Honestly, I’m starting to worry. My 7 year old used to have a solid bedtime routine, but now with the holidays, late-night family dinners, special events, and all the excitement, his sleep is all over the place. He’s staying up too late, waking up grumpy, and it’s starting to show in his mood and energy. I want him to enjoy the holidays, but I’m wondering if we’re letting things slide too much. How do you balance the fun without losing that much-needed rest?
Same here. My 8YO has been staying up way past bedtime too. It’s like the holidays threw our routine out the window.
Susan, omg, I totally get it! This time of year is a blessing and a curse for routines. My 6YO is in the same boat, late, night dinners, holiday lights tours, cookie baking until 10 PM. It’s fun, but I see it too: crankiness, meltdowns, and general exhaustion. What’s been semi working for us is trying to sneak in earlier nights when there’s nothing going on, like making those non event nights sacred for a solid 8:30 PM bedtime. That way, it balances out a bit.
I’m so glad you posted this because I thought I was the only one feeling like this. My 7YO has been waking up grumpy for weeks now. We’ve been letting them stay up for family events and movie nights, but it’s starting to show big time. I’m wondering, do you think it’s the holiday chaos, or could it be something else, like a growth spurt or even diet changes from all the holiday treats? I’m curious how others are managing because I’m honestly at a loss.
Ugh, I hear you. It’s so tough. This season is magical for the kids, but we’re the ones stuck figuring out how to keep everything on track. I don’t even have advice, just solidarity. It feels like sleep and structure go out the window during the holidays, no matter how hard we try.
This is a struggle every year for us too. One thing that’s helped is having a “wind down” night, even during the holidays. So, if we know we have back-to, back events, we’ll plan a quiet evening with no screens, dim lights, and calming activities like reading together or listening to music. It helps reset their body clocks. We also try to stick to a wake up time, even if bedtime was later. Keeping mornings consistent seems to help their sleep pattern normalize faster. Not perfect, but it’s something!
Oh, the holidays. My 9YO once stayed up until midnight at a family party and spent the entire next day acting like they were 2 again, full-on tantrums because we ran out of syrup for pancakes. Lesson learned. Now, I pack a travel sound machine and a blanket for events. When it’s close to their bedtime, we try to find a quiet room where they can wind down. Not ideal, but it keeps us from total disaster mode the next day
As a mom of teens now, I’ve been where you are. Those holiday nights are precious, and you don’t want to miss them, but sleep is so important for their little brains and moods. One thing that worked when mine were younger was sticking to a loose routine. Like, even if we were out late, we’d still do some version of our bedtime routine, teeth brushing, a quick story, etc. to signal it’s time to rest. And honestly, don’t sweat it too much. You can rein it all back in after the holidays.
Thanks for all the ideas and reassurance, everyone. I think we’ll try a mix of earlier nights when possible and making bedtime more of a positive thing, like a fun holiday wind down. The idea of a consistent wake, up time is great too. I’ll give it a shot and see if it helps level things out