Are your kids going to bed later now the evenings are lighter?

[eggybreadandbeans]

Have noticed with ds (nearly 2) that lately, he seems tired later in the evening, and to be taking less sleep overall in each 24-hour period (crap sleep due to house move aside ).

Do you find with your little ones that they tend to go to bed later and sleep a bit less in the summer months, and sleep more (hibernate :)) in the winter?

Thanks

EBAB

They try, but I'm very jealous of my few childfree/not working evenings so I make them go anyway {grin}

When they were very young I found black out curtains a godsend during the summer. It really helps when you're trying to get them to sleep whilst the sun's still up.

depends if i can get em off flamin msn ....just kidding

Black out curtains didn't help here - they can hear other kids still playing out quite late.
Mine go to bed at the same time, but are more likely to get up very early in the summer. They are 5&6 and understand now that sometimes you go to bed before it gets dark, but if they wake and it's light, they get up.

yes ds 3yrs has been getting out of bed in the evening and waking early .Think I might get some black out blinds.

Yes, oh yes. Bed time has somehow crept from 8.30 to 9pm, and then she often lies there chattering to her 'Cat' till 10pm

Means we get good lie-ins though

yeah, dd1 has been staying up later, mainly due to the nice evenings and she has nbeen helping daddy in ther garden or we've watched a film together.

I think I feel better cause of the lighter evenings so don't desperatley want her in bed as early as possible

He goes to bed at the same time and then we spend 1-2 hours bellowing at him to get back into bed. Last night he tried to move the furniture from the spare room into his room (he's 2.75), finally fell asleep at about 10 and then got up at 2.30 to tell me that it was dark and we should all be asleep. At 4 he wanted to see whether I was asleep (....) and then at 6 this morning he wanted to sing Wiggly Woo for me.

I look fab today in case you were wondering....

Haggishly yours,

Oh the arguments (and on some nights tears too) we are having as "its not time to go to bed mummy, its not dark".

Bedtime is slipping although I do start trying to get ds upstairs for a bath at the same time (7pm) each evening but he puts up such a fight because it's not dark that I am not curled up on the sofa by 8pm anymore as I used to be.

I keep thinking that if I am consistent and just insist that it is bathtime/bedtime (even the cbeebies bedtime song is not convincing him !) he will get used to the idea of going to bed whilst its still light outside eventually.

I feel I need to stick to normal bedtime as ds needs 11/12 hours sleep and I can't let him sleep in as we need to be off to nursery/work by 9.30 am.

If he goes to bed after 9pm when its starting to get dark he will be grumpy and clingy/whingy the next day.

Thanks all. It's not just us then!

Ds's bedroom in new house has two whopper windows. We bought Homebase blackout blinds and fitted them before moving day, but they let in a ton of light around the edges - i.e. ds still thinks it's daytime: "It's daytime now, Mum. I've woken up [having not yet been asleep]!"

For anyone in the same boat, and contemplating buying blackout blinds, check out www.easyblinds.co.uk. I found it last night after posting; apparently not a sliver of light will get through. Desperate times and all - am very tempted at the moment!

Thanks again

EBAB

We have blackout blinds, but same problem - light round the edges. Solution: masses of blue tack. Ugly, but effective

Bedtime is cast in stone in this house ... dd understands that it's lighter later in the summer and has never complained that it's not night-time. She does try to get up earlier in the mornings sometimes but gets sent straight back to bed!

WWB, so refreshing to meet someone as old fashioned as me with regards the rigidity of bedtime.

Ds truly benefits from it the next day.