too light to sleep

[tweeny]

has anyone got any advice on how to get sleepy 5 year olds to sleep when it's still light outside?
they've got blackout blinds in their rooms which are quite effective but the children just know it's still light outside. dd is desperate to go to sleep but just can't - which i totally relate to as i can't sleep if it's light outside - and ds just uses it as an excuse to read till it's pitch black outside - and wakes late and grumpy the next morning. it seems such a shame to wish these gorgeous summer evenings were over just to get some sort of routine back at bedtime. help!

[tweeny]

still struggling with bedtime, any advice?

[aloha]

I remember it from childhood myself. There's even a poem in A Child's Garden of Verses about it. I think the only answer is a slightly later bedtime, lots and lots of tiring activities and thick curtains. Let them romp in the garden a bit longer maybe, while you watch them with an indulgent smile and glass of wine. Don't wish the lovely weather away though!

[tweeny]

thanks - i've got that book. i'll look it up. actually, tiring them out is a good idea. why is it that all the simple (but effective) ideas elude you when you need them most? i thought racing around the garden with their mates would be enough but i think i may plan some SAS-type activities for the belt-and-braces approach! (glass of wine is in hand!).

[Mirage]

Tweeny you have my sympathy.I can still remember what it was like to go to bed when it is still light outside & I used to feel cheated.

I've no advice for you I'm afraid,as dd is only 8 months,but I am sure we will have to deal with the same problem eventually.

Can your children hear other children playing outside after they have gone to bed?That happens around where I live,as around here they play out until 10pm in the summer.I can imagine that,for those kids that are in bed before that,it must be galling to hear others still outside.

I hope someone can come up with some helpful advice for you.

[tweeny]

no noise from other children - bit of traffic noise though. ds is worse than dd - he KEEPS coming downstairs to beg to read just ONE more chapter. i'm thrilled he loves reading so much but i can't relax properly in the evening till the children are asleep - and i'm grumpy enough in the morning without the kids joining in.

[unicorn]

tweeny- can't offer much in the way of advice - but just to let you know you aren't alone.
My dd(1)(also just 5) having same problems- and is then tired and grumpy in the morning and when I pick her up from school.
(the fact that she is staying up later- and
eating into our grown up time makes me tired and grumpy too!)
we try and make it as boring as possible downstairs in the vain hope that her bed will prove more of an enticement!

[tweeny]

thanks unicorn!
think i may go to bed early myself tonight to be a good role model (ha!).