To let 5 yo DS read in bed?

[starkadder]

5 y.o. DS loves reading - taught himself how very early on and has been an avid reader ever since. He has a little reading light attached to his bunk bed. Recently, he's been staying up reading quite late - 9 or 10pm. I don't mind - he doesn't bother us (doesn't come downstairs) and he is careful not to wake his little sister (with whom he shares a room) up. And it is school hols at the mo so he can sleep late in the morning. But DH disagrees and thinks we should ban reading in bed altogether, because DS basically can't stop himself finishing the book - and then starting another. (We've tried telling him to read one or two chapters only but he really can't.) DH thinks it's not good because DS is too little to self-regulate and will get overtired. So - over to you, MN! What should we do?

Mine have timers and when they do off they finish the paragraph and switch off the light.

If he is sharing a room, could you put his lamp on a timer so it switches off. Then he can't say he can't stop.

Thanks! Timer might wake dd up though, you're right. Timer on the light is a good idea but then it would most likely suddenly plunge him into darkness in the middle of a sentence - a bit harsh, I think...

Let him read then tell him when it's time to go to sleep?

It doesn't need to be an either/or, if he's happy and not causing mischief, why stop him doing something so good?

It's a bit of overkill by your DH though isn't it?

I can't see how 'banning' him when he's so good with it teaches him anything. How can you learn how to self-regulate when you're not allowed to learn?

No don't ban reading in bed but give him a set time say around 1 hour a night. There's certainly no harm in your D.S reading.

Do you also read to your D.S.

I was still reading to my D.D till she was 11 and I read to her in the womb. I also took books into the hospital with me and read to her there. I enrolled her in the library at 3 weeks old. xxx

I was the same. Book after book consumed.

Can he tell the time yet? Maybe a clock and telling him he has until whatever time you think is suitable and then lights out.

As a chronic insomniac and major book fiend I would never ban reading, particularly in bed. If he's thoroughly enjoying the book it would seem too cruel to make him switch the light out and lie there wide awake desperate to finish the story.

I remember the feeling as a child myself.

I agree with everyone else - reading in bed for a bit is fine, but 10pm is too late for a 5 year old - set a time limit.

Hi, we let DS read in bed at this age and would frequently find him reading at 9/9.30 and he did become a real grump-bag in the morning due to tiredness. So, we have reading time, which is normally about half an hour and then we go up again to do a very brief lights out. Sometimes we forget to do it and he either shouts up to remind us or carries on reading . He is nearly 7 now, but he seems to need quite a lot of sleep so his lights out is generally by 8pm.

Well I really wouldn't fret in the holidays or weekends. My DS is not a reader but he loves being allowed to stay up and read and be responsible for putting his own light off, so I let him do that in the hope it will make reading more attractive.

During the school week though I would give him some time to read then go in and put his light out at bed time.

'I enrolled her in the library at 3 weeks old.'

C'mon, finish that off international,

'I enrolled her in the library at 3 weeks old because she'd asked for some Chaucer'

YANBU some kids sleep less. DD3 (8) goes to sleep at 10/11 regularly in the holidays but is put to bed with DS2 (11) at 9ish who is out like a light. I let them both read- DS2 us asleep by 9:10, DD3 much later. They both seem fine.

Chaucer

You are seriously joking. You will stop a child reading before the end of a book in the summer holidays... get a grip, it is the most horrible thing in the world and I think my chronic insomnia as sowernout is directly related to lying awake wanting to cry and trying desperately to figure out a way of getting to the end.. the story was still "alive" in my imagination. I read on in the toilet, bathroom, stairs anywhere I could creep and read. My 16 year old dd came in from the garden long after it was too dark to really see and is on a minimum 1 book a day habit from the library as it is holiday time.

There's a difference between 5 and 16 though. Yes, some kids need less sleep and you have to see how he is doing on it. If he's fine then it's not a problem. If he becomes the child from hell then time to put a limit on it. .

DD1 would have stayed up until 9 on summer evenings at that age, sometimes.
Not reading she didn't learnt to read until she was 11 and at 15 will read past 1am (she's dyslexic, and once reading for pleasure clicked she started catching up and hasn't stopped. She always has a book with her).

Thanks everyone. I also read constantly as a child. Reading has brought me an enormous amount of pleasure over the years, which is why I am so sympathetic. I think we'll maybe put a time limit on it though. The issue is, you can't just go in and turn the light off as he might be in the middle of a really good bit, and no way do I want to be negotiating in the middle of the night. But maybe 830 or 9pm is a reasonable cut off point for us to go up and tell him to stop, with the warning that if the light isn't off 5 mins after that, there'll be "trouble".