To keep my three nephews up all night?

It's hardly a matter of budget. Social services don't have the legal remit to intervene in a situation so utterly harmless. Why on earth would they?

Well, it started in 1979 for my mum and dad when my sister was born, carried on in 1983 when I was born and continued, happily, all through our childhoods. God it was lovely snuggling up to our grandparents at their house on a Saturday night, watching lovely films and eating my nannas lovely buns that she made for us. We were often joined by our cousin! She’s even older than us. So, no it’s not a ‘modern thing’ at all, it’s a normal thing in families where parents don’t shun the outside world, take care of their marriages and individual interests and don’t reduce themselves to just ‘mummy & daddy’! Strange you think it’s a modern as the vast majority of my friends experienced the same lovely childhood that we did.

It's one night, what harm can it really do to the two eldest children? And if the youngest won't settle at their normal bedtime and it means you can all have a nice time together then one night out of routine isn't going to do that much harm. My DD would have been up with the larks regardless of her bedtime so at those ages I'd have asked for you to try and get her to sleep earlier to take that into consideration but if your nephews will sleep in then it doesn't sound like they'll be too affected.

Enjoy them when they're little and want to watch Disney movies and snuggle, your sibling is clearly on board with your plan so why not.

The children will probably bounce back within 24 hours or less. I hope your friend wasn't serious about those insanely dire predictions.

This is a great way to produce children who are rigid in their routines, inflexible in a sudden situation, and cope badly when their normal is upset. Why would you encourage this? It’s lovely for kids to go and have an adventure at someone else’s house.

@99bottlesofkombucha sounds great to me, it might bugger up the next day a bit but the pros outweigh the cons, certainly for the parents. Enjoy!

Could it be that your post is the vivid imagination of a bored and lonely poster?

If the parents don’t mind go for it! Although I did similar, not for lack of trying to get to bed from 10pm onwards - they were probably 3, 5 and 8, and it all went downhill. About midnight the 3 yo stood on a glass topped coffee table and smashed it, bed was enforced very soon after that!!

I have done this with my grandchildren. Only Fridays and Saturdays. Parents don't mind.
Why wrestle and nag?If there isnt a problem getting them off to sleep,then you wouldnt do this. Baby will drop ofc to sleep anyhow and 2 year old will snuggle up to big brother.
My grandchildren did not wake up crabky. They slept longer. Everyone hapy

BTW here is a little tip for encouraging them to go to sleep somewhat earlier than they otherwise might, while still letting them have the impression they are staying up wonderfully late.

Start everything early. Feed them early. Draw the curtains and turn the lights down. If their usual bedtime is, say, 7:30, then by 6:30 have them changed into PJs with cuddly toys in hand. Start mumbling "are your parents definitely okay with you being up this late?", "Maybe you should go to bed? Are you sure you aren't sleepy?" Keep saying doubtfully, "I really shouldn't. Well... just a little longer then." Don't mention the actual time, in case the eldest realises it isn't all that late after all.

By 9pm they will feel like it's midnight. They will have had the delicious feeling of Being Up Late and auntie bending the rules for them, without the consequences of actually being up super late. This also works for children who have friends to sleep over.

If she’s doing them a favour then the parents should keep quiet about rules. I’m sure they’ll be fine. Both be knocked out by 10pm. It’s really not the end of the world.

For a few years our kids stayed up late to ring in the new year which was really the Dubai new year on TV. Then we'd have a celebratory drink and let them go for a midnight walk then bed. Good memories!

ruining their future careers 🤣🤦

@Upfiner you sound like a great aunt. I have routines and rules in place at home but they go out of the window when staying elsewhere. You sound fun and happy to let them lead you, I’d be totally fine with that. Enjoy your evening with them @Upfiner .

All families are different. Some people can’t imagine a night away from their DCs until the DCs are much older. We had 5 very involved grandparents and a very involved aunty when our two were tiny and they started having the occasional sleepover with my PILs (who live near us) from about 18 mths old. And there were definitely different rules when they had them. That said - don’t know how it might impact their careers but they have both made it to uni…

You sound such a fab aunty, OP. Have a lovely time with your nephews!

The parents are okay with the plan, and they know how it is likely to go. So yes, do it.

All kids are different. I had one who was up at 6am regardless of how late they'd been up the previous night and would be horrifically crabby for several days after a late night. I did everything in my power to keep that one on a reasonable sleep schedule. Obviously I wouldn't have agreed to Auntie's late night plan for that one.

My other child would fall asleep readily whenever tired and would simply sleep longer the following morning, waking when they'd had enough rest, fresh as a daisy. I would have been thrilled to send that one to an indulgent auntie for a late night.

I expect the responses you are getting are based on people's experiences with their own children. But we don't know your nephews. Their parents do.

Mine are horrible with no sleep. A great trick for a special fun night is to put the clock forward and few hours and pretend it’s midnight… say to them we are all going to sleep at midnight… in reality it’s 9. 30 pm. They will love it and no one has to deal with cranky kids in the morning and all the next day.

Honestly, if you’re doing the favour of babysitting, you get to do it however you like. I’d be incredibly grateful that you were up for looking after 3 very young kids at a time, and happy for you to do what makes it easiest for you.

Isn't this what Aunty/Uncle/Grandparent sleepovers look like??

Gosh, so many miserable folks on this thread. Hope u all have a great time op, including ur sis and dh.

My 2.5 year old daughter would LOVE this. Hope the kids (and you!) all have a great time!

The OP sounds like a pretty laid back sensible person, I'm sure she's quite capable of adjusting her plan if needed.

My parents used to get me up in the night to go outside and look at comets, or constellations, or lunar eclipses, or any kind of sky 'event'. One night dad took me out to sea all night in a boat, night fishing. We took sandwiches and flasks of tea, it was amazing fun. Some of my happiest childhood memories are because my parents (especially Dad ) weren't rigidly governed by the clock and routines.

The uptightness of some folk is astonishing to me, 'I became a total drop out and had to be taken into care because my auntie let me stay up late, eat pizza and watch Toy Story' said no kid ever.