To wonder what you do when your dc are older.

[Ivegotyourgoat]

This probably sounds really stupid, but my dc are still little, the eldest is 8. So they are generally both in bed by 8.30pm latest. At which time j usually let out a big sigh of relief, open a giant bar of chocolate and watch TV and spend an hour with dh.

I guess once they're a bit older that time on my own is going to go out of the window. I love my dc to bits but I love my hour or two child free in the evening.

What's it like in your house when they're teens? For example what if you want to watch something unsuitable like an adult drama? Do you just lose your evenings once they're older?

[StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes]

one of mine is at uni, the other still at home, DH gets very smiley when he announces that he,s going away for the weekend, he reminisces fondly about when they were little and in bed fast asleep by 7.30pm and we could get all naughty on the sofa. DS is moving away in a few weeks for a job 'oop north' DH thinks it is a new lease of life for shenanigans all over the hous

[skippy67]

Ours are 15 and 18. When the 18 year old is home from uni, we all watch TV together in the evening if we're all in. Netflix is fab for family viewing. They're very rarely in their rooms and are great company.

[motherinferior]

Like Cory et al, I'm very happy to have my two join me vegging in front of the telly if they feel like it. They're good company.

[WhoTheFuckIsSimon]

Dd is now 15yo and spends most of her time in her room. But her having more adult taste in TV is good. We watch stuff like goggle box together. When she was a couple of years younger and I wanted to watch game of thrones if she was downstairs I would watch in my room

[crje]

Mine are 17 & 14

I watch all my tv on Sunday mornings from 10-12.
No sign of any teens at that hour.

[Out2pasture]

Am I the only one that still had no evenings to myself? I was cooking, cleaning, organizing rides, budgeting. They went to bed before me :(

[MabelSideswipe]

I only have one teenager who is 13. The others are younger. He doesn't like TV much so he plays video games until 9.30 and then is chucked out and goes to his room to potter until 10 when he is expected to sleep.

[Moistly]

I've often pondered that once dd is a teen we'll see her less in the evenings but she'd be good company anyway if not.
Well - I certainly hope she'll be good company. At the moment she is a very emotional and demanding child (5).

[Babyroobs]

Mine are 16, 15, 13 and nearly 11. They all have their own bedrooms and tend to go there in the evening to play on PS4 or do homework etc. They have to be bribed to come down and watch a bit of TV with us ! My eldest ds spends quite a lot of time at the weekend out or staying at his girlfriends house.

[ghostyslovesheep]

you have many TV's! plus gadgets

mine are 7, 12 (almost) and 14(almost)

7 - addicted to Minecraft - lives in the study with the X box - goes to bed at 8pm with the Ipad and Stampy until 8:30 then bed

11 - watches Netflix in her room a lot but also watches stuff with me downstairs - is phobic of surgery etc so buggers off if Supervet etc comes on - goes to bed at 9

13/14 - lives in her room with her phone - comes down only to eat, raid the fridge, ask for money, argue - occasionally watches stuff with me - likes OBEM and Game of Thrones

The big 2 stay up late on Friday and if it's on we all watch The Last Leg together as we all like it

I catch up with my TV when they are out or in school! Or after 9pm

[ghostyslovesheep]

oh and actually as they get older it changes a bit and you miss them lots and quiet like the odd moments they choose to grace you with their company

[Junosmum]

I used to live in my bedroom as a teen. Most of my friends did too, when we wereuin each others bedrooms!

[Sidge]

Mine are 17, 12 and 9.

12 and 9 year old are in bed by 8 or 9. 9 year old sometimes stays up with us on a Saturday evening to watch a film.

17 year old is pretty solitary, she doesn't go out much and mostly stays in her room listening to music, creative writing, Skypeing her mates and farting about on her iPad. Sometimes I forget she's there until she appears as she needs feeding

[EponasWildDaughter]

3 of mine are 18 and over.

They were all different re: evening habits.

DD1 (22, now moved out) would sit with us in the evenings if she wasn't out. But liked to go upstairs at about 8 or 9 and shower/read in her room.

DD2 (20) is only here half the time these days but is a cave dweller She disappears upstairs after tea and you wouldn't know she was here.

DD3 (18) drifts about. She'll wander into the living room and quiz us on what we're watching/about to watch and either sit down for ah hour or drift away again.

When they're all out for the night DH and i use the house

[feelingdizzy]

Mine are 13 and 14 haven't seen them for about 2 hours,in their rooms on various gadgets. Dd 14 will sometimes watch TV with me,I often fall asleep on the sofa,the kids will wake me at 9/9.30 to tell me its bed time.I'm so rock and roll!

[BackforGood]

Agree with everyone else.
Teens disappear into their own rooms and have to be prised out every now and then for you to check they are still alive. Don't worry, they won't come anywhere near you and your TV choices in the evenings.

Oh, and they can watch "adult" programmes. Indeed, I have heard a discussion about something one of them had watched (between ds and dd1) when it was said "It's probably not really suitable for Mum though"

[HoneyDragon]

Mine is nearly thirteen. I'm in the bath, I can hear him laughing his head of and going "fgs die please!" I really hope he's on the Xbox

[junebirthdaygirl]

Teens here used watch TV with us in the evenings which meant l watched a lot of sport but l didn't mind as it was fun all watching together. Now at college they roll in at the weekend looking for food and watch whatever we're watching at night if not out with friends or working late at part time jobs. No TV in any other room but they do use laptop late into the night. During holiday time we all watch movies on Netflix. Remember they are great company and you end up watching stuff and chatting about stuff you never imagined. Darts for example!!

[Ivegotyourgoat]

I love the replies. I suppose it all happens quite gradually so you don't really notice it. Actually reading now I can see how I'm going to miss them when they don't want to know me.

I'm not watching anything that bad, but even the soaps I could imagine being a bit awkward at times, perhaps it won't be.

I'm in a house full of men and I don't particularly like sport, somehow I can see a lot of it being on TV.

[seasidesally]

They'll probably be sitting in their rooms with YouTube on a tablet anyway. I thought no teens did actual TV any more.

pretty much this

most evenings i have the lounge and gigantic sofa all to myself

[missymayhemsmum]

You pick up after them, maybe watch TV together, hopefully share the chores and generally have less privacy than they themselves demand. You end up dispensing relationship and careers advice and help with urgent homework at midnight. And eventually you stop waiting up for them on when they go out, and are no longer the last to bed on a school night.
On the other hand, you can of course go out without needing a babysitter!

[JaceLancs]

The teenage years are mainly own rooms and out and about quite a lot
I still stuck to rules of eating together round dining table where at all possible, and no computer/games consoles in rooms. They both had tv in rooms from high school age but we agreed an acceptable switch off time
It's lovely when they grace you with their presence and deign to watch tv together
We used to arrange film nights with sweeties n popcorn etc
Now 23 and 24 and we all hang out together on occasions which is fab, and on others all do our own thing
As long as I know who is in to eat I'm cool with it, and surprisingly they still want to connect with me and DP when he's around
This weekend we are planning a games night, along with cocktail party. Will also be either bbq or Mexican food night depending on weather
Each family member and their DP will organise some part of food and will be lovely to chill out together

[Pheobe1]

My two teens rarely leave their rooms unless food is being offered.
The slightly younger DC have their own TV room, and I keep the romote close by in case I need to pause anything inappropriate.

That makes us sound as if we never spend time together but we have regular family games nights which even the teenagers join. Saturday night is family veiwing together.

[Pixienott0005]

Christ by reading these posts I dread mine becoming teens. You basically get deafed out for technology.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

12 and 10 and things are a bit problematic right now, they do a lot of extracurricular stuff and often see friends after school so there is a lot of ferrying about which can be as late as 9.15, then homework has to be fitted in (12yo doesn't get home from school till 4.45 at the earliest and needs to unwind), dinner, other jobs. I work during school hoursand am supposed to be revising for exams but never manage to get started till after 9.30pm which is too late, I want to relax by then. But I'm still very inclined to spend the early evenings with the DCs becore they get to the teenage shut in rooms stage.