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Parenting

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Should I do every bedtime or let DH continue to fail miserably?

131 replies

Porterpolitics · 24/07/2026 21:28

DH and I have two children, 5 and 3, with one more arriving very shortly. He hasn’t ever been especially good at bedtime and what will usually take me 30 mins in soft lighting, hushed voices and whispered stories takes him 90+ mins on a good night, with high tempo dance music blaring, shouting, screaming, often culminating in him losing his sh1t and me having to intervene. This means the 60/40 split is increasingly 80/20 with me seeing them both off most days of the week, in spite of being quite heavily preggo.

He appears to be a) unable to fathom why allowing them to bounce round the room won’t make them magically fall asleep and b) unable to understand that the amount of time we have together to unwind in the evenings is the inverse of how much time he spends putting them to bed. He also won’t listen when I tell him he needs to whisper, calm his voice or encourage some quiet time. He simply tells me they don’t behave for him like they do for me whilst simultaneously blaring out Taylor Swift from his phone.

He recently took a few days off work and ran them into the ground so that by the time I got home from work at 5pm, they were both asleep on the sofa, filthy, not fed and fully dressed. I woke them up to eat and brush teeth but they then obviously were not tired for bed.

So far it hasn’t been ideal (!) but the oldest is now primary school age and I’m about to EBF DC3 so I’ll be taken out of the equation and will no longer be able to intervene as readily as I do now. I don’t want our oldest to be going to bed so late that they fall asleep at school.

So my question is WWYD? Would you take over every single bedtime knowing they’ll be down before 8pm, even though that will likely mean doing so with a newborn hanging off my boob? Or would you leave him to it and hope he eventually works it out on his own? I’ve been attempting the latter for weeks but it is getting us nowhere except later and later bedtimes.

I’m no good at expressing milk and don’t want to bottle feed DC3 so I know they will be Velcro’d to me whatever happens.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
WelshRabBite · 26/07/2026 23:14

FIVE YEARS and he can’t work out how to put his own children to bed. That’s around 2,000 bedtimes and he’s not worked it out.

How thick is he?

And why isn’t he embarrassed about his lack of skill as a parent after such a long time? I’m embarrassed for him and I’ve never met the guy.

Fuck me, the bar for men really is in hell. 🙄

Confuseddotcom88 · 26/07/2026 23:23

Get DH a baby carrier/sling and he can take newborn duty while you do bedtimes (obviously he still needs to work on getting better at doing bedtimes so he can do his share though!). My eldest was extremely clingy to me and wouldn't go to sleep for anyone else when my second was born so DP had the baby in the carrier and she would usually just sleep in there till other DC was asleep

OhYeahOhYeah · 26/07/2026 23:28

Naurrr · 24/07/2026 22:03

high tempo dance music blaring, shouting, screaming, often culminating in him losing his sh1t and me having to intervene.

Yuck. How can you be attracted to him?
Tell him he needs to resolve his issues with this and you will absolutely not be stepping in to fix it for him.

Weaponised incompetence in action.

Tell him to shape up pronto, as there’s nothing more unattractive than a perfectly competent man, fucking stuff up intentionally, to get out of the task…….

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Mnetcurious · 26/07/2026 23:38

“WWYD?”

What I wouldn’t do is decide to have a third child with this incompetent parent who won’t take advice on board and makes life harder for me.

Justhereforhealthtopic · 26/07/2026 23:45

often culminating in him losing his sh1t and me having to intervene
Easier said than done but try not to intervene. That way he may learn to do it differently, or more like you do, a bit quicker than if he can just rely on you to step in when his way goes wrong.

Wanttobefree2 · 26/07/2026 23:57

Get him to start his dance party an hour before you would normally put them to bed, then they are tired and might go to sleep on time!

grinandslothit · 27/07/2026 00:09

The truth is hed rather you do it than him so he is going to do it as poorly as he can and wear you down until you end up doing it all

If he was truly interested in doing it correctly he would be doing it already

kindlymoveon · 27/07/2026 01:05

OP, you have an approach that speaks to me. The quiet, soft voices, calm atmosphere and repetitive approach also works wonderfully for our DC and guarantees staying in bed, no interruptions through the night and we all get a good night’s sleep. Functioning on less than 7 hours sleep is rough. If we had a dance party at night it would be hell to pay. DH and I both work we have to be coherent for our jobs too.

user1492757084 · 27/07/2026 04:38

Leave him to it but set some boundaries - bed times and that teeth need cleaning etc before bed.
No screens nor phones.
Before dinner check that homework/reading is complete.

Ask DH to do more than 50% of morning routine.

MeAndTheDoggo · 27/07/2026 06:28

The only bit of this that would bother me is where the kids end up in trouble. The rest wouldnt really. Otherwise I’d possibly look at not EBF just because even if things were running 100% like clockwork I’d find it hard to take myself out of the mix

ThePoetsWife · 27/07/2026 07:18

And you’re having another baby with this stupid immature man who’s incapable of parenting?

ThePoetsWife · 27/07/2026 07:20

grinandslothit · 27/07/2026 00:09

The truth is hed rather you do it than him so he is going to do it as poorly as he can and wear you down until you end up doing it all

If he was truly interested in doing it correctly he would be doing it already

This.

either he is really dim and thick or he is
doing it to get out of bedtimes

Doone22 · 27/07/2026 08:00

Looking forward to hearing how this mum of 4 gets on.
Tbh maybe you both need to drop some of the routine? Surely that's old enough to just wash and go to bed. I didn't have a whole palaver about going to bed I was just sent there, tucked in and kissed goodnight.

Weeeeeeeeeee · 27/07/2026 08:29

Starrylawn · 26/07/2026 23:03

Not really funny

Why not?

I found it funny.

WhatNoRaisins · 27/07/2026 08:29

What do you say about him losing his shit? I'd be honest and tell him that it's not ok for him to be losing his shit when it's his own actions that have led up to him needing to lose his shit. I'd also make it clear that I'm not happy about having to intervene when it's a situation that could easily have been prevented.

Weeeeeeeeeee · 27/07/2026 08:53

My starting point is that there is no perfect way to parent and it's not really one parent's place to tell the other how to do it - if you're equal parents, you have equal rights to decide your approach.

That said, children thrive when there is consistency - knowing Mum and Dad are singing from the same hymn sheet really helps them understand where boundaries lie, what is/is not acceptable etc. I think the first thing is for you and your partner to learn how to discuss your approaches and attitudes to parenting (without criticism of each other - just open, healthy dialogue). The children are very young at the moment but it won't be long before you're having to make much bigger decisions on what you're ok with. By the time that comes round, you could really do with having a method of communication between you that means you're able to discuss these things and agree a united approach.

As for bedtime itself, does your partner enjoy bedtime or do you think he's deliberately doing a crap job so that you'll step in?

If it's the former, honestly, be glad that the children have a Dad who loves that time with them. Leave him to do things his way (it is his right, after all) and just remove yourself from the situation - take a walk, make a phone call to a friend, sit in the garden, go to the supermarket, whatever.

In conjunction with the above, suggest he just starts the bedtime routine earlier. That's what we do (if one of us wants to extend bedtime - more stories, playing in the bath whatever) we just get going earlier.

Someone much further up the thread suggested the library challenge and I thought your response was pretty poor - you seemed completely closed off to the idea (while you're simultaneously expecting your husband to be open to changing his ways - double standards, much?). Stories at bedtime is one of the easiest way to calm children (and it's obviously great for their development) and I'm surprised that doesn't form part of the routine already. When do you read to them?

You seem to suggest you couldn't do the library challenge with your children because they can't read. How do you think they learn to read if you don't read to them. And aren't you teaching them to read? I'd suggest something structured like the library challenge would be great because if it's "the thing" you're doing, your partner will have an activity to focus (and calm) bedtime with, without it being something you're nagging him to do your way (the reading challenge being an external programme).

As for a getting the phone out at bedtime. Have a look at the impacts on phone lighting affecting sleep. There's a tonne of research on it - ultimately, it's crap for children and adults and really affects sleep.

If you're not able to have those sorts of discussions around the impact of behaviours on your children (and that does not mean pinpointing and criticising each other's actions) then, as I said at the start, you really need to figure that out between you.

My husband and I will do things differently to each other. Sometimes, that's absolutely fine. Other times, we agree we need to be consistent and so we discuss what we think is the best way forward. We don't criticise each other. I certainly don't take the approach that, because I'm Mum, I'm right. He will often do a bit of reading / research (that's his thing) and share it with me, so that can independently help shape our thoughts.

I'd suggest just doing things exactly as you are isn't a great way to go, though, because you're not happy with the current status quo. Having that much angst each night is not a great way to live.

Going back to the questions above, if it's the latter, then that is poor parenting and being a poor partner. That sort of behaviour needs addressing and you need a serious conversation, maybe some couples counselling, about it. Weaponised incompetence is just not something to live with.

Deathinvegas · 27/07/2026 10:09

Porterpolitics · 24/07/2026 21:28

DH and I have two children, 5 and 3, with one more arriving very shortly. He hasn’t ever been especially good at bedtime and what will usually take me 30 mins in soft lighting, hushed voices and whispered stories takes him 90+ mins on a good night, with high tempo dance music blaring, shouting, screaming, often culminating in him losing his sh1t and me having to intervene. This means the 60/40 split is increasingly 80/20 with me seeing them both off most days of the week, in spite of being quite heavily preggo.

He appears to be a) unable to fathom why allowing them to bounce round the room won’t make them magically fall asleep and b) unable to understand that the amount of time we have together to unwind in the evenings is the inverse of how much time he spends putting them to bed. He also won’t listen when I tell him he needs to whisper, calm his voice or encourage some quiet time. He simply tells me they don’t behave for him like they do for me whilst simultaneously blaring out Taylor Swift from his phone.

He recently took a few days off work and ran them into the ground so that by the time I got home from work at 5pm, they were both asleep on the sofa, filthy, not fed and fully dressed. I woke them up to eat and brush teeth but they then obviously were not tired for bed.

So far it hasn’t been ideal (!) but the oldest is now primary school age and I’m about to EBF DC3 so I’ll be taken out of the equation and will no longer be able to intervene as readily as I do now. I don’t want our oldest to be going to bed so late that they fall asleep at school.

So my question is WWYD? Would you take over every single bedtime knowing they’ll be down before 8pm, even though that will likely mean doing so with a newborn hanging off my boob? Or would you leave him to it and hope he eventually works it out on his own? I’ve been attempting the latter for weeks but it is getting us nowhere except later and later bedtimes.

I’m no good at expressing milk and don’t want to bottle feed DC3 so I know they will be Velcro’d to me whatever happens.

Personally, I’d find him another job so you’re doing the same amount of work you’re just doing different jobs.
However, I understand how the new baby could complicate things.
To the people criticising the OP for having another baby what do you think you are achieving with these comments? The baby is on the way, it’s a bit late to change that don’t you think! Maybe constructive comments would be more helpful!
Besides you are all reading about one aspect of the OPs life that isn’t working if her DH is otherwise a good father perhaps being a bit rubbish at bedtime is a bit annoying for the OP rather than a dealbreaker. After all i’m sure there is something her DH is doing better than her. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
P.s the dancing and music sounds like lots of fun but maybe not just before bed.

Noonereallyinteresing · 27/07/2026 10:51

I think I'd be finding a sleep consultant to do video calls with HIM. To explain why and what kids that age need. And how he can achieve that while you're post partum.

The third person can be helpful. They aren't going to say anything you haven't but it coming from a stranger cam make the difference.

Good luck!

wishfulthinking25 · 27/07/2026 11:03

Leave him to it! It’s exactly what I done when I was pregnant with DC2. DH soon got the hang of it. I really had to stop myself from intervening a lot of the time but it was worth it in the end.

Nochoiceofuser · 27/07/2026 11:49

WhatNextImScared · 25/07/2026 07:01

Just go out at bedtime. Make an arrangement with a friend. Let him deal with it.

I had a similar thought, invent a headache and needing a walk in the fresh air (although if bedtime is as chaotic as it sounds she might not have to invent it!) Or suddenly needing something from the supermarket that can't wait until the morning.

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 27/07/2026 11:57

Weaponized incompetence

Onceuponatime32 · 27/07/2026 12:09

So he winds them up at bedtime, blares dance music at them, loses his shit at them then whinges that they don’t behave for him. Nobody is that stupid.

He is doing it deliberately because he doesn’t want to do bedtime.

Kingdomofsleep · 27/07/2026 12:43

WelshRabBite · 26/07/2026 23:14

FIVE YEARS and he can’t work out how to put his own children to bed. That’s around 2,000 bedtimes and he’s not worked it out.

How thick is he?

And why isn’t he embarrassed about his lack of skill as a parent after such a long time? I’m embarrassed for him and I’ve never met the guy.

Fuck me, the bar for men really is in hell. 🙄

That's a bit harsh - it's not 2000 of the same bedtimes. Putting a newborn baby down is totally different from getting a 5yo to bed.

Just when you think you've sorted a "routine", the kids move into a different phase and you work out a new one.

Granted, op's dh needs to refine his method, that's for sure. But you can "work it out" when your kid is 4 months old and then have to work it all out again when your kid is 2 and then come up with yet another new way when your second is born and once your eldest starts getting reading homework etc etc.

So just because he's finding it hard now, doesn't mean he's been useless for the whole 5 years. Have you literally never been through a tricky parenting phase?

laurajayneinkent · 27/07/2026 12:55

My ex was also like this. Minus the music, but lots of shouting. It's one of the reasons why he's now my ex. It's weaponised incompetence in order to make you do it because he "can't". It's pathetic but also, I know, highly frustrating for you!!!

DecoratingDiva · 27/07/2026 13:05

Weaponised incompetence.
presumably he’s not actually as stupid as you make him sound so he must understand that his behaviour at bedtime is the problem. He is making a choice to keep doing this.

your choice is to either step away and leave him to it or do it all yourself. You will struggle to change his behaviour.

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