To have given up on bed time last night and sat eating ice cream with toddler instead.

[PixieDarkAndPixieLight]

It is so hot, I'm sure I'm actually starting to melt. Toddler is usually pretty good with bed time but last night decided to tag team with baby in some kind of screaming relay. Bed time usually 7:30 but by 9:30 and about 11 billion trips back upstairs to usher toddler back to bed, my will was broken. I could feel myself starting to lose it so I gave up. We all sat downstairs in our pants eating ice creams at 10:30pm (homemade ones, surely I at least get points for that?!) then bribed toddler into bed with the promise of a cartoon. To be honest I was willing to try anything to make sure at least one of them wasn't crying!

Woke this morning under a pile of sweaty children, wondering about this 'rod for your own back' everyone goes on about. I'm hoping the odd broken rule isn't going to create mini dictators. Or am I wrong, will I be overthrown by my two angelic looking gremlins?!

You are now screwed forever! Just joking. If your toddler is 2+ it might even be their first memory of the time mum was so cool and understood how he/she couldn't sleep

Sounds ideal. Sometimes you just have to do what u can not what you should. Enjoy

How lovely. 😍 I might try that with my 4 year old tonight rather than loads of trips upstairs. Doing a cold water bottle and a cold flannel and shouting at her. 😢

I remember when i was about 5 (60 now) my mum promised ice cream from the ice cream man but he didn't come until about 10pm and we had been in bed for hours but notasleep.. She went and got some for us and it's one of my fondest memories. It's good to break the rules now and again.

Some days you’ve just got to do what works to keep your sanity.
DD had frequent nighttime trips downstairs when she was a toddler she sleeps fine now.

I seem to be good at breaking the 'rules'. I'm yet to put 2.5yo in their own bed and am currently helping build a setter cushion fort! I'll rest assured that I haven't stored up problems for later just yet. Only problem I did have was having to share my ice cream

I've given up too. (no ice cream unfortunately, we fatties don't keep it in the house).

I've gone a step further - I took my 3 year old to the playground at 9pm last night. Normal function will be resumed when normal weather resumes.

Btw we weren't the only ones there either!

I like your styleTawdry I must know a lot of holier than thou parents as all of their little darlings were tucked up in bed after their quinoa and buckwheat supper. Then I wonder where I'm going wrong as mine is still running round with pants on their head!

The other night we ordered pizza after the kids went to bed which is a big deal for us! By that point we'd spent an hour getting the toddler to stay in bed. So we gave up, put in the night garden on and let him eat pizza with us.

Every night since he's gone down with no trouble.

I gave up last night and put dd in the bath at 9:45 while I sat on the bathroom floor drinking wine.
We had no ice cream otherwise that would have been involved too.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are from when my parents broke the ‘rules’. Things like waking us up in the middle of the night to go sledging when it unexpectedly snowed or letting us have jelly and ice cream for Christmas Day breakfast.

The title of this thread made me smile! You sound like such a lovely Mum

Sometimes I quite enjoy when dd is refusing to sleep, because we watch a film snuggled on the sofa and she’s usually super easy to put to bed after that.

Agree it’s good to break the rules sometimes!

I think you sound lovely too! I remember both my mum and grandma 'breaking the rules' sometimes, and I loved them hugely for it. I've done the same with DS at times, no harm done.

I think this is lovely :) Back when I was a single mum with my older three and they were all quite young, (8 and under)we had a night like this where they just wouldn't sleep and took turns coming downstairs/to my room and I was tearing my hair out. Eventually I decided to embrace the madness, dragged all the duvets (it was the depths of winter) to the living room, ordered pizza and watched films all night until we dropped off one by one.

I didn't have any lasting repercussions to deal with and its a lovely memory for all of us now. Sometimes you've got to make lemonade etc etc :)

I think that sounds absolutely lush. What a lovely memory to have. I pretty much live by the 80:20 rule for every aspect of life so why not do this occasionally? Also you definitely get brownie points for homemade ice cream.

Haha, sounds like my evening, except we were sharing garlic bread rather than ice cream. DS (2.5) was melting and just couldn't get to sleep. I stopped fighting it. You have to sometimes.

Nope fine here. I put DD (7) to bed Thursday night, then when she was still awake at 10.30 in the hot, stuffy bedroom I bought her downstairs and she came into the cool garden with me for an hour. Utterly no point pushing it when it is so so hot they can't sleep anyway. She was chirpy Friday morning and fine all day!

That's sounds lovely My isn't DM has always made a point of saying we never got to sleep in her bed/was allowed to come downstairs after bedtime etc and now tells me i shouldn't let DS in bed with me in the morning for a cuddle

Do you have a recipe?