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!

My 6 year old gets up at half7, 8. I get up with her on school days but she’s knows that life wouldn’t be worth living if she woke me up on a weekend. She gets dressed, makes herself some breakfast and does stuff downstairs until I get up or my partner gets up.

Mine are 7, 10 & 12 & rarely get up before 7am, often up to 8am or even 8.30am. It has been this way since the youngest started school, at least. When they do wake up, we don't allow them downstairs on their own, but they can go in the (upstairs) playroom & play quietly so long as it's after 7.30am. If it is before that they are allowed to read in their own rooms. So it can be as late as 9am that we get up, we'll often have a cuppa & I'll read in bed.

@confusedofengland out of interest, what age do you think is appropriate to be allowed downstairs on their own?

what age do you think is appropriate to be allowed downstairs on their own?
It varies - when they can be trusted not to raid the cookie jar or play with the gas hob. If you're going to lie in bed worrying about the noises downstairs then it's probably too soon.

I'm amazed your 7, 10 and 12 year old can't go downstairs themselves confusedofengland At that age I was getting myself ready and leaving for school myself along with younger siblings. My 5 year old goes down himself and it's 2 floors away from our room.

Dd1 about 14. Dd2 about 11.

Me, I'm so used to being woken early I'm always up at half 5/6.

Dd1, about 2 or 3yo
Dd2 around 11yo
Ds learnt during lockdown last year. He's 13yo

Ours are 6 and 8 and for the past couple of years they get up and watch cartoons for a good while so we don't have that very early start. They actually bring their blankets down to the sofa and like their quiet hour. Usually wake 7.20

I feel really fortunate that 7:30 is DS's usual wake up time! On the odd occasion he's woken up before seven it's like having a hang over all day! We had a long day with a lot of walking yesterday, this morning he woke up at 8:30 having gone to bed around 8:30/8:45 last night. That's the flip side I suppose he's rarely asleep before 8pm.

Why on Earth can't a 12 and 10 year old go downstairs on their own?! I'd be expecting those ages to be getting themselves to school on their own if the school was close enough, imagine telling them they have to go to the playroom?!

It’s part of the individual child’s personality. Mine has always slept till at least 9am - yesterday my 3yo slept till 11am! But conversely he won’t go to sleep till 10pm.

The 10 year old has quite profound special needs so wouldn't be safe downstairs on his own. The 12 year old does sometimes go down but is often happy just to read or have a shower, but the others are happy to stay in the playroom. Sorry, I should have stated that originally.

Ah that's fair enough.

They're all different - my 5yo is super sensible and can be trusted downstairs getting cereal etc no problem and can look after the 3yo. But he wouldn't manage to entertain himself in his room for ages.

It definitely depends on the child. My elder 3 were all early risers and I had years and years of 5-5.30am starts. It was awful! They’re all now mid to late teens (19, 16 and 13). My eldest can now sleep for England and will happily sleep til 2pm at the weekends (doesn’t live with me any more but was like this for years before he moved out). The 16yo gets up by 9am at the latest and the 13yo also sleeps til lunch time at weekends too. I’d say the very early mornings stopped with all of them by the time they were around 9 I think.

My youngest is 6, loves her sleep and has never been an early riser thankfully. She never gets up before 8am at the weekend, regularly sleeps til close to 9am and I have to wake her for school through the week and she takes an age to get up! She goes to bed between 7.30-8pm so not late, she just runs herself ragged through the day and loves sleeping! If she has a late night for whatever reason she just sleeps later in the morning. It’s brilliant!

My partners 8 year old wakes up at 5. So do the dogs, for the last maybe 6 weeks she’s started sneaking downstairs, letting them in the back garden, feeding them and watching tv until waking him up at 7 for breakfast! It’s brilliant. 7 is still early for me but he feels like a new man apparently with the extra time in bed.

My girls are up at 6.45 everyday including weekends drives me mad 13 and 11

When they're about 9 and 7 and are happy sitting downstairs on devices, eating brioche and drinking milk.

Ds was a hideously early riser. He is a tween now, and gets up early to play xbox with his mates. Less keen on school days. We often lie in until 9 at weekends, especially as there are no activities at the minute. Makes up for years of sitting on the sofa at 530, waiting for cbeebies to start.

I'm guessing teens but since my kids were 6 and 4 we've left the ipads out on the landing for them with a bit of breakfast and they take them back to their room meaning we can lie in.. I feel like a new woman after years of getting up at 5.30am plus constantly interrupted sleep!

My 6 year old DD is still asleep now. Awful sleeper as a baby, but now she loves a weekend so she can ‘have her lie in’. I couldn’t handle an early riser!

@GalesThisMorning

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

Came on to say this.

Basically you'll never sleep in again even when they do. Sorry.

Your real question should be

'when can they make their own breakfast?'

Which is way sooner than they'll sleep in.

My ten year olds get up at about six am but I don't. The tween a bit later.

We started putting cereal out quite young.

My 14 yr old wouldn't surface at all if given a chance. 12 and 9yr olds are both usually up by 7/7.30.

At 7 and 5, I wouldn't be getting up with them at silly o clock though. Barring any SEN they are old enough to get up quietly, turn the TV on or read a book until whatever time you deem sensible.

We purposely made sure bowls, cups and cereals were in low cupboards so they could sort themselves out breakfast if they wanted before we got up. If you're worried about spills or breakages, get a couple of plastic bowls and just put a small amount of milk in a container they can use (like a water bottle). Make it a special thing for weekends or whichever day you want a lie in, them being able to get their own breakfast with their special bowls etc

Mine are grown up now and I cannot remember what age they were when they started to sleep in a bit. I do know that until then I always got up with them as I would feel guilty lying in bed when they were downstairs.

My youngest is 10, & she has been sleeping later in the past 6 months.this morning she got up at 8.30 but can sleep in til 10.

Her sister is 13, & can easily sleep in til mid-day, but does get up fine for school.

Neither have ever wanted to come downstairs on their own. I don’t think they’ve ever done that.

I wake at 6am every day anyway. My sleeping in days are long gone!

Basically you'll never sleep in again even when they do. Sorry

Some wild assumptions there that everyone is having children at the same age. I'm 33 with a 10 year old, we both enjoy a lie in.