How late do you let your children sleep?

[Esse Quam Videri]

Do you wake them up at a certain time, or just let them wake up on their own? DD8 and DD4 are still asleep (9am). They were in bed by 9pm, though DD8 does stay up and read to herself for a bit. Is this too long (for DD8)?

[Ellie]

In our home, we preferred an earlier bedtime so Mr. Ellie and I would have some adult time. Our dc were in bed by 7:30-8.

 

Both dds slept until 7:30-8. I would have gotten them up before 9. So it's still 11-12 hours of sleep, but we just needed to be up and going by 9ish.

[AnIslandGirl]

We always joke that our dd9 has an internal alarm clock. Although her bedtime is 7:30, she typically reads until 8:30-9. No matter what time she falls asleep, she always wakes up at 5:45. If she sleeps in any later than that, I know she's not feeling well. It's like a built in thermometer for her... still in bed at 6, the possibility of her having a fever is ridiculously high.

Maybe your children had an extra eventful weekend or are about to have a growth spurt. There's lots of reasons our bodies need extra sleep sometimes. Unless you have somewhere special to be I'd let them sleep in.

[Ali in OR]

My kids must not need as much sleep. They're in bed around 9:30, but they share a room and chat, so I don't think they're asleep before 10:00 most nights. But they get up around 7:00 or 7:30 on their own. We're always going on schoolwork by 9:00, sometimes 8:30. I do think one of the benefits of homeschooling is determining your own schedule (ie not necessarily wrong to let them sleep). I'm a morning person, so my personal preference is to make the morning hours useful.

[Mom-ninja.]

My 4 yr old goes to bed at 7 (sometimes closer to 7:30) and is up at 7. My 9 and 12 yr old are in bed at 8 (lights out at 8:30) and are up at 8.

 

I wake them no later than 8:30 if they are not up.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I generally have them up by 7:30 or 8:00 at the latest. The 5 yo is usually up by 6:00. Early just works better here.

[Georgiana Daniels]

The real question for us is, how late do the children let us sleep?

 

Pretty sure I've never been up before them.

[Esse Quam Videri]

Well, she just woke up (9:30). I asked her how late she stayed up reading, and she sheepishly admitted that she read an entire book (Baby Island) :p.

[Mommy22alyns]

If we don't have anything to do, they sleep as long as they want. Sylvia is generally an earlier riser. And the time they go to sleep has never had anything to do with how early/late they wake up.

[Georgiana Daniels]

I can think of worse reasons to stay up ;) Sounds like something I'd do.

[Pamela H in Texas]

At least 3 days per week, I wake my kids up just before 6am so they can accompany us big people to the gym. Sometimes, 1-2 days, they can sleep in, usually til 6:30-7am, because one of us doesn't go to the gym so can "babysit." On Sat/Sun, they almost always "sleep in" though Tumbler misses a few of those times because gym meets often have us leaving the house between 5:30 and 6am.

[Saddlemomma]

Our dd, 10, is in bed by 7:30 and can read in bed until 8PM. Then it's lights out. This gives dh and I time together before we go to bed. She has to get up by 7:30 AM to get chores done and be ready for school at 8:30 AM.

 

The funny thing was that in the beginning of the school year, we changed her bedtime to 8 PM with reading time until 8:30 PM. After a few months of this, she came to us saying she was just too tired in the mornings and didn't know what to do. We suggested she go back to her old bedtime and she tried it. Now she voluntarily heads up to bed at 7:30 PM because she can feel the difference that little 1/2 hour makes.

[Bambam]

The oldest (15) has to get up by 7 to be ready to start school by 8. The youngest used to get up at 7:30 to be ready by 8, but she has recently discovered that getting up at 7 works much better.

 

Yes, I know we homeschool. I still believe in having a definite start time. 8 am works for us. It also makes sure we are always on a regular schedule so early events (like Bible class) don't mess up our schedule. I discovered a long time ago that my youngest does much better if we have a consistent schedule every day of the week.

[Coffeemama]

My DC are in bed between 8:30-9:00, typically asleep by 9:30. They tend to wake up on their own around 7:00. If theyre not up by 7:30 on a school daynI wake them, unless they are fighting a cold.

[Kathryn]

Unless we need to be somewhere, if they sleep in, I don't wake them, no matter how late (though I think 9 is the latest that's ever happened).

[trudence1]

Lights out here are at 8:30. I wake them up at 7 if they're still in bed, which rarely happens. More often they're up before my DH leaves for work at 5:30

[Dory]

In our house I expect them to be in bed by 7:30-8. I will allow reading in bed for another 30min on the weekend nights. I expect them to be up by 7:30-8am. There has been the odd time when I let them sleep another 30 min if they are tired.

Because we have been on this schedule for years now, they tend to just wake up automatically at those times and actually start asking for bed if we go too far past bedtime. It's what their bodies are used to. I know as they hit their teen years it'll all change, but for now I love having a healthy rhythm to our day.

 

I thought I'd add that me and my dh agreed on the schedule as we thought it would prepare them for the adult world better. The concept of getting up for a job wouldn't be so foreign to them.

[*********]

Unless we need to be somewhere, if they sleep in, I don't wake them, no matter how late (though I think 9 is the latest that's ever happened).

 

 

We're the same. In fact, to be honest, we usually let the boys stay up until 10 pm. Then they wake up whenever they're rested. We don't make early morning appointments usually, so it works well for us. The boys usually wake by themselves anytime between 7 and 9, just depending on how much rest they need. It really works well for us at this season in our lives.

 

I know other families like to put their kids to bed early to have 'adult time', but we like to hang out all together as a family. At some point in the evening we do often ask the boys to go play together so mommy and daddy can have some time, and that's when we discuss anything we need to without little ears around. Other than that, we spend our evenings mostly together as a family. Since our boys are older and no one's co-sleeping anymore, we also have private time in bed. Um, unless Moose is 'camping out' on our floor, which he does about half the time. :p If he had his way, we'd all four of us share one bedroom. But daddy has drawn the line there. :D

[TeenagerMom]

My kids wake up whenever they want. If DD12 sleeps past 11 a.m. or so, I will wake her up. She works better in the afternoon. DS is usually up by 8 a.m. w/the odd 9 a.m. wake up. He works better in the mornings. I like that it gives me time with both kids while they are doing their school work.

[sbgrace]

When possible I let my boys sleep until they wake. I see giving my kids room to get all the rest they need as a benefit to homeschooling.

 

My sons are 9. One needs more sleep and went to bed sometime around 8:30. He woke at 8:20. It's pretty normal for him to sleep 11-12 hours. His twin usually sleeps around 10-10.5 hours it seems. Both slept in on Monday because we got in quite late on Easter. My son who needs more sleep slept until almost 10:30. That's unusual though.

[MomToJazmyne]

My DD goes to bed at 9:00 and watches 2 episodes of MSB. She will wake up anywhere from 6:00 to 10:30. On the mornings she doesn't get up until 10:30, we just do school on the afternoons. I am sure this will all change in 3 weeks or so when the baby gets here though.

[MissKNG]

These threads always make me ~sigh~ and dream of children that sleep for 11ish hours because mine certainly DO NOT!

 

I put my small girl to bed around 8pm and my big girl to bed around 9pm. I have no idea as to when they actually fall asleep. I've heard them up and bumping around in bed long after being put there (they have different rooms too). They are up between 5:30am and 6am. Not matter what. I estimate they get 8-9 hours of sleep at night with my big girl being a little less. They wake up, I don't have to wake them.

[MiniBlondes]

Ours get in the bed at 9 and are allowed to read quietly until 10. My oldest usually gets up around 8 and the younger one will sleep longer, usually 9 or so.

[garddwr]

My kids go to bed between 7:30 and 8:30, and get up whenever they wake up. They go through phases in terms of how much sleep they need. Right now my boys are all up by 7:00 AM, and the girls both sleep about an hour longer.

[MFA323]

I don't wake my kids up unless we absolutely have to go somewhere. DH and I get up at 5:30. The kids have been sleeping until around 8:00 lately. Last week one slept until 9:30 one morning. Sleep is good for them. A clean, quiet house in the morning is good for me. They go to bed at 7:00. If they had a later bed time I might consider moving it up if they started sleeping past 8:00.

[Guest]

9:00 is usually the latest I can bear for anyone to still be sleeping. Some weekends or holidays I may let it go a bit later if we don't need to go anywhere, but I'm really not a fan of the sleep-all-morning thing. Makes me twitchy.

[elegantlion]

When he was younger he would get up about 9 without issue. Now he likes to sleep in until 9:30 or 10. His bedtime is 11:30 on school nights. We're not morning people and I consider a perk of homeschooling to not have to start school before 10:30 or so.

[NotSoObvious]

The real question for us is, how late do the children let us sleep?

 

Pretty sure I've never been up before them.

 

This.

[Mom28kds]

I try to have them up by 8:30. Sometimes it's 8:40. We aim to start school at 9:00.

[Catwoman]

We are night owls, so let's just say that my ds sleeps later than anyone else has mentioned -- but he goes to bed much later, too. :D

[DragonFaerie]

Unless we have to be up for something in particular, we all sleep until we want to get up. DS is usually the first one up, though he's always needed less sleep than DD who is a 12-hour girl. :D They go to bed at 9 pm. DS is usually up around 8 or 8:30. DD will sleep until 9:30 or 10. I see no reason to wake them up if they want to sleep in.

[scrapbookbuzz]

Since I'm typically not an early morning person (at least when I am not in school), I really don't care to wake up early just so I can get the kids up. As my daughter is 14 and I know teens truly do need extra sleep, I let her sleep in.

And since I'm working part time too, I let my son, 8yo, sleep in, too, if he needs it. It doesn't make any sense for them to get up if they don't need to. I've learned they won't really do much homework while I'm gone so I don't stress about it anymore and we get it done later in the day. I think everyone is different and needs to do what fits their family. This even applies to how much work you make your kids do when they are truly not feeling well!

[Mergath]

My dd usually wakes me up at nine. I'm a night owl. And I long for the day when she'll be old enough to get up alone, make herself breakfast, and let me sleep in.

[Wabi Sabi]

I'm happy if my kids are in bed anytime in between 9-10 pm. They wake up whenever they wake up. Generally I can count on them waking up right around 8:00 am, give or take just a bit. Every once in a while my youngest will sleep in until closer till 9:00. I would NEVER schedule any appointment for ourselves before 9:30/10:00 at the very earliest, so it works for us.

[Koerarmoca]

I have a wide age span between my kids. The youngest going down between 7:30-8 and oldest down by 9:30-10 I like everyone up by 8am. Usually dd4 gets up earliest around 6:30-7 but she just crawls in bed with me til I get up. Dh leaves for work at 5:30 so we try to get kids to bed early enough that we can get to bed. Most nights the oldest 2 are up later than us but they know to read and leave us alone lol.

[chepyl]

We are night owls, so let's just say that my ds sleeps later than anyone else has mentioned -- but he goes to bed much later, too. :D

 

We eat dinner around 8:30 or 9. Then we spend time as a family. Kids must be in bed by 11. I am usually in bed by midnight. DH stays up later sometimes. DS is up by 8:30 but DD sleeps until 11 or 12. The baby goes to bed after DD falls asleep, then he ends up in our bed and will sleep until 9 or so.

[violamama]

Bed around 8, asleep around 8:45 or 9.

Up around 9.

 

I've been thinking about tweaking this earlier (7:30pm - 8am) just because we keep ending up with morning commitments. I run two weeks of summer music camp and we'll have to leave the house by 7:30, so I'm hoping to shift it earlier by then... but it's so hard with the beautiful evenings of sunshine & sweet smelling air we get around here. I love Portland summers.

[Joker]

My oldest gets up at 6:30 to go to ps and I get youngest up around 8am if she hasn't woken already. On the weekend and other non-school days, youngest usually wakes around 10am and oldest around noon. They both go to bed at 10pm on school days and around midnight the rest of the time.

[happymomofboys]

My kids go to bed between 9pm and 10pm most nights, but they're allowed to read in their rooms as late as they want. They wake up before I do. If they didn't, I'd wake them up by 9am because that's when we start school.

[Reflections]

We are night owls, so let's just say that my ds sleeps later than anyone else has mentioned -- but he goes to bed much later, too. :D

 

Now I don't feel like such a freak! Thank you! My dh has to get up at 6 so he goes to bed waaaaay before us except on the weekends.

[AimeeM]

We are night owls, so let's just say that my ds sleeps later than anyone else has mentioned -- but he goes to bed much later, too. :D

Lol. Dd is up until at least 2; doesn't wake until about noon...

[kdownie]

My dc are in their rooms at 7-7:15. Lights out (except reading lamps) at 8pm. Reading lights out 8:30 or so. Kids tend to wake up 7:30-8:00am. If they were still asleep after that, I'd figure they needed the rest. I've never woken them up for school, unless it is an activity that requires us to leave the house. Granted, my oldest is a first grader, so its not like I have much experience yet :-)

[Parrothead]

With my sleep disorder we sleep when we can. Hence, me being up at 01:14.

 

In the fall that is going to have to change in order to get all the work done for high school.

[lailasmum]

I just let mine sleep.With my youngest that is never late he doesnt sleep much, With my eldest its sometimes 9:30.

[lil' maids in a row]

Dh works from 3-11pm, so our lives just run later than the rest of the world. The kids go to bed around 9/9:30 (the oldest (7) struggles with insomnia and rarely falls to sleep before midnight (up reading and listening to audio books) . Dh and I enjoy our quiet time together until about 2 am. In the morning the kids get up between 9 and 10 am. We all relax and enjoy slow mornings. We start school around 10:30/11.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

I usually let them sleep as long as they want. DD will get up between 5:30 or 6 and ds between 8;30 and 9:30.

[LazyDazy]

I let them sleep until they wake on their own, unless we have to be somewhere. The amount of sleep children need will fluctuate depending on growth spurts and such. I don't see any reason not to let them dictate how much that is if all of their work is getting done.

[Ariston]

If I did not have a reason that they needed to be up, I'd let them sleep. I think sleep is extremely important and missing even an hour of sleep can be detrimental to their mood, schoolwork and overall health.

 

However I usually need to start school by 8 to get everything done (I work PT for my husband) so I try to make sure that they are in bed early enough so that they wake up on their own early.

 

But I would definitely let them sleep in if you can. Every now and then one of mine will sleep past 9 and I figure they their bodies must really need it. Being able to sleep until you naturally get up is one of the main benefits of HSing, in my opinion! So many studies have come out that show that kids are not getting enough sleep these days--I feel that's one pitfall we can avoid :)

[lynn]

I let mine sleep as late as they choose. My youngest ds is up 7-7:30 and baby girl is up 8-8:30. My high school son get up at 6 even though he drives to school and does not have to leave the house until 7. He's likes to take time to wake up in the mornings and not rush out the door.

[DawnM]

WOW, you all have kids who wake up early. My middle son will sleep until noon if I let him, doesn't matter what time he has gone to bed.

 

Natural sleep for my 15 year old is midnight until 9am.

Natural sleep for my 13 year old is 10:30pm until 11am or so

Natural sleep for my 8 year old is sleep by 9:30pm and up by 8am

 

They are all different but none of them gets up particularly early.