Is this unhealthy?

[Tabrett]

None of my 4 children have been big sleepers. All of my dc quit naps before age 2. My oldest, who is now 16, when to preschool where she was required to nap. She would play in her room till 11pm on days she took naps at school and wake up at 6am ready to go! On the weekend, when she did not take a nap, she would fall asleep around 9pm and wake up at 6am.

 

I have been fighting bedtime with my younger dc since birth. They are ages 6,5 and 3. I tried to get them to go to bed at 7:30 for years, but they never fell asleep till around 9 or later. They would wake up between 5:30 and 6:00am. No nap and happy all day. Since my oldest dd has gone off to school and I don't need to be up at 6am, I quit making my little dc go to bed early. I have them go upstairs around 9pm and they don't fall asleep till around 11 or 12:001_huh:. They wake up around 8:30 or 9 and are happy all day. This is letting me get more rest. I am nowhere as tired as I used to be. I still go to bed around 11pm and get to wake up around 8am.

 

Is this unhealthy for my dc? I'm soooo much better as a mom when I get more sleep. My dc don't seem affected.

[TXMomof4]

My kids are the same way. They go upstairs about 9 and go to sleep when they fall asleep. If they were tired and grumpy during the day, I'd make an effort to get them down earlier, but they aren't.

 

Actually, I'm the same way and always have been. I get so much more accomplished between 10 and 12 pm than I do in the mornings that it seems like a colossal waste of time to try to go to sleep earlier.

 

The only time we have a problem is when we have to be somewhere early and *I* don't want to get motivated in the mornings.

[mo2]

My kids don't sleep nearly as much as they are "supposed" to either. While it certainly would make my life easier, there is simply no way to make them fall asleep earlier, so we just deal with it.

[melissel]

It sounds fine to me. As long as they're happy to amuse themselves until they fall asleep, I'd send them on their merry way and be done with it. Some people are just made that way. My DD8 is one. We have a similar schedule here--my only problem is that she wants me to snuggle with her, so we struggle over my leaving the room at any reasonable time. I'd just watch for your kids' wakeup time cycling later and later. That's what she does if I don't go in at some point and tell her to put her book down. I finally started doing that when she was up until 1:00 a.m. and then wanting to sleep until noon! If you're not having that problem and they're getting a full night's sleep, then don't worry about them :D

[Guest TheBugsMom]

Around the age of 6 (or reading well) I have bedtime set about 8:30pm, but this is not lights out. They can read in bed if they want. When they hit the teen years, bedtime is set for 10pm but that means they go to their room. They can do whatever they want in there as long as they are quiet. Lights out for the whole house when the parents go to bed. As for waking up, they get up for school days around 7-7:30am.

Grumpy days mean light out early that night.

I don't think it's unhealthy. If the child is active and happy, not sluggish and grumpy, then they are getting enough rest in my opinion.

[mhg]

I remember wondering if my son was abnormal in this respect too. I did a search and found some study done by some European country on the sleep habits/hours of kids (some HUGE trial/population studies). My son was in the 1% for sleep requirements (BOOOOOHISSSSS). And he was RESTED (no signs of lack of sleep). Makes it hard on moms though. I'll hear from moms whose tots sleep 14-16 hours/day and I just shake my head and say, "Brag Brag."

[Chris in VA]

This is completely unscientific--no basis for this opinion--but...

 

I would check the activity level of your children--what sort of truly vigorous activity are they doing during the day? Do they get enough outdoor time, when they are biking, running, jumping rope, skateboarding/scootering, climbing, or walking?

 

I have found many kids are not very active, gross-motor-wise. When inside, they are building with small blocks/lego, coloring, reading, dressing up for pretend, etc. When they are outside, they are digging, using sand, etc.--things that are not using their gross motor skills as much. They may be loud, yelling, and seemingly active, but if you look closely, they really aren't.

 

Children who play more vigorously tend (not always--tend) to need more sleep.

 

It doesn't sound to me that your kids need anything different than what they are getting, and it's working for you. I wouldn't worry at all. I would, however, just check and see how truly vigorous and active they are, and I'd bump up the exercise if I saw a need.

[ChristusG]

My kids as like this too. Especailly my oldest. She would rather stay up till 11 or 12 and wake at 8 or 8:30. People usually think I'm nuts for letting my kids stay up so late, but hey, I'm a big fan of doing whatever works for each family.

[Tabrett]

This is completely unscientific--no basis for this opinion--but...

 

I would check the activity level of your children--what sort of truly vigorous activity are they doing during the day? Do they get enough outdoor time, when they are biking, running, jumping rope, skateboarding/scootering, climbing, or walking?

 

I have found many kids are not very active, gross-motor-wise. When inside, they are building with small blocks/lego, coloring, reading, dressing up for pretend, etc. When they are outside, they are digging, using sand, etc.--things that are not using their gross motor skills as much. They may be loud, yelling, and seemingly active, but if you look closely, they really aren't.

 

Children who play more vigorously tend (not always--tend) to need more sleep.

 

It doesn't sound to me that your kids need anything different than what they are getting, and it's working for you. I wouldn't worry at all. I would, however, just check and see how truly vigorous and active they are, and I'd bump up the exercise if I saw a need.

 

My dc are border line ADHD:lol:. The only way they fall asleep earlier is if they have been swimming.all.day and I mean all day, not for an hour or two.

Most of the time I am trying to stop the jumping and running. Our mini-trampoline is one of the best investments I have ever made.:D

[Unicorn.]

My dc are border line ADHD:lol:. The only way they fall asleep earlier is if they have been swimming.all.day and I mean all day, not for an hour or two.

Most of the time I am trying to stop the jumping and running. Our mini-trampoline is one of the best investments I have ever made.:D

 

I was just thinking they sound like my 2 w/ ad/hd. Neither of them slept, even as infants. Maybe a 20 minute nap before lunch, that was it. My 14 yo is now going to bed earlier, 9:30 or 10 if he has all his schoolwork done. DD (12) is finally starting to sleep more too. Unfortunately, my sleeper, is now staying up later, and getting up earlier. :tongue_smilie:

 

To answer your question, no, it's not unhealthy. Quite the opposite. Healthier for you. And their bodies will let them know how much sleep they need.

[Tap]

LOL Last year we homeschooled dd11 from 9pm-12am! She would routinely stay up until 3am. It was great and dd11 loved it. She got up each day around noon, completed her independent work, and then had free time when her friends were home from school. She and I are a lot alike. We love the quiet of night and find that we can cram a days worth of learning in at night. Our brains seem to absorb better at the end of the day and it is nice to have zero distractions.

 

We do what works best for our family, without any consideration for what studies or standards show. :0)

[Tabrett]

LOL Last year we homeschooled dd11 from 9pm-12am! She would routinely stay up until 3am. It was great and dd11 loved it. She got up each day around noon, completed her independent work, and then had free time when her friends were home from school. She and I are a lot alike. We love the quiet of night and find that we can cram a days worth of learning in at night. Our brains seem to absorb better at the end of the day and it is nice to have zero distractions.

 

We do what works best for our family, without any consideration for what studies or standards show. :0)

 

Wow! I have never heard of anyone doing that before. Sometimes I get worried because my dc don't fit the "norm". Maybe I should stop trying to "fix" my kids to the prescribed mold.:lol:

[Tap]

Wow! I have never heard of anyone doing that before. Sometimes I get worried because my dc don't fit the "norm". Maybe I should stop trying to "fix" my kids to the prescribed mold.:lol:

 

 

 

I should add....dd11 is going to private school this year. He teacher remarked that she has great stamina and is doing great in class.....so transitioning into a traditional program wasn't a problem when it was time.

[Wheres Toto]

My younger two are like this. My son is so bad, and has been his whole life, that we actually talked to his pediatrician about it a few times. He is happy and easy-going, growing well so we were told there's nothing to worry about. The "normal" amount of sleep for each age is an average. There will be some kids who sleep a lot more and some who sleep a lot less. Just seems unfair that I (who would easily do the lot more) wound up with two kids that fall under the lot less.:glare:

 

My two are also very active, constantly running around, jumping on furniture, going crazy. The ONLY thing I've ever seen get them to sleep earlier is spending an entire day outside in the pool. It was literally 10 hours outside in the sun, in the water every minute they weren't eating. Not something we can do on a daily basis.