I was going to start a thread to vent about the most awful ghastly bedtime I have just endured....

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

.....but I find myself unable to tell you about it, it was so awful.

Suffice to say there were tears on all fronts, many children went up and down many stairs asking for more drinks and wailing at me. Bellowing happened.

I am in despair, it is 9pm and my 5 yo and 2 yo have only just gone to sleep.

Short of chloroform, how can I get the little buggers darlings to go to sleep at a reasonable hour?

Aaaaaaargh.

[itsastrawpoll]

I start getting mine ready for bed at 5. No messing in this house.

Sympathies btw.

[MavisEnderby]

Think its the heat tonight.Is this a usual thing or a temporary aberration|?

[Riveninside]

Midazolan. Dd is getting some any second.

[doozle]

9pm is good isn't it?! Mine won't go down til 10ish sometimes.

Seriously though, you have my sympathies as all that up and downstairs and the endless requests drives me insane.

Do they get up early?

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

They're both shattered, we had a really busy weekend, I'm shattered, I just don't understand why they aren't embracing the opportunity to lie down quietly gladly!? It's all I want to do.

They've been rubbish ever since it got light in the evenings, can't get either of them to sleep before 8pm most nights. Tonight was particularly bad though. I suspect they might have been overtired. Sigh.

[Georgimama]

Black out blind if you haven't got one. The light evenings have pushed DS's bedtime back by at least 30 minutes, although he is quite good at settling down apart from that. It is pretty humid tonight.

All stimulus (TV, toys) stops in these warm light evening at least 30 minutes before I want him to go up for a bath. I find a quick walk or run about the garden for 10 minutes helps.

He's 4 and I make it quite clear if he messes about that unless he co-operates I will switch off lamp, close door and go downstairs and I won't come back up. I have done it to prove it once, I didn't need to do it again.

[Fenouille]

There must be something in the air tonight as our 8mo is still awake having had a huge tantrum

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

That's reassuring doozle - I have this vision of all other children going to bed like lambs at 7pm on the dot in the She Who Must Not Be Named approved fashion, while mine rampage until 9pm and will consequently turn into ASBO wielding hoodies by the age of 8.

[Georgimama]

X posted with you. Over tired then - a disaster for DS too. I think we are all guilty of trying to pack too much into weekends with small children - "pace the fun" is the motto here as DS just can't take it. We scrubbed round trip to the zoo in favour of BBQ and playing in garden today because he was pretty tired when he got up this morning (although he had 12 hours sleep). I have learned the hard way it sometimes isn't worth the fall out.

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

They get up around 7am during the week - sometimes a bit earlier. We have blackout blinds, but they're those stick on ones so you get some light leaking round the edges.

I am still a sucker for the 'I'm hungry' stuff. I should get tougher really.

[doozle]

Oh goodness no, you're not alone.

I'm very envious of those whose kids go down at 7pm.

We need a support group for terrible bedtimers!

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

Riven do the drugs work? Some chap from the Verve seemed pretty convinced they didn't

[Riveninside]

Whoooo, dd has passed out. Off to watch giant python vs gateroid with my teenz!

[vickibee]

opposite problem, my DS4 fell asleep st 6pm, I shall expect an early morning call. Tried but could not keep him awake

[Riveninside]

They do freshhell. Obviously dd gets them prescribed as she has a brain injury but they are blardy marvellous. Always try to get hermto sleep nirmally but by 9.30 she gets meds.

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

Sounds sensible Riven - I met your lovely DD a long time ago, how's she doing? I came to your house for tea once.

[Northernlurker]

I have a tip for convincing toddlers that it's time for bed when they nights are still light. Take them outside to show them the flowers that have gone to sleep. Dd3 is fascinated by tightly shut daisies and buttercups and then we go out in the morning to see them 'awake'

[Adair]

Yeah my kids tend to go to sleep circa 7pm ...

but they wake up generally around 5.30am if we're lucky

(oh and usually up at least once in the night)!!!

and we get the odd Bedtime from Hell too. WHY WONT YOU SLEEP?

[purpleturtle]

I've got a hiccupping (sp?!) 4 year old sitting here watching Coast. He's a shocker about going to bed. I don't think the arrival of a 10-week old kitten this afternoon has helped anybody calm down for bedtime today.

[purpleturtle]

Oh good. 8yr old DS1 is here admiring cute kitten now.

[WhatFreshHellIsThis]

Yikes 5.30am Adair? That's not human.

Northern I love that tip. Next time I get the 'But whyyyyyyyyyyy' whinge about going to bed when it's light I shall try that. We have some flowers in the garden that do the shutting thing really well, not sure what they're called but they're like big purply pink daisies.

oh darn it I was meant to do my ironing this evening and it hasn't happened yet.

purple a kitten? I can't imagine that being much good for calm sleep vibes!

Georgimama you're right about the too much stuff - unfortunately it was a family engagement do so we couldn't avoid it. Ah well.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

I think maybe focus on the behaviours but not the actual time? My two (7 and 5) go upstairs at 7.30, have lights out at 8.30 and they are usually in bed by 9, but grownups do not go back to them after 8.30, they are not allowed back downstairs apart from reasonable toilet visits, which are normally within 10 mins of lights out. There is no question of food after 7.30 and no drink apart from maybe a bottle of water upstairs if it's hot. Although I usually spend the hour between 7.30 and 8.30 upstairs with them, we do all our reading then, plus putting out next day clothes etc, so in some ways I lose some of my evening, I just do more before they go up, washing dishes, making packed lunches, general evening jobs are done while they are outside or watching a bit of Telly

[GreenTeapot]

I tend to go upstairs and close the doors, blinds, curtains etc anywhere the DC might go once they're up there so it's still effectively dark at bedtime all year round IYSWIM? And then coming back down after bedtime is banned (I am cruel like that ) so once upstairs they stay up there for the night come hell or high water. And also having a short boring bedtime routine culminating in a story of some description, which means right until the last minute I have leverage .

If DS cocks about once the lights are out I have been known to bellow (just ask the neighbours), but most bad patches have been ironed out with the purchase and prominent display of one of those wildly expensive Kellogg's selection packs of sugar-encrusted chocolate flavour cereal crap. Bedtime fannying around = no 7am sugar fix. Works every time. Eat your heart out Gina

[GreenTeapot]

Also, good tip someone gave me on here - pre-empt any last minute stalling. So make sure they have a snack before bed, glass of water there for them, loo visit beforehand etc. And if they ask for food in the night I do the oatcake test - only a really hungry child will eat a dry oatcake