Parenting Part 4 - Sleep

I'm not sure why I thought this, but I was always under the impression that we were depriving our kids if we put them to bed too early.

About 4 years ago, we were hanging out with our friends, the Scheibes, and we noticed their kids were in bed by 7:00pm. I thought that was kind of crazy. Those poor kids were missing out on all kinds of late night fun.

But thank the Lord for a wife who had a clue.

Kids who get sleep are more pleasant human beings. Too many kids are sleep deprived. Fortunately, Leatha saw wisdom in the Scheibe's example, so we decided to give it a shot.

Sleep Observations:

- Kids seem to need 10+ hours of sleep.

- For our kids, there is a difference between 10 hours of sleep from 8pm-6am and 11pm-9am. Sleeping in is of less value than going to bed early.

- Putting our kids to bed later rarely means they'll sleep in longer. They just wake up at the same time...grumpier. Regardless, the younger kids wake up early crying and then wake everyone else up. I'm sure this is not true for all kids and I'm sure things will change the older they get.

- Some families have to have a different schedule by necessity- maybe dad gets off work at 7 or 8 every day. In those cases, kids should stay up later to see their dad (esp. if they don't see him in the morning). But I know a number of dads who say they have to stay at work until 7 or 8 or 10 and they just need to get their butts home and spend time with family. Dads, we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. The world will go on without us moving more dirt, crunching more numbers, counseling one more person, making one more widget, or __________. (Maybe you should let your wife fill in the blank).

- Things go much better when kids are not rushed off to bed. There's a difference between starting the process of getting kids to bed and actually getting kids to bed. Starting the process early allows us to enjoy the bedtime experience. We generally try to allow 30-45 minutes (putting the kids to bed by 7 means starting at 6:15 or 6:30). That gives me a chance to read, tell pirate stories, pray, talk to them without them feeling rushed off to bed. And of course there are times when I have to tell them to get to bed and the process takes 2 minutes. But this isn't our normal cadence.

- Laying in bed allows kids mind and soul "space"- time to think, imagine, and pray. I still remember those times as a kid (i.e. praying for everyone in the world to know Jesus, imagining if I were a tiger in the jungle, or a prince in middle earth, or all the mean things I said that day...). Kids are more introspective than we might give them credit for.

- Your kids have all day to play, don't feel bad about putting them to bed early. Kids need sleep.

- Enjoy the quiet evenings with your spouse then get to bed early. Generally, watching tv is not a good way to end your day (unless of course the World Series or March Madness is on). And you shouldn't feel guilty for sleeping 8+ hours. If you're grumpy the best thing you can do for God, your family, and the world is take a nap or sleep more. Parents need sleep.