following on from the leaving small children downstairs whilst sleeping upstairs thread

[nappyaddict]

do any of you do this with your 2 and 3 year olds? and by that i mean them being the only child or oldest child - not with older siblings to keep on eye on them? and if you do are you actually asleep or are you in bed but awake?

Asleep, but light sleep

no. but occasionally doze on sofa/bed in same room early weekend morning.

Nope, they would run bloody riot.

remeber, a 3 year old doesn't understand that cut hair stays cut. Doesn't understand that a lit cooker cannot just be walked away from, or that you can't dry Barbie's hair under the grill.

I do doze on the sofa though, because I'd know if they tried to goin the kitchen.

Didn't do it until the little guy was 4. But I did doze on the sofa like colditz.

when I was pg with ds2 (ds1 was 3.4y when he was born) I used to come home from work in the afternoon and fall asleep on the sofa (heavy sleep) while ds1 played around me. On one occasion he woke me up at 5.30pm saying that I needed to make his tea.
Wouldn't have slept upstairs, but tbh I was pretty well away.
He was (and is) a very sensible child.

I used to doze on the sofa for an hour whilst ds was watching cbebbies with me. I'd know if he moved because he'd wake me up. I'd never sleep upstairs though. God knows what he'd have been up to. He's 9 now and creeps downstairs. I feel bad that he does this.

yes DS1 used to let himself downstairs in the morning and sit and watch TV when he was 3 - we never used to here him as he was so quiet.

i never did but that depends to some extent on the child

and in fact s only 16 monthspart never possiblke lol

and then i added another

so no experience of one

helpful moi

tho i was sorprised my dgs gets left buit he is very self sufficient

with very sleepy unhearing parents

how come i can hear a pin drop three streets away and they sleep through earthquakes

Yes, I do this but have a very well behaved 3yo - never needed any safety equipment in the house, no fireguard, no plug thingies, nothing like that.

However, my monster of a nephew - couldn't leave him alone for a minute - the house would be burnt down or some such..

well interestingly the well behaved ones can do odd things

my dd1 decided to see what happened when you dropped a wet tissue on a lit light bulb

depends on the child really doesn't it?

If you feel you can trust them, go ahead. If not, don't.

FAQ and DSM - how old were they when you started? and are you actually asleep?

yes my very sensile bright nearly four year old might well experiment with thigns or have confidence in ability to climb to get snack.

she's ace but she's still three and her confidence outwieghs her jugdement occasionally.

it explodfesn spectacularly showering your top bunk and your sisters and the babysitter panics

see now I wanna try that zippi, don't know where ds gets it from

i very occaisionally doze off while DD is watching dora the explorer or some other kiddie programme i always thought i was the only one i feel better about my mid morning nap time now i dont feel as if i would feel comfortable with allowing DD to play downstairs while i slept upstairs. she is fairly well behaved while i doze downstairs but when im awake as soon as i turn my back she is a tornado in my living room it depends on the child i suppose
xx ei xx

er well yes slur

i have a bizarre mix of kids geek who u wd imagine might be sensible an sd all te other permutations

but as they were originally all within the 4 years ws interesting

I can't remember exactly, he was probably about 3 1/2yrs when he started to go downstairs in the morning and switch the TV on on his own.

i would not leave almost 3 year old DD downstairs alone whilst i slept upstairs, too much potential for an accident. she is not naughty or destructive but she is quite independent, and would possibly decide she wanted a sandwich and climb up to get a big bread knife out or something like that

if DS, almost 9 was there with her, i might snooze on the sofa, but not upstairs in bed.

i have a 2 and three year old. Luckily i am in a bungalow, and my room is RIGHT next to the lounge so quite often at the weekend i leave both doors open and shut the stairgate to the kitchen, pop the tv on and doze. I dont ever get in a deep sleep, too much racket!

lulu - but what if they got up without your knowledge? Not much you can do about that surely? (and before you say "stairgates" - waste of time - he could open them with ease by the time he was 3 1/2yrs)

Mine is almost 3.

I leave him most days for about 45 mins while I bath/shower and get ready upstairs.
The worst he has done is sneak some chocolate out of the kitchen cupboard.
He is normally quite adventutous/destructive, but cbeebies works wonders first thing.

I wouldnt sleep though. I dont think he'd let me actually. He knows I am in the bath and comes up and chats to me every now and then so if he knew I was asleep he would be shouting 'WAKE UP MUMMY' re[peatedly at me I expect!