my kids!!! :thumbup:

 

[nun69]

If I was home (no school event or sports event or church event) I was in bed by 9PM until I graduated from High School.

wow....did you actually have to go to bed or just be in your room? My dd is 18 and she doesn't have a bedtime {she doesn't really drive either, buy choice}, but normally after dinner she never comes out of her room unless it is for a snack or to finish some chores! 1/2 the time I don't even know what time she falls asleep...I have to say I got lucky cause she has ALWAYS gotten up on her own and has never had any trouble with school...the rest of them HAVE to have a bedtime and I am hoping in the summer I will wear them out so much that they will just pass out:thumbup:!

 

[maggie965]

Come to think of it, I can't remember ever having to go to bed at a certain time. I'm a sleeper so I probably went to sleep early anyway, I was always in my room reading. If we were out, we didn't come in until dark, usually we were right around our house or around the neighborhood anyway and my parents knew everyone.

Margaret

am i a minority when i say that once i was like, 10, i didn't have a bedtime? my brother did. because mom would like, stick him in his room and close the door at 8:30, or he wouldn't ever sleep. but me? growing up, i was asleep by 8 or 9 every night, and that's after i was old enough to set my own bedtime. even in high school, i was out by 10. i knew that sleep was needed (i needed at LEAST 9 hours when i was younger), and i'm not fun when i don't get sleep.

oh. and in the summer, we got to stay up later. just to make this be relevant to the topic at hand.

 

[HeatherKS]

My oldest plays baseball in the fall/spring, but we don't do anything in the summer. It is just too hot here, I don't even present it as an option!

That makes sense. Softball/baseball are only offered here in June so we don't have an option of a cooler time. LOL The other activities offered through our rec department are on Saturdays but softball/baseball games are held in the evenings during the week. That's the norm around here so I was surprised to see that it seems we are in the minority with that.

 

[color of my heart]

As long as I lived in my parents house I had a "bedtime". Now it did vary and once I got in the late teens it turned into something like a "curfew", but as long as I lived in my parents house I followed their rules.

i think my parents just trusted me. cause i never had a curfew either. well, as long as i was at home/in my room before my father went to bed (he was a night owl up until 5 years ago, and when i was growing up, he was awake until at least 2am), and as long as they knew where i was, they were fine. then again, i never really did anything. all of my friends lived within a 5 mile radius of the house. and my best friend lived across the street. i remember many nights when i would be sitting in her yard and hear my mother yelling for me to come home.

though. my dad cared more. mom trusted me, and would let me make decisions. dad was more of the "where are you going? who are you going with? what are you doing? how long will it take? who else will be there?" kind of dad. but as long as they knew where i was, and i was in the house by the time dad went to bed, they trusted me.

HOWEVER.

when i have kids, they'll have a bedtime. 7:30 when they're small, 8:30/9 when they're bigger. up until they turn thirteen, and then we can talk. i think thirteen is an appropriate age to discuss bedtimes.

 

[mummytothree]

wow....did you actually have to go to bed or just be in your room? My dd is 18 and she doesn't have a bedtime {she doesn't really drive either, buy choice}, but normally after dinner she never comes out of her room unless it is for a snack or to finish some chores! 1/2 the time I don't even know what time she falls asleep...I have to say I got lucky cause she has ALWAYS gotten up on her own and has never had any trouble with school...the rest of them HAVE to have a bedtime and I am hoping in the summer I will wear them out so much that they will just pass out:thumbup:!

Definitely in my room and I was probably asleep pretty soon afterwards cause my dad always came in and kissed me goodnight.

But I grew up probably different then most people. I live in a very very rural place where the nearest "town" (store, gas station ect) was an 30 minutes away. And the nearest big town (mall, movie theater, Wal Mart) was an hour away. I never even saw cable TV or had computer access till I was "in college" . And even to this day my parents still live so far away from anything that they can't get cable or anything but dial up internet. I lived an 30+ minutes away from my high school and only a handful of friends lived close to me.

We never had more then 2 or 3 TV stations growing up and back then I wasn't much of a reader.

I'm sure it will be somewhat different when my oldest in "18" but the principle will still be the same.....no need to roam the streets just to roam....no need to be on the internet just to be on the internet....no need to just hang out at friends house (on school nights) just to hang out...ect.....

And you all should no me by now...I am the world's meanest mom ever!!!

 

[mummytothree]

i think my parents just trusted me. cause i never had a curfew either. well, as long as i was at home/in my room before my father went to bed (he was a night owl up until 5 years ago, and when i was growing up, he was awake until at least 2am), and as long as they knew where i was, they were fine. then again, i never really did anything. all of my friends lived within a 5 mile radius of the house. and my best friend lived across the street. i remember many nights when i would be sitting in her yard and hear my mother yelling for me to come home.

though. my dad cared more. mom trusted me, and would let me make decisions. dad was more of the "where are you going? who are you going with? what are you doing? how long will it take? who else will be there?" kind of dad. but as long as they knew where i was, and i was in the house by the time dad went to bed, they trusted me.

HOWEVER.

when i have kids, they'll have a bedtime. 7:30 when they're small, 8:30/9 when they're bigger. up until they turn thirteen, and then we can talk. i think thirteen is an appropriate age to discuss bedtimes.

It had absolutely nothing to do with how much my parents did or did not trust me. My parents trusted me 100% and I never ever did anything to make them question that trust. It's all about respect.....my parents set rules and I respected them...... so I followed them. They set them for a reason and I had no reason to question them.

I'm raising my children the same [general] way. I have my reasons for my rules and I expect my children to follow them out of respect. They might not always agree with them but there is a reason I am the parent and they are the child! When they move out and have their own family they can raise them however they see fit until then....my house my rules!