I don't accept "s/he's tired" as an excuse for bad behaviour

[Twiglett]

from anyone

well I nod and smile, but inside I'm thinking .. no, crap excuse

when DS / DD misbehave they do it because they're PITAs

what do you think of the age old excuse?

She's probably doing something motherly like putting the kids to bed

Maybe her kids are playing up because they're tired

I KNOW that tired kids get grumpy and poorly behaved

I DON'T accept the people who consistently excuse bad behaviour as oh they're tired

Don't say you weren't warned, young lady!!

I agree that children can be worse when they are tired

why are they naughty leading up to bedtime?

But it does annoy me when some parents blame it on that all of the time, like the only reason they are ever naughty is coz they are tired!

I don't think they do EXCUSE it though - surely they just EXPLAIN it as "they're tired". I know that's what I do - it really isn't an excuse but it is a definite REASON !

My dd reaches a stage - about 15 mins after she should have been asleep when she just becomes irrational !!

I dont accept that my children misbehave because the "Want to be PITA's".

I mean, do you honestly think that your DD/DS gets grumpy and chucks a strop just to wind you up? Are your lo's really that calculating?

Mine arent. They are only 3.9yrs and 21months, even so.....I dont think they cry more easily at simple stuff or have a considerably shorter patience because they want to be a pain in the arse.

Surely thats only the domain of the teenager? Unless yours are really that advanced Twig?

Mine were put on this planet purely to wind me up

Mine too anniebear (well, DS1 anyway. DS2 is only 4 months, and is positively angelic)

DS1 gives me The Look before he does something he knows he shouldn't, almost to say "I'm doing this now because I know it really pisses you off"

Bless his cottons.

Why don't you suggest they put them to bed early then Twig?

Mine get the option of (a) having a nap or (b) behaving themselves.

I'm really badly behaved when i am tired

I do. With my DD the effect is quite dramatic - she is a really good, easy-going little girl until she starts to get over-tired and then she's child from hell - tantrums, crying uncontrollably, unpersuadable. She is also a morning person like me so gets tired by about 7pm. With my boys the effects take longer to show up but after a few days on late nights they are worse.

I am not nice when I'm overtired either. Like most of the time these days.

Children are obviously also a pita anyway tired or not.

Hmmm, I do get a bit when people's kids are really difficult, and they say "oh, they're tired". And then it happens again, another day, and the same excuse is trotted out. I wonder if the parents are doing anything about the tiredness.

And yes, I do know toddlers who stay up until 10pm and don't sleep much in the day, and are ratty and annoying as a result.

I agree.
If they are PITAs then that's all there is to know.
Mine are often PITA.

Toddlers who stay up til 10pm?

I'm desperate for mine to go to sleep at about 3.30 in the afyernoon. Baedtime can't come round quick enough in the Walrus household

Tiredness is often the reason - the cause is very simple. But doing something about that tiredness is very difficult - there are rarely easy solutions - especially when the parents themselves are exhausted by sleepless children.

Mine are programmed to go upstairs at 6:50 am.I never taught them but dammit,they are like clockwork.

My dh just suggested that we keep my dd up until 8pm in the hope that she will sleep longer in the morning. I said no way, I cannot cope with her after 7pm, she has to be in bed by 7pm. You can tell my dh doesn't get home from work until 8pm.

I have known quite a few PFBs who stayed up until they were ready to go to bed. To be fair, I have one friend with four kids, all of whom go to bed whenever, often just falling asleep where they are, and they're pretty well-behaved kids.

NQC - I never had a set bedtime as a child, because my parents could trust me to go be bed at a reasonable time. My dd is completely different to me, and she has to have a set bedtime otherwise her behaviour deteriorates. The biggest problem is when she wakes up in the middle of the night and turns on the night and starts playing, and I'm vaguely aware that she is awake, but still half asleep myself. (she's only 3).

No set bedtimes obviously works for some families/kids, but there are plenty it doesn't work for!

Yeah, my DS1 went through a "get up in the night and play" phase, he honestly didn't knowk whether it was day or night. We have a nightlight on a timer in his room now, though, which comes on when he's allowed up. It isn't bright enough to wake him, but just lets him know if it's officially "daytime" yet.

NQC - how old was your ds when he understood the concept of the night light timer?

Three or four. It wasn't long after we moved him into a bed. Hmm, if I wasn't rushing off, I could probably find out from the archive, I got the idea off here.

Thanks NQC. Interestingly, my parents in law had exactly the same problem with one of their daughters. it only got better when she learnt to read, and would spend half the night reading. She is now 36 and a high flying executive, who needs very little sleep. Certainly a genetic factor comes into it.