Non conventional bed time.

[Heartofgoldmumof2]

Hi
I’m interested in hearing from other parents who have not had conventional bed times for their kids?
My firstborn DD was a a good sleeper and ina good routine from an early age.
My second DS was very different. Slept only for very short naps. I struggled to get him to settle at a decent time in the evening for bed. Between the ages of 6 months - 18 months he would wakes for 2 hours in the night and screamed blue murder unless he could look at a book or play with some toys until he got tired for sleep again. When he woke he was mentally very awake.
Now he does not nap in the day. But is not ready for sleep at a normal time for a child. Generally he does to sleep when we do. But once asleep he sleeps all night. He only needs 9 hours and is awake by 8am.
My DH has different views on bedtime because his parents ran restaurants they were out working at night until very late and my DH was with them. So he does not stick to a bed time.
So I’m interested to hear from other parents who do not follow a conventional bed time for their kids?
Some of my other friends who put their kids to bed at 7.30/8pm. Their kids get up at 4 am. Wouldn’t want that either! Thanks

Depends on age of child and the context they are living in. My baby got into a pattern of sleeping at 11pm but was very overtired/overstimulated by this point. I moved the bedtime routine back by a few hours and she is much happier. She does wake at around 4am but goes back to bed after a feed. I am not a proponent of super rigid bed time routines or times unless they suit your particular child, and think people should wait for a pattern to emerge. I think it's also good to experiment before settling on something.

I don't think there is anything wrong in principle with an early or late bedtime... all of us have our own rhythms, some are early birds or night owls, and if it works for your child then great. The only issue I can foresee is nursery and school where there is an expectation your child has certain rough nap times and is awake in the day to learn. So, having something truly wild might disrupt your child because they don't have set expectations of when to go to sleep and they might not function in wider society as well when they are older. Also, if all your child's baby friends are up during the day and your child is not they might miss out.