With the festive season nearly here we would love to hear how you deal with kids and late nights.
Do you leave early and get them home to bed at the normal time, do you take a portacot or put them to bed while out, do you let them stay up and deal with it later?
What have you learnt works, what doesn’t, share your Christmas party tips.
See also: Newborn with a toddler routine
- It’s not only Christmas time we deal with this but any time. We go with the flow – if kids are tired, prams or utilize friends rooms. If they won’t settle – its home time! Simone
- For little bubs just take a pram and get them to sleep in that and for toddlers and children let them go and have fun and when they starting getting to tired then take them home, there’s nothing wrong with letting them stay up later and just enjoying the festive season, you can always pick up your normal routine again the next night but I would never let my children suffer so I can have a good time so when they are really tired and they aren’t enjoying themselves anymore then it’s time to go. Casey
- depends how tired they are and how settled if they are happy to sleep in the pram or a bed we stay if they are extra hypo and need their own bed we go just play it by ear really also depends how the party is as often the later it is the more drunk people get so it’s better families leave anyways. Marnie
- My 2 usually cope well with the later night we leave if they aren’t. They catch up on sleep later if they need to. Rebecca
- We usually stay out to about 9ish then bring them home. Depends on how tired they are. My 1yr old will sleep in the pram but our 2 yr old will keep going till she sleeps on her feet. Julie
- Haven’t had too many yet, but our 11 month old will still fall asleep at her normal time. We then put her in portacot and wake her when we are ready to leave! Amanda
- My LO use to be good and sleep anywhere BUT now the portacot thing might be a go! Marie
- We just use our pram, my dd is 2 and still can sleep comfortable in our strider plus. She is in bed at 7, we usually let her stay up a little bit but then when it gets too much I just put her to sleep in the pram and she will happily sleep there until we get home. She will sleep soundly in the middle of a concert glad we got her so used to noise from the start. Nicole
- We stay the night at the in-laws or let them stay up. When they get tired we put them into the bed that’s kept for them up there (they sleep together 2yrs and 3yrs) and if we were going home that night we’d just transfer them to their car seats and into their own bed when we get home. Suzannah
See also: Encouraging baby to sleep while out and about
- 15month old take pram and porta cot my 5 year just let her go and she falls asleep in car on way home Nicole
- From the start we would take my son to parties and leave when we were ready not when he ‘had to go to bed’ so he got used to sleeping anywhere. Simone Johnson has got it right!! If it just doesn’t work when we would go home. Don’t tip toe around the kids having to be in a routine as then you will be stuck in the routine all the time and they just won’t learn that things change. Elizabeth
- Christmas Eve and Christmas night we allow them to stay up later to watch a movie and to have a little camp fire to roast marshmallows. This year we will possibly have a newborn (due 3 days after but I go early), so will be having it at home as with a newborn, so much easier to stay home so they get to bed on time. Sherie
- Leave a little later but not too late. Sami
- I always like to be home by bed, hour later max. Sophie
- Use to use port a cot but now they’re a little older they cope and sleep on the way home if I can find a quiet place ill put them down but they’re usually enjoying themselves too. Kassie
- My 6mo deals with staying up late pretty well. Normally she will just fall asleep when she’s ready, go down in her pram then maybe only wake up when we move her into her cot when we get home. And generally the later she stays up the longer she sleeps in so breaking her routine is normally not an issue. Rebeka
- We go with the flow, or if kids are comfortable lie them on friends beds, with the other kids they think its one big sleep over. Amy
- My kids deal with a late night pretty well, but we always make sure the next day is a quiet one with movies and mattresses in the lounge, and no going out or having visitors otherwise they just get too cranky. Kirsty
- We go with the flow. My kids have always slept anywhere and also coped with routine changes. I just make sure they get a night at home to break it up. Ky
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