Do you let your kids sleep till they wake up?

@2flowerboys, we don’t have a gas stove now, but that’s what they learned to cook on before we moved! Ours didn’t have to be manually lit, however. If it had, there’s no way I would’ve let them do that! Now we have an electric stove in our new home, and they can cook on it just as well. 

Karen, I want to tell you…sometimes it is easier to adjust your mind to have peace about how *your* home works. I used to be very frustrated by the fact that my husband and our lifestyle makes us stay up late almost every single night. We rarely go to bed before 10:30! We are very active in our church and my husband is a night owl. I have leaned to adjust our life and my expectations so that I am able to enjoy my kids. I even read to them that late at night a few chapters now. Waking up is a struggle for us at times and I understand that going to bed earlier would help, but I aslo realize that there is no point being upset about things I can’t change. I think it is awesome that your family makes it a priority to eat dinner together! And if it means a later bedtime, so be it! That’s my .02 cents of encouragement for u. 😉

Mercy

I was just thinking about this very thing! I have always let my children get up on their own. My husband is a minister and it is hard to keep a consisten early bedtime all week. Sunday nights and Wednesday nights are almost always late nights for us. Then there are the extra things that go on. School is unbearable with cranky tired children. But I recently had the thought “oh no I may be ruining my children forever and they will grow up to be lazy, unproductive citizens because I didn’t teach them how to get up early!”

I was homeschooled. My mother let me sleep until noon as long as I got my work done. (I know that’s extreme.) I have struggled my whole life with getting up early. So I was afraid of doing the same to my children.

Then I remembered my children are 9, 7, and 6 and they usually wake between 7-8, sometimes if they aren’t up by 8:30 or 9 I will wake them unless we were out really late.

I think I will wait until my kids are 12-13 before I worry about it. 🙂

Tara

I’ll be the odd one out here…LOL! I wake all children over age 1 by 7:30am. Of my eight children I have several who are up well before that time naturally. I’m up at night with 3 little ones under age 3 right now (1 month old for feedings, 1 yo has medical needs I have to do in the middle of the night, 2yo wakes usually once per night with a really wet diaper). I naturally wake around 5am unless I’m pregnant.

We do breakfast as a family, one mess, one clean up. It’s better for us than 10 different breakfasts at different times and eating different things. I make 1 option, you eat it or you go hungry.

If a child needs more sleep they go to bed earlier. We protect our evenings fiercely as family time so this is easier (we’re not out running around late). Bedtime is 8:30pm and they can have booklights to read and there is an audio book on for a while (usually until about 9:30pm, though the lights can be on later).

I have some who need more sleep and they go to sleep instead of reading by choice.

Second big key for us – we have a daily quiet time in beds for 1 1/2 hours every single day. So we have little ones who consistently nap and older ones who can nap if they need it. Mommy naps too sometimes!

To each their own. This is just what works for my family!

My daughter has always been a good sleeper since we adopted her at age 3. She is 10 now and I get concerned because she wants to sleep like 12 hours. If she knows there is something exciting going on, she will be up. Otherwise, she will be in bed until 10:00, if she goes to bed at 10:00. I’ve been wanting to make bedtime by 9:30, but that rarely happens. Our school day usually gets started late because of it. I want to begin school at 9:00, but I feel I should let her sleep, and then I’d have to put her to bed at 8:30 if she is going to sleep 12 hours. Should I let her sleep that long? I don’t remember our bio kids sleeping that long. Maybe she needs some iron or something. When she goes for her checkup in another month or two, I will ask the doctor about it. I don’t know. Maybe 12 hours is normal for some.

HiddenJewel, I agree! And I’m fully prepared for the extra sleep they will need when the teenage years hit. Sometimes we think our son (9 1/2) is there already because he eats so much and really does sleep a lot. He is more likely to sleep until 9:00 if he has played really hard the day before. I’m just so thankful that God has allowed me to be at home all the time to give my children the gift of good rest!

Both of my children are currently sleeping 12 hours per night consistently. I am not worried about their iron, as we eat a very Nourishing Traditions type diet, and I make my own dessicated liver capsules from grass-fed liver. They also take High Vitamin Butter Oil/Fermented Cod Liver Oil for Vitamins A, D, E, and K, in addition to eating lots of yellow butter, raw beets, and raw spinach salads. I don’t always think sleeping a lot means there’s something wrong; I think their bodies know what they need, and are totally capable of meeting those needs when given the right opportunity.

The only day I let my children sleep in is on Sundays, but then no later than 9am; I’ll take care of the oldest dog so she can go to the bathroom and I feed her, but sleep in till around 8 unless I’m awakened.

Otherwise, during the week and on Shabbat (to get to synagogue on time), the time is between 7 and 7:30, at the latest. We have animals (dogs, cats and chickens) that require our attention and the children have chores to do.

It’s not unusual to have to get up earlier if my husband has a doctor’s appt. a fair distance away (which they all are at least 1 hour away).

I cherish my evenings to become calm fairly early, so they go to their rooms by 8:30, but can read or listen to music/story for an hour.

Mine both have alarm clocks and are expected to use them. They are 12 and 13.

I, too like an afternoon “rest time” around 2pm. The quiet is good for all of us and to also get away from each other (hubby included, since he’s disabled and always home).