To keep my three nephews up all night?

Dear Mumsnet,

I am such a rad aunt that I let my nephews stay up all night because they have such fun, a cartoon pantomime villan has said I will ruin their career, their parents say its okay, but I really need people to tell me how cool I am.

Oh, aibu?

They will be fine and will have a lovely time . They may be tired the next day but it's only one night . They will probably conk out by 10 ish anyway . My 4 would have loved this with their aunty but it was usually me watching hers !

Yawn.

Misery guts

Wow this thread is insane. How did it go I hope you all had fun.

Bet they had a great time. They're maybe off to a restaurant or cafe today where they'll have ipads on full blast and the older 2 can run round screaming annoying everyone. Still they're only young once so got to make the most of it.

Just stumbled on this thread and in typical MN style it went bonkers!

Some of the comments, honestly 😂

Its cruel to keep them up, the sister is a bad mum for leaving her kids and daring to go out for the evening, I mean, WTF! 😂

Parents have 'occasionally' been letting their kids stay up late like this forever. New Years Eve, the occasional family get together, and when they have gone to other family members to be looked after.

For the kids, its actually, and quite exciting not to have the normal bedtime routine and to be allowed to stay awake later than normal. We did this sometimes with ours and they loved it and in no way was it bloody cruel 🙄Being cruel would be forcing them to stay awake when they were clearly tired but this isn't what is happening. OP is letting them fall asleep when they want to, so when they get tired, they will sleep.

A days readjustment the other side (slightly later rising than normal, a slower chilled out day) is enough to reset everything and everyone.

What OP had planned sounded fab and my kids would have loved it.

I am all for routine for kids, but being flexible and stepping outside of that once in a while is fine. And don't get me started on the posters saying their Mum shouldn't be going out 🙄

Perhaps they can have a nap the following day?
A sleep over in your house with no care from parents is a free for all....id send them home earlier than later.
After or during a sleep over kids can be grizzly for afew days...
Enjoy.

No misery here. Just think that purposely not having bedtime routines is neglect.

I'm very well thanks. Kids all older now but when they went on sleepovers to friends or family they managed to have a lovely time with treats and then bed. Maybe try it some time.

Neglect?? Extreme. Not everyone is obsessed with bedtime routines and bunging kids to bed at teatime.

For one night? Genuinely have your kids never had a late night? My in laws are Spanish so when we visit them (a few times a year) we tend to switch to their way of life. So for a couple of weeks they’ll be in restaurants at 10pm etc, like their Spanish cousins/the locals. Do you really think that’s neglect?!

I told my friend who has two sons and she thinks that this will impact their whole week and their schooling and routine and probably exam results and future careers.

Did you exaggerate here @Upfiner ?

I was thinking the same @Roosthename

I find it hard to believe

Then what's the point of the thread? 😳

Some of the comments 🤣🤣 Ok, so I appreciate some people grew up with only child parents, estranged families.

However, many of us grew up having sleepovers with grandparents, auntys/uncles, cousins etc. We stayed up late (or were tricked into thinking it was 11pm) we had sweets. One of my fave memories was watching Godzilla with my grandparents.....oh and Prisoner Cell Block H 🤣

Thr whole "I wouldn't allow it..." don't whinge later when you had no child free time.

Attention?

I was definitely the rebel fun auntie when the niblings were young. If I babysat overnight (and next day usually too), I operated the mad aunt rules and that was that!

Great fun was had by all. They still talk about it and they are in their 30s and 40s now.

One thing I remember is that they wanted to sit in a tent. Not outside me hearties, nope, so I got the sweeping brush, put old sheets on the spare bed and threw an old duvet cover over the brush to make a tent/den. I held the brush in place, oh my arms...

And sweets galore, I had what was known as the "scoff box" and when that came out, well they were wired to the moon! But I loved it.

Discipline and routine are important, don't get me wrong, but everyone wants a break from it, and needs it too.

Parents delighted to get a child free 24 hours. Win win.

I hear you. Me too. I waited long enough for my children, I love family weekends. Apparently this stance makes us miserable old hags with joyless lives and relationships on the verge of collapse, if we were to believe some of the posters and responses on this thread.