Deleted

[Drama Llama]

 . . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Melissa in Australia]

Still check twins, they are 11,

But they have disabilities and are liable to do something silly like fall asleep with string around them(  one did this), still wearing glasses(one all the time) hanging upside down with head off the bed,  completely under the covers way down the bottom of the bed, or a stack of books all over their pillow

 

My older kids I stopped checking on when they were about 9. 

 Though ds17 I would go in his room say goodnight to when I went to bed.  Not so much checking... But rather letti g him Know I loved him still. Was like a ritual 

[saraha]

Yup and they are 20 down to 11 and still look in when ds22 is home since he shares a room with ds11. My four girls share one bedroom and my 2 boys share a room

[MrsMommy]

I still check on my youngest (9), but that's partly because she shares a room with her big sisters, and I usually pray with them and tuck them in after she's already asleep. I will admit that with my oldest four, I checked on them after they went to bed for a long time...I think I stopped only because they oldest ones now go to bed pretty much at the same time as I do!

[rebcoola]

Rarely maybe a handful of times in their lives.  Like when really sick.  Let sleeping bears lie

[freesia]

I said never, but I probably did it a few times. Oh! I often do when they are running a fever—always if it’s a high one. Otherwise, no. Babies stayed in our room until they were about two, but after that I didn’t.

[Momto6inIN]

I never did it every night unless they were babies. After they weren't nursing anymore I did it often, but not every night. I don't remember what age I stopped doing it regularly, but probably before age 5.

Every once in a blue moon when I wake up from a random bad dream I will make the rounds, but that's the exception, not the rule.

[Arcadia]

I still check both unless I fall asleep before they are in bed. My teens still like to be tucked in.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

I voted checked but stopped, but that’s not entirely accurate.  My husband worked three or four nights a week when my older kids were young and they usually slept with me until they were around 5.  I didn’t check on them once they were sleeping in their own beds.  DS6 is a very young 6 and still often winds up in my bed at some point.  If he doesn’t come in I usually do wake up and check on him. Sometimes he goes to the couch or his sibling’s rooms in the night if DH is home and in our bed, and I want to know where he is in case of emergency.   I don’t know why he doesn’t sleep all night in his own bed. 

[hjffkj]

Only if they were sick. Never needed to check on them when they were real little because they sleep in our room until about age 3. Then once they are out of our room I don't see the point. 

They are the ones doing the checking. We will have little kids who wake up to use the bathroom peek into our room to check on us. Then they go on their way.

[whitestavern]

I rarely checked. Maybe when they were babies, like still in a crib, but not much even then. I did check on my D when she had a concussion. 

[ericathemom]

Every night. They're 12, 10, and 9. Mostly to turn off their reading lights and make the bookworms actually go to sleep.

[alisha]

For my 11 year old: he goes to sleep with the door open and the hall light on, so I always check on my way to bed, and close the door. For my 14 year old, he's usually still up when I go to bed, so checking on him is more like letting him know he has to turn his light out soon. I sometimes come back and check that he's actually done that and not lost track of time, but usually I don't let him know I do that-foster independence and such. (also, he sometimes falls asleep with his reading lamp on, so checking that). 

[vonfirmath]

Ages 14 and 10. 

[Starr]

I always peeked in on my kids when they were little. As they got older and even in their 20s, when they were here, we would say goodnight before one of us called it a night.

[Selkie]

I checked on them when they were little - don't remember exactly, but probably until they were around 7 or so. 

My kids are night owls, and once they hit the teen years, they were always up much later than dh and me.

[katilac]

Yes, I checked on them. It is entirely possible that I still occasionally check on their grown selves 😄

[J-rap]

My dh or I used to check on them right before we ourselves went to bed, up to a certain age.  What age?  Can't really remember, but I know we didn't do it anymore when they were teens, unless they were sick.

[wendyroo]

Obviously I "checked on" newborns a couple times a night when I was in there nursing them. I had a video monitor in the nursery, but I would usually only look at that if I heard them moving around a lot. And after they turned 2 they moved out of the nursery so I could prepare if for the next baby.

My 10 year old if the child I have checked on the most due to physical and mental illness. On bad asthma nights, I end up in there a lot trying to reposition him so he can breathe more easily. And during his worst mental health crises (and before his room was as mental-illness-proofed as it is now), I would often go in after he was asleep just to make sure he hadn't done something very dangerous like the time I went in to find he had pulled a slat from his mini-blinds and folded it to try to shove in his outlet. It was shortly after that that he no longer had mini-blinds...or outlets.

Other than that, I only check when kids are sick.

[fraidycat]

I checked on them until around 12ish, maybe. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'm not completely sure when I stopped, but at around that age they started staying up as late as, or later than me so it wasn't a planned or hard stop time, I just got out of the habit.

I will say that it took me several years to stop checking to make sure they were breathing - they were probably around 8 or 9. I had some anxiety issues.

They are 15 and 19 now, and I still do check in on them if they are sick.

[Tanaqui]

Not anymore. One of them's a junior in high school, the other's an adult. It'd be a bit weird.

I did used to pass by after bedtime and say "Now, go to sleep and I don't want to hear a peep out of you", prompting a chorus of peeps, until one day the older one (who was all of 12ish at the time) told me that if I didn't say it they wouldn't peep and *I* said "I know, that's why I say it" and afterwards neither of them ever spontaneously peeped again. A few years later I mentioned that this made me sad and the older one obligingly peeped at me but... it's just not the same, guys.

[SKL]

I'm not sure what you mean by check.  I mean, my kids generally like me to tuck them in when they go to sleep, but after tucking them in, I don't check after they are asleep (or supposed to be asleep).

I was blessed with good sleepers when they were little.  There would be no point of going into their rooms after bedtime.  It would only disturb them for no good reason.

[prairiewindmomma]

Half of the time I am in bed before the kids are. Getting old is fun!

[Tap]

I didn't vote. I have done this some times, but not always.

I check on crib size babies before I go to bed, or if I get up in the middle of the night. Mainly to make sure they are not smashed against the side of a crib. 

I check on toddlers to make sure they are not hanging off the bed, or sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Sometimes they get thier face under a blanket and are over hot and sweaty.

I check on teens if something seems askew with thier behavior. To make sure they are in thier rooms, not on tech, etc.

I check on anyone who is sick. 

etc.

[Spryte]

I think I stopped regularly checking at 13, maybe.

But if anyone is sick, or It just feels right—I still check.

[Kassia]

I can't remember when I stopped checking on them (they are all adults now).  

When they were home and if I went to bed after them, I would always check on them the night before their birthdays.  Something about seeing them one last time before they turned the next age was very emotional for me.  ❤️ 

[Arctic Bunny]

They are 16 & 14. I still check… not every night anymore… but there something that just makes my heart a little happier watching them sleep for just a moment.

[Carrie12345]

I don’t remember ages when I stopped. The only reason I used to “take a nightly inventory” is because I had kids who would migrate, and I could not sleep unless I knew where they were in case of an emergency.

There were nights when #1 would be in bed like normal, #2 would be on her bedroom floor with #3 in #2’s bed, #4 would be under the living room coffee table, and #5 would be scrunched in a bottom corner of a toddler bed he had pulled out into the middle of his room.   
I didn’t really care where they were, so long as I knew!

Eventually, everyone started staying put. I reliably knew where they’d be. And I usually fall asleep before them these days.

[PeterPan]

I check my ds who is 13, both for safety (I know where he is, he's in his bed, not in some odd or unknown location) and to make sure his weighted blanket is on. 

I don't recall "checking" my dd at all in her teen years. She was more predictable and would go to bed and be there. Ds can be unpredictable, so I have to make sure he's safe and where he's supposed to be. I attempt NEVER to go to bed before he does, and I usually check on him periodically once he's in bed and when I wake up (which is before him). When I check him in the morning, I make sure his weighted blanket is still on and tuck him up or add an extra blanket if he looks cold. I like him to wake up warm and happy. 😄 

Edited October 25, 2021 by PeterPan

[Melissa Louise]

I've no idea when I stopped. Sometime between babyhood and 13, I guess. 

[mathmarm]

I'm a checker.
I check on everyone 3 times every night: First, once they're asleep, again when I get up at night to use the bathroom and finally when I wake up in the morning before they're awake. I will probably be checking on them until they're moved out.

When Hubby falls asleep in a different part of the house, I check on him too.

Kids under 5 and sick people get checked on more regularly.

I check on any and every one who is in the house (within reason) including guests.

[Guest]

Only babies or young children unless they were sick. My youngest I probably checked much more and for longer because he followed my baby who died and there was a lot of psychological trauma. It took me a few years before I was able to believe he would grow up. 
 

We did have bedtime rituals that lasted until they were 12-13 though, so I didn’t just send them to bed. 

[MEmama]

No, never. 

[Wheres Toto]

I don't remember what age I stopped checking every night, maybe around 6-ish?.   But I still check occasionally if they are sick or went to bed early or something.  They often go to sleep later than I do these days so I'm unless something unusual is going on, I'm not checking on them unless I get up for some reason.   They are 14 and 16.

[Noreen Claire]

It depends on my level of anxiety at the moment, and also on noises that I may hear during the night. I often check on everyone that is home if I wake up having a panic attack. Just to help settle my nerves before starting other calming exercises.

I have woken up and checked on them only to find that one was sleepwalking and trying to get out the locked door, or to find one having an epileptic seizure.

I haven't slept well in a very, very long time.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Noreen Claire

[DawnM]

I checked until about age 7 or 8 maybe?   I don't remember exactly.   My teens and young adults would be horrified if I checked in on them.   They don't go to sleep until after I do anyway, so that would be weird. 

[MooCow]

The ones at home are 17 and 24, lol. They keep their doors closed so the cat doesn't bother them. 

When they are sick, definitely. 

Edited October 25, 2021 by MooCow
Clarify

[ScoutTN]

When they were little, absolutely. At 14 and 16, rarely. 
They stay up later than I do. Ds’ room is a sea of legos and hard to negotiate in the dark.
 

Occasionally when I am wakeful in the wee hours, I check on them. 

[kristin0713]

I put never but there have been some situations when I checked on them, like if they were sick. Generally, I did not check when they were little because I didn't want to wake them. 

[Insertcreativenamehere]

My older kids are night owls and they go to bed after me so no. 🙂 I probably did when they were preschool-early elementary age. I do check on my youngest sometimes -- he is 9 but developmentally more like 2-3. 

[historically accurate]

No if they fall asleep, I'm not going to risk waking them up. None of mine were good sleepers so I never checked on them when they were little. They were always free to come get one of us if they needed us though.

I did put never, but we did have one who had a mental health crisis coupled with some physical issues. I stayed on a mat in her room for 2 years, so while I didn't "check" on her, I was there in case anything happened that needed my attention immediately.

Edited October 25, 2021 by historically accurate

[Condessa]

I check on them anytime I hear something from upstairs, and when I am about to settle down for the night.  My oldest is nearing 13.

[Lecka]

I quit when they were about 11.  
 

But my husband still checks on them, so I know they are checked on.  He checks on them when he locks the doors at night.

 

I think I would check on them if my husband did not.

 

It’s also a newer thing but my 16yo’s bedroom is right next to the front door, and we feel like we need to check to make sure he is in his room.  He also does not tell us he is going to bed and we don’t send him to bed or anything.  With the other kids I know they are in their rooms without checking on them for the most part, because I know when they went to their rooms and had just seen them.  

Edit:  all my kids have asked not to be tucked in at age 11.  My daughter makes exceptions, but the boys do not.  For my older son — recently he got dropped off at 8:00 pm and didn’t tell us he was home, he was tired and just went in his room and went to bed.  We didn’t know he was already home and in bed, we kind-of thought he was still out and we’re waiting to hear him come in.  
 

We are in a new house in the past year and it is new to us that he could come in without us knowing.  
 

We are checking on him more because we don’t just know where he is. With the other kids — we just know where they are within the house.  

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by Lecka

[Terabith]

I picked I never checked on them, but that's kind of misleading.  My oldest kid was either in our room or had a baby monitor until they were four, and then we moved into my in law's house for a year and all slept together in one large room in their basement.  When we moved into our current house, they were almost five, and their room was right across the hall, and I did not check.  

My youngest slept in our room till she was 11 or 12.  My kids have also always been night owls, so frequently they weren't really going to sleep much before I was.  

I still check on them occasionally if they're sick, but it's more like I peek in to see if they're sleeping and if they aren't, to ask if they want anything.  But in general, youngest is a light sleeper and opening the door would disturb her.  Oldest usually goes to sleep after I do.  But I've never had a routine of checking on sleeping kids.  

Edited October 25, 2021 by Terabith

[DreamerGirl]

DS14, DD5.

DH and I always check in on them before we turn in for the night.

DD used to need putting to bed, but after 4 she started going up early to have a bath. We used to read to her, now she turns on some music or an audio book and drifts off to sleep. DS goes up later and often studies or is up listening to music. 

DH and I have a habit of lingering downstairs after the kitchen is put to bed and drink turmeric tea, talk, read and have us time.

One of us checks to see if the house is all closed up while the other goes up. We take turns.

DD is asleep, covers kicked off. We tuck her in, turn the music/audio book off, turn on the sound machine, turn off the light. I always run my hand through her hair lightly and say a prayer.

DS is rarely asleep or even in bed, our coming up and looking in on him is often a cue to go to bed. One of my favorite times with him is just sitting and talking for a few minutes, just him and me when I am the last to go in. It is not long but just a chance to reconnect one on one. He towers over me so I do not get a chance to run my hand over his head like I used to do. When he is sitting I sometimes do it and he smiles, I sometimes kiss his head and it still smells faintly of the sweaty, little boy smell that I love though it smells much cleaner and actually nice now. Makes me miss that. He is growing so fast and is independent in so many ways that I was not at his age. It is all good and it is as it should be but a part of me misses the little boy who was small enough to tuck beside me and always had a sweaty head of hair and was not always the most clean. 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by DreamerGirl

[Dmmetler]

16 hours ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Like once they're in bed?  How old are your kids?  How often do you check?

For me, having lost a child, checking was a way of controlling my anxiety. I picked “Still check”, although, obviously, it’s not exactly possible when your kid is sleeping in a dorm 6 hours away :). Having said that, we also all tend to leave doors open at home for the benefit of the cats, so peeking in doesn’t disturb others. I also have been known to check on the snakes, too 🙂 (cats tend to sleep lightly). 

[CTVKath]

Still check. Ages 12 and 9. 

[Bambam]

I rarely checked unless someone was ill or out of sorts. 
I did tuck my kids in bed every night. One always wanted to talk, one just really wanted someone to come say good-night. But after that, I rarely checked. 

One child did/does still wake us up with random screaming. She doesn't live here any more (young adult in college), but when she comes home, it still happens. I used to always get up and check on her, but she is still asleep. So if there is a second scream, one of us will get up and check on her, but one scream? normal for her. She never remembers this in the morning.  It was unnerving the first several times she did it. It isn't consistent like every night, just random enough that it freaks you out. 

[fairfarmhand]

I do for my son. My dds doors stick and if I open the door it's rather noisy and would wake them

But my son...he's 13 almost 14.

He's 5 ft 10, tallest one in the family and quickly looking less and less like my little boy. The sole time he seems little is when he's sleeping. The rest of the time, hes an annoying, hilarious, loud, impulsive middle school boy. But not when he's sleeping.

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey