When do they sleep in? Is it soon? Go on tell me it's soon

[MollyBloomYes]

It's late. I should be in bed because my two darlings (5 and almost 7) will be up in probably 4.5 hours. Maybe 5 if I'm lucky. 5.5 if that blue moon is shining. It's also really nice and quiet though so I'd rather enjoy that than have a full nights sleep.

However I'd love to know from parents of older children-when do they sleep in? Do I need to wait until they're teenagers? I can't use myself as an example, apparently I've always slept as late as possible and was one of those mythical babies that had to be woken up to be fed. I'm a single parent, no idea what their dad was like as a child (and no way of finding out) but certainly he was a big fan of sleep as an adult.

I'm just curious really, at the moment I can't ever imagine them sleeping in. Doesn't matter how late they get to bed or how tired they are they will be up at stupid o clock. Gro clocks, dark room, light room, noise, silence, reading quietly in bed, nothing makes a difference. It is what it is and I've pretty much accepted that's how they're built currently. But I'd love to know if anyone else had similar early risers who then grew to love the lie in!

I have older teenagers who are still early risers eg 5.30am. 7am is a lie in.

From when eldest was 5 and capable of reaching a cereal bowl, milk, and switch on the TV, never had a problem.

I would say now. From that age my dcs were able to get dressed and go downstairs on the iPad or watch tv whilst we lie in. Once they passed toddler age we I forced a rule that they weren't allowed to disturb us until the clock began with a 7. They would have to play in their own rooms until that time, mostly it worked, sometimes not. I was pretty strict with it though as I like my sleep and now they are trained to pretty much always wake at 7 which is fine.

Around 8 Ds started sleeping in until 9am on weekends and now at nearly 12 he sometimes doesn’t get up until gone 11am. Counting down the years as I also have a toddler who has decided 5.30am is her new get up time!

@GalesThisMorning

They start sleeping in at the same point that you lose the ability to sleep past 6 am, sorry OP

This with bells on!!! I picked ds up from a party at midnight, spent sometime chatting to him and dd and then finally went to bed at 1am. 6am my eyes pinged open, yet they won't surface until midday!!

My ds is 8.5 he doesn't lie in at all but in the last year it's become less important for me to get up with him. If I have a lie in he'll potter about, watch tv get some cereal etc and not wake me.... this is a welcome stage after years of 6am starts

@Lucaslucas1612
A friend also trained her son to staying in his own room up to 'a time beginning with 7' when he started school at 4.
Then would adjust his clock when she went to bed herself to gain up to an hour's extra peace at the weekend! It worked as he was a great inventor of complicated scenes and stories using lego, and also an early reader so could entertain himself from an early age.

My DS is 9 and sleeps in til 8.30 at weekends.

@GalesThisMorning

They start sleeping in at the same point that you lose the ability to sleep past 6 am, sorry OP

Definitely this! 5 year old will now sleep until about 7:30am, but I cannot seem to sleep past 6am!

My 11 year old wakes at 6.45 or 7 in the summer. Unfortunately DH seems programmed to wake at 6.30 or 7 regardless of whether hes going to work . (Neither intentionally disturb me but I hear them which wakes me)
When they were younger DC had been known to sleep til 8.30 or 9 if they had a late night, or series of late nights.

My grandson is nearly 13 and has always woken up by 6 - if he goes to sleep at 10.30 then it might be 6.30. He either stays in bed watching YouTube videos on his ipad on how to became the top Minecrafter or he sidles downstairs, eats cereal and watches same thing on TV. Your question should really be - when do they let me sleep in!

Mine are 7 and 9 and not allowed to get up before 7.30 at weekends - of course they can read in bed or do anything quietly they want, but at 7.30 they go and make their own breakfasts and then grab tablets and go and watch stuff/play Minecraft in bed. This would be perfect if it weren’t for the fact they inevitably bicker loudly all through breakfast, and that I wake at 6.30 every morning anyway!

I think it’s probably just an individual thing - kids vary. My two slept through the night from the age of 8 weeks.
As children, I used to have to wake them up at 8am on Christmas morning in order to get breakfast and presents done before lunch! As adults, they are definitely night owls.

I think it is not about sleeping in,it is about not disturbing you. Here from 6yo I wouldn't expect to be woken until 0730 /0800 My last child is 5.5 and only sometimes wakes me now.

My eldest is nearly 11 and is still asleep now. Others are up. I never slept in! Even as a teen! Occasionally now I might sleep till 9am but that's a mega lie in! I don't sleep great though!

My 11yo still wakes around 6.30 most days, sorry OP. But I agree with the posters saying that he doesn't need any input from me.... but that sadly I'm awake by then anyway!

It depends on the kid. My five year old got up at 9 today. She'd been sleeping like that since maybe 3.5 or 4.

Mine started to sleep in quite late, 10ish, when they were 4 and 8. But they struggle to sleep at night so swings and roundabouts.

As PP says, start training them to be independent. Lockdown was the catalyst for this for us - no school to get up for! So certainly from age 5 & 7 they could get up and play / watch tv without needing me. Leave a drink and cereal bar out and you should be good til 9am.
Mine associate making me get up with tv off / brushing teeth etc so would rarely deliberately wake me to spoil their fun. I am of course half awake listening to them 😂

Must they disturb you when they wake up ? At their ages I'd expect them to get up, make themselves some cereal and put the TV or a device on and amuse themselves until you get up. Train them to do that and your life will change for the better.

As others say some kids don't ever seem to sleep in, but the time comes when you don't have to get up with them straight away, tbh if yours are 5 and 7 that time may already have arrived especially if they are good kids who get on well. You could prepare them to get their own cereal and juice and watch TV until say 8am if they don't tend to fight with each other, and stay in bed til say 8am. Obviously when they're both secondary age you can lie in longer even if they don't!

My eldest is nearly 16 and has only just started sleeping in sometimes but not every weekend - today all my kids were up at 7am (they're 10, 13 nearly 14 and nearly 16) but I obviously didn't need to get up with them. My younger two have never slept in but they're good kids who get on really well and don't fight, and they enjoy one another's company, so I absolutely don't feel the need to get to get up as soon as they do.

Mine have always been late sleepers, but they're also night owls so that's definitely a factor. 19mo just got up and it's nearly half 8 - he's been asleep since half 8 last night. My older ones would sleep all morning if I didn't go get them up.

10ish for all mine

but from about 5/6 I left dc a small breakfast out and allowed them to go wild with children's tv.

Why does it matter if they're getting up? You don't need to get up with 5 and 7 year olds. Isn't that what TV was invented for?

My 9 year old gets up anytime from 6:30 to 7:30 depending on how late she went to bed the night before. She gets up quietly and watched tv/gets herself breakfast.
My 7 year old will sleep until at least 7:30 and join her older sister without bothering us.
My 4yr old loves her sleep and I often have to wake her on school days. It’s 8:30 and she’s still asleep and I’m up before her. If she does get up before me it’s rarely before 8am and she will come in for a cuddle or go join her sisters.
I also buy readymade pancakes and croissants and other pastries for breakfast on weekends so they don’t bother us.