to NOT get up with the kids at 7am?

[groundhogmum]

My DP works shifts and often finishes work after 11pm, I stay at home with our 3 DC, aged 6, 4 and 2.5yrs. The kids get up most days between 6.30 and 7am, the 6yo opens the stairgate and they all trundle downstairs and pop the tv on.

My DP insists that no matter how early they rise I should get up with them. I feel that no harm will come to them if I stay in bed and leave them to it - I get up around 8am on a "day off" where I have no school/appts to be at.

Is this unreasonable? Our kitchen downstairs has a lock on it that none of them can undo and therefore they only have access to the lounge and the downstairs loo. Obviously, I am aware of the children being up, can hear them downstairs and just "doze" until my alarm goes off at 8.

What does everyone else do? Am I being lazy/neglectful by not getting up with them immediately? I just don't see the problem with letting them go downstairs without me for an hour or so, after all its not like I am sleeping all day while the kids run riot downstairs!

Grateful for all opinions!

When my nephew was 2 ge used to climb over the stairgate (he can open them at 4 now) at his bedroom door, go downstairs and make his breakfast. This consisted of taking all the boxes of cereal out the cupboard, the milk out the fridge and tip them all out all over the front room carpet!

Thanks to everyone who responded - good to know I am NBU! DP is really not all bad - this week for example, he is working 6 days straight 12 hour shifts of 11 til 11. Often he ends up not getting home til after midnight depending on how busy he has been at work. This is hard on all of us, but is balanced out by the weeks where he only works 4 days.

I think a lot of the difference of opinion is down to the fact that as he is working so much, he doesn't look after the kids as often as I do and doesn't have the same awareness of what they are capable of and often still sees them as babies!

Thanks everyone, will be able to debate my point much better, in the confidence that there are a lot of other parents doing the same as me and we can't all be wrong!

So on his 4day weeks, he could get up if he feels the need. Just saying...