MOOKs a question…

[icedcoffee]

If you never felt this way and you think I’m a shitty mom just close out of the thread. LOL

When did you stop counting down the hours until your kids go to bed? When I have full days with the kids I find myself doing a lot of “just x hours until I can throw them in front of an iPad” or “x hours till bed”. When does that feeling stop?

My kids are 2 and 5 for reference. 😬

[suzubell]

I don’t remember, but at 11 I have to force him out of his room 🤣

[court26]

I’m sure there was a time that I didn’t count down- probably around 7 and 9 when they were reading and playing on their own more, but I’m sort of not doing well with them now because they stay up later than me! Hard to parent (especially single parent) when they are asleep long after I am.

[HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan]

Right after you get them a gaming rig.

[abs]

Oh I definitely felt that way in the younger years!!! I honestly don’t remember when it stopped. 5? 6? 7? Honestly at a certain point the years blur together.

I’ll say I still look forward to bedtime. For myself. Now though I can tell DD good night and go to bed whenever I want. She puts herself to bed and has for awhile (she dies have a 9 pm bedtime). It’s nice. She is 11 FWIW.

[Patsy Baloney]

My oldest is 8 (almost 9), youngest is 2. I still look forward to bedtime in a, "GET OUT OF MY FACE, KID," way, but much, much less with my 8 year old. She's much less of a tornado, and I enjoy talking with her when we get home in the evening, at dinner, she takes care of her own shower (I HATE BATHING KIDS), and gets herself lotioned and dressed. But she still has her days.

I feel like once they get more self sufficient, a little less in your face and needing you for entertainment/supervision, it always gets easier.

[katfco]

My kids are 9 and 14. I still enjoy when they go to bed and DH and I have time without them.

[puppylove64]

I’d say around 6 or 7 is when I stopped regularly wanting them to go to bed. I still count down some nights for quiet time, but often they are doing their own thing

[cville]

So, when L was 10 and O was 6, it was pretty good. Everyone was in school and occupied, but no major homework. O was more independent and L was sweet. Then mother effing Corona happened, we all went virtual everything, couldn't go anywhere, and everyone's anxiety skyrocketed. All I wanted to do was run away from everyone, but O couldn't be alone, L had nightmares, and both of them bickered so much I thought about getting dog muzzles.


It's gotten better recently. BUT now they are 12 and 8 so they stay up later! And my husband is asleep by 10pm every night at the latest so we have like no time together without them.

[gretchenindisguise]

When they graduate high school and move out?

[dcn]

Mine are 6 and 9 and most days I’m not counting down. But when they are in bed is usually my favorite part of the day bc it is QUIET.

[sugarbear1]

I will never judge a parent for feeling this way. I remember these days vividly, when the day was broken down into "before nap" and "after nap" and "jesus mary and joseph what have I done?"

I think things changed when my kids could play and /or watch tv independently, so ages 7 and 10?

[cjcouple]

I still do that and they are 12 and 15. lol

It does change though. At 2 and 5 your always "on" and alert. Checking on them, getting them food/drinks. Entertaining them

As they get older that changes because they are more independent and entertain themselves BUT I still feel the need to be around and available. Plus just making sure they're showering, teeth brushing and getting ready for school and to bed on time. I still watch the clock for my bedtime. I'm just exhausted by 8 most days.

[goldengirlz]

I mean, I don’t think that feeling ever totally goes away — sometimes I count down the hours until my H goes to bed and I get the living room to myself!

But it does get better. More often than not, I look at my watch and think, oh man, you should have been in the shower 10 minutes ago! I can’t remember exactly what age; the pandemic was certainly a setback because spending that much time with anyone is a drag.

[mysteriouswife]

Uh… this stops? My DD 14 is on my last damn nerve. I make her go to her room around 9:30 on non-school nights. She will come back out around 11:30 or 12 and sucker one of us to stay up. Usually, H falls for it. I need more than a min without my kids or work. DS (6) goes to bed at 8:30

[1confused1]

Jan 7, 2022 17:31:57 GMT -5 cjcouple said:

As they get older that changes because they are more independent and entertain themselves BUT I still feel the need to be around and available. Plus just making sure they're showering, teeth brushing and getting ready for school and to bed on time. I still watch the clock for my bedtime. I'm just exhausted by 8 most days.

Ditto this, mine are 12 and almost 15. I do have a sense of relief after I put the 12 year old to bed (she’s my girl and definitely the neediest).

[dontlook]

I don’t countdown to bedtime for my 8 and 10 year old very often anymore. Obviously there are days when they are being annoying and I can’t wait but that’s so much less often. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when that happened because I also have a 3 year old in the mix. I feel like life is better when they are fully out of the nap stage and not cranky in the evenings PLUS can entertain themselves. I can tell them no technology and they will go get a book or play quietly until bedtime. They also don’t require much from me at bedtime other than a kiss and tuck in so it’s a much faster process (they like to read independently).

[icedcoffee]

Jan 7, 2022 17:25:00 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

When they graduate high school and move out?

This answer is unacceptable. 😝

[icedcoffee]

Jan 7, 2022 17:28:13 GMT -5 melmaria said:

My sister repeatedly tells me that everything is easier when your youngest kid is 5.

So….then?

I got a long ways to go LOL.

I have a 2 year old that is exhausting, and a 16 year old that stays up til midnight (way later than H and I do), so I truly have the worst of both worlds right now haha. From 6 am until midnight, some child is always awake in my house.

In some ways my 5 year old is easier but he also just wants screen time all the time. If I give it to him he’s fine and independent. If I don’t be can be SOOO annoying. 😢

He can also be such a pain in the butt during bath/bed running around naked like a lunatic so I can’t put lotion in his dry ass.

Maybe at 6. 🍻

[gretchenindisguise]

Jan 7, 2022 17:43:24 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Jan 7, 2022 17:25:00 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

When they graduate high school and move out?

This answer is unacceptable. 😝

Oh. 

Then not 7 or 12.

Although we are finally to a place where my 12 can go to bed by themselves most nights and will leave us alone for downtime before we go to bed. They have a history of anxiety though, so it happened later than it does for many it seems.

[abs]

Jan 7, 2022 17:46:50 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Jan 7, 2022 17:28:13 GMT -5 melmaria said:

My sister repeatedly tells me that everything is easier when your youngest kid is 5.

So….then?

I got a long ways to go LOL.

I have a 2 year old that is exhausting, and a 16 year old that stays up til midnight (way later than H and I do), so I truly have the worst of both worlds right now haha. From 6 am until midnight, some child is always awake in my house.

In some ways my 5 year old is easier but he also just wants screen time all the time. If I give it to him he’s fine and independent. If I don’t be can be SOOO annoying. 😢

He can also be such a pain in the butt during bath/bed running around naked like a lunatic so I can’t put lotion in his dry ass.

Maybe at 6. 🍻

I mean the wanting screen time only gets worse. I stopped caring in March of 2020 and have never looked back. Some days it’s about survival and that’s ok.

DD loves to read and paint, too, but there is a lot of screen time every day. I give zero cares.

[mysteriouswife]

Jan 7, 2022 17:28:13 GMT -5 melmaria said:

My sister repeatedly tells me that everything is easier when your youngest kid is 5.

So….then?

I got a long ways to go LOL.

I have a 2 year old that is exhausting, and a 16 year old that stays up til midnight (way later than H and I do), so I truly have the worst of both worlds right now haha. From 6 am until midnight, some child is always awake in my house.

It’s the same here. DS is up around 7/7:30. DD stays up until I’m sleeping. On school days she is up at 6. Some days we have no time without a kid awake. DD is a night owl and can stay up way later than anyone should.

[robot]

I can't remember exactly, but we're pretty much there at 8 (almost 9) and 12. I mean, they can still be annoying, to be sure, but nothing like the toddler days. I want to say by 6 and 9 it was MUCH improved.

[pandorica]

Currently sitting here counting the minutes until bedtime with my 2.5yo. Good to know I have like 3+ years at least of this 😬

[quesyrah]

Mine are 8 and 11 and I still have those days…

[macmars45]

My 5 yr old DS needs a lot of attention. I can get some good stretches of time where he'll play independently but even screen time he often wants me to watch with him/watch what he's doing on a game. We're OAD so no sibling to fight or play with. Look mom! Come see this mom! Watch this mom! DS is a daddy's boy so H gets it even worse than me.

I definitely breath a sigh of relief when he's finally asleep (usually 1ish hours after we leave his room at 8:30).

[statgirl]

Mine are 6 and 9 and it got way easier in the middle of last year—so 5 and 8? Whatever it was, kindergarten was a game changer for both. If we had not pandemic schooled /homeschooled last year, I would guess it would have happened earlier in the school year and probably in preschool with my youngest.

My kids are night owls now and sleep but my oldest was up from 5 am to 10 pm until kindergarten. I don’t know how I lived. Once he started sleeping, my youngest (who was a good sleeper for years) decided that he was a night owl. Both also liked to wake up all night. I would count down until bedtime and until I would be at work (I had a pillow under my desk for lunch naps).

[zarapipe]

I have a 11,7,2.

I still look forward to her time with the 7 and 11. Our bedtime routine takes forever though, over an hour and I am SO glad when they are asleep. I crave the peace and quiet and that’s the only time that I get it. I don’t count down the hours though but breathe a huge sigh of relief when they are in bed.

[ohgillian]

I still have those days at time but I had it a lot when they were that little. You have a 2 year old! That’s exhausting!

[ECB]

Jan 7, 2022 17:34:44 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

I mean, I don’t think that feeling ever totally goes away — sometimes I count down the hours until my H goes to bed and I get the living room to myself!

But it does get better. More often than not, I look at my watch and think, oh man, you should have been in the shower 10 minutes ago! I can’t remember exactly what age; the pandemic was certainly a setback because spending that much time with anyone is a drag.

so much this!!

Ds is 13 and most days now, i don’t care. If i want him to go to bed, it’s more because i know he has a long day coming and needs sleep.

Probably the true feeling of what your feeling faded about 2 or 3 ish years ago?

And actually - there have been 2 or 2 times in the past couple months where I’ve said “I’m going to bed - you can stay up to 10 and put yourself to bed” and he did! (I was just watching tv but didn’t want to get up 😂)