Bedtime in the summer

[Emerald Orchid]

With longer days and many hours spent outdoors, what is bedtime like with your kiddos? Do you keep the same schedule all year long? Do you have no schedule all year long? ;) Do you go with the flow on a day to day basis?

[filmgirl2911]

:cup wondering the same

[3PeasInAPod]

We're going to go with the flow this summer. Last year ds didn't go to bed until 10 or 11pm b/c of the daylight. Unfortunately, he's an early riser, so that didn't always work out for the best. We'll see this year though, since he doesn't nap everyday.

[Serafine]

we have always been a go with the flow and have found that our bodies tend to follow the sun's patterns for the most part...even when that means less sleep in summer and more sleep in winter.

[AngelaVA]

We had one lovely fun summer when DD was 2 where she would stay up late (like 9ish not tooooo late) and we would both sleep in until 9 or so every morning. I was in my first trimester of pregnancy so it was a beautiful thing. Last summer, she was up at the crack of dawn screaming for her morning routine to begin regardless of what time we put her to bed so she had 7:30 bedtimes all summer long, which was a drag. Not sure what will happen this summer, I would love to have them up later and sleep letter...would love to have some family time instead of rushing them to bed 30 minutes after DH gets home. So far they are still up super early so we'll see.

[MTmomma]

We're kind of going with the flow here, but that means that bed time is at least 2 hours later than usual. It's impossible to get the kiddos to sleep very early since it stays light until 10 pm. I hate not having down time in the evenings, but it is what it is.

[Lady TS]

During the school year, on nights before school, we begin the putting-to-bed process at about 8. Doesn't happen every night, because some nights are pushed later because things like Scouts and Awana get over at 8 and we have a 10 minute drive home after we leave from there....there are nights that one or more of them are still awake at 9:30, but they are usually at least awake in their bed and on the way to sleeping.

Here in OH, in the summertime it doesn't get truly dark until almost 10pm(which was an :jawdrop thing for me the first year we moved back here from CO--I guess living in the mountains makes the days shorter). Our schedule is more laid-back and sometimes they don't go to bed until just before we do(which totally wears me out because I NEED alone time and I am home with all three of them every day with no adult...). Sometimes I can get up before they do, but that plan doesn't always work too well...I am not a morning person....usually. :shifty But I'm also not really a night owl---by 10 I am really needing to sleep. I highly value sleep, but also have that need for alone time....hard to find a balance with the later bedtime.

[Firebird Rising]

we have always been a go with the flow and have found that our bodies tend to follow the sun's patterns for the most part...even when that means less sleep in summer and more sleep in winter.

Yes this.

[Niphredil]

We follow the same schedule. N gets up at 7 regardless of what time she goes to bed and refuses to nap. If she gets to bed any later than 7 I pay for it the next day. We stuck to our bedtime routine and it's so ingrained in her that it means sleep that she didn't fight going to bed even as the sun stayed up later.

[milkmommy]

C's bedtime is 9pm summer winter fall and spring weekday or weekend.... We've done a lot of trial and error to get to this time so untill her body starts rebelling and we need to reevulate 9pm it is.. It works out really nicely because M also goes to bed around 9

Deanna

[aleigh]

We stick with the same times. My children don't sleep any later even if they go to bed later & they are horribly grumpy if they don't get enough sleep.

Occasionally my son will stay up later if I can get him to take a nap.

[cbmk4]

I have already decided to have a trial run of a slightly later bedtime this summer for my little girls 8 and 5. We so love the outdoors that it's torture to come in at 7 pm and start getting ready for bed.

They are such early risers, but partially that may be so they can get up with the rest of the family, say goodbye to daddy and big sis and bro as they leave for school, etc. Maybe with the olders sleeping in this summer, they may also.

At least I hope they will! Bedtime will go out the window during our vacation away at least.

[mirandagrate]

We try to have a scheduled bed time during the months late fall, winter, early spring months but once it starts getting nice and staying warm long into the night we try to let them play outside as long as possible and don't really have a bedtime during the summer/lighter months..

[mamaKristin]

We stick close to the same times year round. Then again, I live far enough north that our winter to summer daylight hours vary HUGELY. Think 4am sunrise, almost 11pm sunset in summer, compared to a 9:30 sunrise. Once school is out, and summer is really going, we're more relaxed with bedtimes though. :)

[Charlie U]

I think we may have later bedtimes in the summer. It depends on their activities. I'm leaning for 9 to 9:30.

[illinoismommy]

We stick with the same sleep times year round.

[Jemma2]

My kids usually stay up a bit later in the summer and usually awhile they do start sleeping later in the morning. They didn't always do that (the sleeping later part). However that can sometimes come back to bite me at the end of the summer when we need to do start getting back on a school schedule.