Would you also like to have your children in bed every night at half past eight? This mother takes a different approach: her children can decide for themselves when they go to bed. ‘At least this way they are really tired and then they fall asleep straight away.’
‘It is part of everyone’s daily routine: putting your children to bed. We actually don’t do that. At our home, my children can choose what time they go to bed. Instead of following a strict schedule, we took a more flexible approach, and it has yielded surprising benefits.
The traditional approach to bedtimes for children is often determined by external factors such as school times, activity schedules or parental expectations. This can create a rigid schedule that is not always in line with the child’s individual needs. So in our home, we’ve decided to give our kids more autonomy over their sleep schedules, with guidance and support from us. They can just decide for themselves when they are tired and want to sleep. Just like we adults do. Not so crazy, right?
One of the main reasons behind our choice is the fact that children often have different sleep needs. While one child needs eight hours of sleep, another may need more or much less. By letting them decide when to go to bed, they learn to recognize their own body signals and take responsibility for their well-being.
Know what time they go to sleep
Furthermore, this approach helps build confidence and self-discipline in our children. Instead of imposing a strict schedule on them, we encourage them to experience the consequences of their choices for themselves. If they choose to stay up late and are tired the next day, they learn the value of a good night’s sleep in a more practical way. And so they really learn: if they are tired, we explain that they should go to sleep earlier. They learn to tell time better and then indicate that they want to go to bed earlier.
Of course, this does not mean that we leave our children completely to their own devices. As parents, we remain involved and provide guidance and support where necessary. We regularly discuss the importance of sleep with them and help them develop healthy sleeping habits. Additionally, we are always available to listen to any concerns or issues they have regarding their sleep. And of course they don’t play outside until nine o’clock in the evening. They just color or play quietly in their room and then they automatically crawl into bed. It saves a lot of fighting over ‘go to sleep now!’.
I understand that this approach is not suitable for everyone. Every family and every child is different, and what works for us may not work for others. The most important thing is that parents find an approach that suits the needs and values of themselves and their children. We are happy with it. Overall, we believe that allowing our children to decide what time they go to bed has had a positive impact on their self-confidence, sense of responsibility and overall well-being. By involving them in the decision-making process and supporting them in developing healthy sleep habits, we hope they will understand the value of sleep and maintain that opinion for a lifetime.”
2024-04-07 19:12:55
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