If you put kids to bed at 6pm ...

[ichifanny]

Just out of interest , I keep hearing parents talking about kids getting up at 4am - 5am I have 4 including a baby and apart from the newborn stage it’s never happened to any of mine unless they are ill or otherwise disrupted . Is it not just the case that if you put your kids to bed at 6-7pm then it makes sense they will be up with the larks ? Does it happen often that kids who go to bed about 8.30pm -9pm still get up early ?

Live

My 7 year old goes to sleep at 9pm and will wake up at 8am, my 18 month old goes to sleep around 7ish and wakes up before 6, unfortunately nothing makes him sleep in any longer. I am definitely more like my eldest, early mornings aren't my thing!

I had an early riser even tho going to bed at 8 but that stopped when I cut out the lunchtime nap

I think if you put them to bed at 6 they won’t be able to sleep until 6 or 7!

I think tbh your body gets used to tree pattern you follow, so eg I wake at 6.30-7 at the weekends unless I've been heavily boozing because that's what my body is trained to in the week. Equally my kids will wake at approx the same time unless they've had a seriously late night / I'll etc

That said mine are pretty good and will be asleep by 7.15 reliably, earlier if they've had a busy day or toddler has missed his nap.

They sleep in until 6.45 (toddler) and 7.30-8 (5) unless I wake them

Very happy to admit we're pretty lucky

Good thanks for answering my questions and not giving me too much of a shoeing lest I go ask friends in real life and go down as a coemin real life . I will regard mums who get up at 4am with less judgement .

Cow in real life

Ahh yes why didn’t I think of that 🤦‍♀️ What a daft statement op....

Only time dc2 has slept past 6am is when dc2 has been poorly! And been up half the night being sick....

Trust me I’ve tried the later bed time and I just end up with a tired grumpy child and I seriously do not want that!!

Dc1 needs 11/12 hours so if in bed at 7 wakes up at 7, in bed at 11 up at 11am.

Bed time starts at 6.30 - bath (if bath night) teeth, story keeps me & dh sane getting some time on an evening to chill out, relax, have a chat without small people.

With no judgement would be good

My son is 4yrs he sleeps 6.30pm - 7.30am
2yr old daughter 6.30pm - 8am
15mth old daughter 7pm - 7.30am

Doesnt matter what time i put them to bed they will wake the same time

It's not some sort of mysterious thing.
If you want them to wake later they need to go to bed later.

BUT you will need to persevere with it, like anything in parenting, it doesn't happen overnight

Mine (almost 3) goes to bed about 7ish. Up around 5.30-6 ish. We tried the putting to bed later, up to 9 o'clock for months on end on the advice of a sleep consultant. All we achieved was a child that still got up before 6 and was grumpy during the day and really pissed off parents because only an hour of childfree time before bed is fucking stressful in the long term.

So now we just accept he's an early riser and value our evenings. I'm so used to getting up with him that I automatically wake up myself before he does.

Ds15 could go to bed at 6pm or midnight and he would still be up at 4:30am when dp got up for work- and he was quiet as a mouse! It became our norm, until he started school and sleeping later. Now he’s 15 he voluntarily goes between 9:15-9:45pm, the odd occasion 10pm, and I still have to prod him several times at 7am.

BUT you will need to persevere with it, like anything in parenting, it doesn't happen overnight

And some of us have tried this, for literally months, and still have early risers. It's not some sort of mysterious thing all children are different.

I think everyone just has a natural sleep pattern and that's the same with kids.

Of my lot I've got one that sleeps for 8.5 hours no matter when she goes to sleep. If she goes earlier she's up early, if she goes late then she's up late. One has a habit where they'll sleep 10 hours one night and 7 the next.

My 9 year old wakes at 5.15am regardless of when he falls asleep. Often he doesn't actually fall asleep until 11.30/midnight. He's always been like that. The first time he slept more than 3 hours in one go he was 9 months old and I prodded him awake in panic when I woke up! I ended up having a tv/dvd player in his room on a timer that he could put on at 5.30am for 45 mins or so to allow me more sleep as I'm a 10 hour a night person.

I tried everything. You name a sleep technique and in the first 4 years of his life I tried it. I also have a wall chart that I measured him against every week because people constantly telling me if he didn't sleep he wouldn't grow and his brain wouldn't develop etc had me a paranoid wreck. Then a very kindly GP told me that she slept 6 hours a night and always had done and some people only need a small amount of sleep.

Of my six there are three with very similar sleep patterns and three that are quite different despite all having the same parenting so I think it's just a natural thing that combines with situation rather than being completely controllable.

DD1 is a light sleeper but now 18 and sleeps late if she can as she is a night owl.
DD2 has always been a deep sleeper. She is 15 now and the first awake at 6.30/7 unless we have had a very late night.

I'm lucky my kids where never early risers , neither are my grandchildren that live with me wouldn't have bothered to much with mine as i use to wake up about 6, but now i'm not up to about 10 , so wouldn't be to happy if they woke me up early

I must admit it worked well for us. As dp walked the dogs, then when he got home he would give a bottle or breakfast to ds whilst I showered. Then he changed him whilst I dressed. Then dp would go to work, and ds would have a play whilst I done my hair and make up. Then we were both ready when I woke my elder ds at 7am, and gave him breakfast and changed for school.

I was one of those mums that a few said ‘how can you manage to do your hair and make up etc in time for the school run?’. Easy:- because I’d been up over 4 hours before we got to school!!!

My almost 4 year old sleeps 7pm-6.45am and that's only because I wake her, if I let her sleep in she wakes about 8.30am.

Both my children are earlier risers, my eldest in particular, 6am is a long lie for him, they go to bed between 7-8, have a consistent bedtime routine and both self settle to sleep! It genuinely does not matter when he goes to bed and yes I have tried extending his bedtime over a long period and still made no difference to what time he got up except that his mood was unbearable! Sometimes they are happy to get into our bed for a cuddle for an hour sometimes they are ready to start the day! They have black our blinds and curtains in their room, we don't live near a busy road or in a noisy area so no outside noise to wake them! They just like to get up really fucking early which is extra shit because I don't but I just have to suck it up!
In your original posts you stated you weren't being judgemental and just interested but as your posts went on you did one accord as a tad condescending! I do envy you and your kids that sleep until atleast CBeebies has come on but unfortunately that is not the hand I was dealt!

It doesn't matter what time my daughter goes to bed, she's awake at half six. We've brought it forward from 5am, but this is as late as she'll sleep.

She goes to bed at 7 because if she goes any later she's a ratty grump. She was awake until 11pm the other night, and slept in until the dizzying times of…6.45.

I don't know....

what would happen If........ you went to live in another country with a time difference? Do you imagine your child would still only sleep between 6pm and 4.30am UK time?

I think they would eventually get used to sleeping at the new time... yes it would be a nightmare to get them to that point but it would eventually happen.

My LO 22 months goes to bed at 7/7.30- last night with daddy putting her to bed she went down at 8.30- still up at 5.30, just cranky and had a near 4hr nap this afternoon.

Neighbours put their 3year old to bed at 9.30pm and he’s up at 7....I don’t think that’s much of a trade off; I need an evening!

Another one here with a DC1 who got up at 6am regardless of bedtime - in someways the later he went the earlier he rose. Needed to be asleep by 6.45pm until 5 years old.

DC2 more amenable and likely to adjust waking time to the time he went to bed, so I got one of each!

Mine goes to bed at 8:30-9pm, still up at 4-5am. At 6pm, I’m just starting dinner!

@FrameyMcFrame but the whole day would be structured around that time zone, so it would be much easier to adjust, because meals, daylight, schooling etc would all change as well