Getting kids to sleep in

[Fiep]

We’re staying on a cabin on a campsite in continental Europe. Kids are up late (10-11pm) every night and still get up at 7:30. Other kids seem to sleep in til 10. Tips for encouraging a bit more of a lie-in? No substantial naps to speak of. I’m exhausted and cranky.

To add one is a preschooler, one youngish primary school age

This is the perfect time for screens!

It never worked for us, especially on holiday when they were excited. They would sometimes sleep in the day after we got home. We stuck with bedtime by 9pm usually, which we reckoned was 8pm by body clocks.

I’m not sure you can, I have similar age DCs and they get up at 6.30-7 every morning regardless of when they went to sleep.

It just didn't happen for my kids (eldest now a teenager) but I can still enforce a nap for my 6 year old on holiday. I have to lie with him to go off for a nap but it keeps him tolerable.

The only time we've ever got all 4 kids past 8am together was on the first day back home from Disneyland - we had been there for 5 days, doing 20,000+ steps a day and staying up until gone midnight each night and were rewarded with a lie in until 8.03am on our first day home 😁

To be fair, I think 11 hours of sleep is unrealistic for many children at the best of times, never mind on a campsite.

Gah! I had feared this may be the case and it’s not possible. Annoyingly they act like little shits all day when they’re tired (and admittedly so do I).

I love this story, feel like it encapsulates parenthood! 8:03 hahaha what a treat 😂

I don't think you can but I would be being firm on the cranky shitty behaviour. I would be telling them that if they want to be big boys and girls and have the privilege of staying up late until 10/11 on holiday, that's great but they have to act nicely the next day, otherwise they will be going to bed early like a baby.