Does Bedtime Change "because it's summer"?

Yes I do remember being a kid and being elated at the lack of school and the comingof the warmer weather, etc. I am that way still. If others are growing up and losing their touch with nature (which I do know is true) that's sad that they've allowed that to happen. My kids are raised in a very primal way and so it is different here.

Still.. when I was a kid, bedtime never changed except on Friday nights. I've had many moms tell me that my kids go to bed far too late. I do not think that 9pm is too late in Florida. Any earlier is still daytime. Children, left to their own natural body clocks (which mine are) will sleep 10-12 hours straight. That means 9pm causes wakefulness between 7am and 9am. I'd prefer we get up at 5am but that's not happening anytime soon LOL.

If we're talking BC times.. then "early to bed" was caused by darkness. And "early to rise" was caused by the breaking sun:-) The earlier you wake, the more time you have for foraging. If we followed more closely earth's dictates, we'd certainly be in bed earlier, not later. There would be no light*lol* Come to think of it.. it gets dark at 9 and the sun is up at about 7am here. So I guess we're in line with it.. well the kids are..not myself. I know what happens if they stay up later.. they get up at noon!! Been there; done that too many times.

The problem for my neighbor is that boyfriend is working tonight and his ex-wife left the 6 year old to spend the night without any consultation with my her. My neighbor's own children are in Illinois.

9pm isn't bad at all. That's our summer time hours, 6:30am - 9pm. Durring the winter it's only till 8pm but wake time remains the same. The kids ofcourse.

We,the parents, are not. lol.

Oh and I did mean to mention that by NO MEANS am I saying that others' choices are "wrong". I just thought it odd for someone to assume we did do it the same as she and get a bit irritated that we don't. I understand she wants my kids to 'babysit' her boyfriend's kid. But that's not my kids' job.

Yep, she should still respect your rules setup for your kids. When she has her own she'll understand if she doesn't now.
She should put hers to sleep aswell, maybe the two of you can discuss it over coffee out back. Sounds like a neighborly thing to do.;)

Actually.. and this is the sad thing.. she has 3 kids ages 9, 13, and 16 (the 16 year old is in a juvenile facility out of town.)

I guess she's just one of those parents who expects the kids to entertain themselves and if they dont.. she calls on the neighbor kids to do it??;-/

She's always saying how envious she is of our natural lifestyle and the closeness I have with my children. She is impressed by the way we live. But she doesn't make an effort at improving her own lot.

Our sunlight extends to 9pm in the summer. That's when mine go to bed.

The way I see it.. our world doesn't change for the summer as other people's do. My kids aren't sleeping later cuz there's no school. My kids don't have to get up in darkness to go to school. School is here LOL

Even so.. I think it's quite difficult when fall comes (for school goers) to re-adjust to the school schedule.

Yeah she wants my kids to stay the night there now. So that her boyfriend's daughter can be entertained. I have an idea.. how about put the 6 year old to BED or.. oh wait.. how about entertaining her? Playing cards? Singing songs?

Ahhh too much trouble I'm sure.

My thoughts exactly!

And some don't. I don't do schedules when they're very young. That's not natural. Babies eat and sleep when their bodies say to do so. And as they get older I go with what they're bodies say as well. But by the time they are school age, there is a definite pattern and need for 10-12 hours of sleep.

When they go to bed depends on the individual family's needs I would suppose. Do they have to get up at 5am? Or can they sleep until 10? Or would sleeping until 10 make it difficult to sleep at night? Or perhaps husband and wife want to be alone at the end of the day. Or there is work and school to consider.

Mine sleep later than most as they are unschooled. Still, I don't want them up until 1am and neither do I want them sleeping until lunchtime.

LOL! Excellent point Lisa! Duh! I have to use that! Wish I'd thought of it when I was on the phone with her. Rather I was thinking "Ok.. it's summer. And??? What does that have to with anything?"

LOL

Well yeah that's a given. By the time my kids are in their teens, I'm usually not setting a bedtime.. their common sense tells them when to go most times. However, we are unschoolers and it's no big deal to me. If they know they've got to be up at 8am everyday, then their bodies will be ready to go to bed by 11pm usually.

Our schedule just stays the same. It's been the same for many years. Even when I worked 3rd shift it didn't change for the kids. I can see if the daylight lasts longer. And it does here.. it lasts until 9pm--their bedtime.

It sounds like you have a way that works for ya! I'm in Florida and it's hot nearly all year so "summer" is a year round thing LOL. The only thing that changes is that it's light until 9pm. And we're not "enjoying" the heat.. we try to run from it*lmbo!*

Oh 7 is WAY early where I'm at. I can't imagine it. I'm not saying it doesn't work for you. It just wouldn't work for me. I don't want my kids crawling out of bed before daylight LOL