...to put my DD to bed in two hours time & let her eat whatever she likes & watch telly until then?

[Strongerthanme]

Hello Mumnet
Single parent here & I'm coming down with something nasty....
No family locally - lovely friends & neighbours but everyone's busy.
Me & DD (4) snuggled up watching Netflix. Letting her eat lots of biscuits.
Think we can do another two hours.
AIBU to trick her into thinking 530 is really 630? That's her normal bedtime.
Feeling weak, rubbish & guilty!

[TartYvette]

Yes, I did that often with my lo when she was small. Take full advantage of her not being able to read the clock hope you feel better in the morning

[wonderingsoul]

Do it... or better yet let her sleep in your bed? That way you can both get some sleep earlier.

[Mrsglitterfairy]

Do it! Don't feel guilty about it either. You need to put yourself first sometimes.
I do things like this when I'm hungover poorly too if DH is working or whatever.
Here's some extras for you
💐

[Lilaclily]

As long as you don't mind an early morning wake up !

[ImperialBlether]

If she's having a lot of sugar she's going to want to burn some of it off, isn't she?

[MrsTarzan1]

Do it! Get well soon x

[WeddingsAreStressful]

Do it, no need to feel guilty at all.

[AnnieAnoniMouse]

Seriously, whatever it takes to get through it.

Personally I'd stop with the biscuits & find some cheese, crackers, yougurt, grapes, whatever is handy. Not for any other reason than she'll sleep better.

Then I'd keep her up for as late as she wasn't being annoying (I'm being honest!) then put her to bed in the hope she will sleep better.

I wouldn't set an alarm for tomorrow, I'd just see when we woke up and decide what to do about work/school then. She's 4, not 14.

I hope you get a decent nights sleep & feel better tomorrow 🥃💐

[deadringer]

Yes i would do it unless it means she would be up at silly o'clock in the morning.

[OlennasWimple]

Swap the biscuits for something else that she can eat safely (not whole grapes, but chopped up ones for example). I would leave her in her own bed to try to avoid her catching your lurgy. Leave her a water bottle so she can get a drink safely too

Hope you feel better soon

[INeedNewShoes]

A banana and a glass of milk would be better for encouraging her to sleep.

At the moment you're fuelling her with sugar which will have the opposite effect!

Hope you feel better soon

[Strongerthanme]

Thank you everyone 💜
Just gave her dinner (sausage & chips on the sofa!)
Feel like the world's worst parent. Reinforcing that all of this is a one off! She's in nursery tomor all day & ironically I have the week off to have some much needed 'me time' but wasn't planning on it being 'me time being ill' ...... 😱
She's pretty tired as had a birthday party this morn so hopefully will be cooperative with the fake bedtime!

[GreenRut]

We do fake bedtimes on the weekend and have purposefully not pushed nearly 7yo to read the time, but they've started learning it in school now! Am fuming

[Verticalvenetianblinds]

Id do it! But I'm quite curious why there pp seem to think biscuits are going to make her hyper?!

[Lynnm63]

Whatever gets you through the day. Personally I'd try to keep her up til normal bedtime but if you can't face it she won't know any different.
Hope you feel better soon this lurgy is horrid I've had it for over a week.

[Miserylovescompany2]

I've done the exact same thing. Sometimes there is no alternative. A week off should do you the world of good. Why not invite Ben & Jerry around and watch Netflix.

I agree with the being unable to tell the time, plus it's dark by that time anyway so you can get away with a little white lie...

[Tokelau]

GreenRut, you can always change the clock. That's what my Gran used to do apparently. Just don't forget to change it back before the morning!

[throwingpebbles]

Of course yanbu

Do whatever you need to cope while she is ill. She is fed and warm and loved, a bit of tv and a few too many biscuits is not the end of the world! Early bedtime not a problem as long as you don't mind an earlier start tomorrow (sometimes it is worth it for sure!)

[RainbowDashing]

You'll not be judged by me. My youngest can now tell the time. Take advantage of it while you can! It's clearly a one off.

[Buddahbelly]

Previous cbeebies bedtime hour on iplayer will be your friend here. Its been known to go on at 4pm some days when I've had enough of the screaming and jumping on me.

Mine is also 4, I'm feeling completely crap too and cannot wait for bedtime, be grateful yours is just watching tv, so far i've had his bum in my face at least 10 times, jumped on screaming he was a minion and now were back onto the poo talk, where he pretends he can smell a poo and has to smell everything to see what it is.

[S1lentAllTheseYears]

My mum used to put the clocks forward when she really needed us to be in bed early (easier in 1970's!)

Never did us any harm!

[ryderandthepups]

Hope you feel better soon. I'm a single parent too, it's so hard when you feel ill isn't it. No harm in putting yourself first sometimes.

[Strongerthanme]

Bath done
Jim jams on
Also horrendous PMT
Just started welling up listening to 'I can sing a rainbow'
What's wrong with me??
Thanks for all the support, lovely people. ⭐️

[justilou]

Darling, you're doing it all by yourself and you are doing your absolute best, by the sound of things. Don't beat yourself up. If your kid remembers this, it will be in a positive way. After all, what is better than snuggling in front of the tv, eating fabulous food? A naughty treat, perhaps? I hope you feel better very soon!

[ZuzuMyLittleGingersnap]

Stronger,

I hope you're feeling better, you poor thing, and managed some sleep.

You've absolutely no cause to feel guilty for relying on shortcuts to get you through illness. The very fact you're concerned shows you're a lovely Mum

Cosy snuggling up together with you, enjoying treats and TV downtime, then having (hopefully) a good, long sleep. All positives, from her viewpoint.

Far, far nicer than if she'd had her clearly ill DM miserably self-pressuring herself into ticking "Perfect Parenting" boxes with kaletastic balanced meal from scratch and structured crafting session...

Only found out recently that my beloved childhood babysitter (canny mother of 6) regularly put our clock forward an hour. Then made much fuss about letting us stay up an extra 30 minutes, as we were behaving so nicely!!

Double win for her: us in bed half an hour earlier, yet blissfully-innocent, compliant us feeling we'd been granted special privileges. Genius