Do you "get your kids up"?

[mrsrandolph]

What time do you get going in the morning?

Let me admit one of my greatest vices...SLEEP!!

I don't wanna get out of bed.

If I "let" my kids rise on their own, they are up by 8:00-8:30.

What time do you and your kids start your days?

What do your mornings look like...breakfast...chores...starting school?

Thanks!

[cirons]

Hi,

I am personally an early to bed, early to rise person and my kids are the same. My kids are in bed between 7:30-8pm each night and are awake by 6am. (I have to tell them that is the earliest they can wake up because they can wake up earlier....especially in summer when it is light.) I am in bed by 9:30-10pm and I go swimming at 6am each morning for exercise. By the time we start school, kids have made beds, made their own breakfast and they are itching to start by 8-8:15am. This way we are done by lunch!

I am a big believer in letting kids sleep though....if they are sleeping in too much, change the routine and put them to bed earlier, but these habits are often formed earlier and if this lifestyle suits you and your family, why change? I just prefer to have time at night with my hubby alone....without this time, we would get none! Not good for happy momma or happy marriage! Lol.

[pjdobro]

I'm a night owl and at least one of my dc is a night owl naturally as well. We try to get the kids in bed by around 9:30 pm each night. Unfortunately I don't manage to get to bed most nights until around 12:30 am. My goal is to get up at 7:45 so I have a little bit of time for a quiet time before the dc get up. Since we decided to do a schedule for school, they do set an alarm and get up at 8 am. They tidy their rooms and get dressed and then are supposed to be down to breakfast at 8:15. After breakfast, we brush our teeth, clean up and start school by 9 am. That's the schedule, but lately we have been slipping and getting to things a bit later. Since the dc and I have had colds, etc. we've taken to setting the alarm for 8:30 instead and starting school a tad bit later. I'm hopeful that next week, we'll get back to our schedule.

[ALB]

I like to sleep too, just earlier . Like the pp said, kids are in bed by 7/ 7:30 and up around 6:30, which works great for me since I like to go to sleep by 10 and get up at 6. I think we do a lot of things earlier than most people. We eat breakfast at 7, lunch at 11:45 and dinner at 5 or 5:30. Just seems to fit all of our needs and preferences that way! My dh and I have very "early" personalities in other ways, too, we are usually the first to arrive anywhere and are always ready before the appointed time of something. Funny how we all are just made differently in these ways!

[cirons]

I like to sleep too, just earlier . Like the pp said, kids are in bed by 7/ 7:30 and up around 6:30, which works great for me since I like to go to sleep by 10 and get up at 6. I think we do a lot of things earlier than most people. We eat breakfast at 7, lunch at 11:45 and dinner at 5 or 5:30. Just seems to fit all of our needs and preferences that way! My dh and I have very "early" personalities in other ways, too, we are usually the first to arrive anywhere and are always ready before the appointed time of something. Funny how we all are just made differently in these ways!

ALB - we could be twins ! They are our meal times too! And I see you are living in Asia? May I ask where? My family came back from living in Vietnam only 11 months ago.

[deltagal]

Hello,

My answer to this has changed as my children have changed. They, too, used to wake up early and we had a stay in your room until 7 rule and then they could begin their day. Now, the oldest 2 given the opportunity could sleep ALL morning, so we have a wake up time for everyone. My oldest uses an alarm to rise at 6:30 and I wake all the others at 7. I, myself, am inclined to wake up and enjoy the morning. I simply get up when I wake up which is usually between 4 and 5 a.m.

[MomtoJGJE]

Right now, the kids get me up... generally between 5:30 and 6. Because they get up at that time no matter when they go to bed, bedtime is generally in the 6pm hour. We don't really have a set time to get going right now...

I look forward to the day I have to wake someone up The thought makes me happy!

[annaz]

A child and a mommy that has had enough sleep makes for a happy day.
I wouldn't dream of waking her or myself before we naturally get up which is 7-8am.

[Rwandalove]

I'm like you! They get me up around 8 or 8:30. We usually start school around 9:30. It works out fine because we save some of our work for when my 2 yr old is napping in the afternoon. So a later start doesn't bother me. I am a night owl too. I get most of my work done in the evenings so I can focus on the kiddos during the day.

[Bramble]

Dh doesn't get home from work until midnight and we are both night owls. Our kids are always up before us. They tend to wake between 7 and 8 a.m.

[Malenksha]

We're similar to some of the others: early to bed, early to rise. Bedtime for the boys is 7 pm and 7:15 (they bathe back to back) and DH and I are in bed at 9 pm. DH and I are up at 5:45; boys are up between 6:00 and 7:00. We have, so far, not had the need to get them up earlier than they naturally get up but I imagine the teen years will change things! Typically they are both up around 6:15.

Our routine is pretty straightforward after that: they are to dress, make beds, and do morning chores (water the dog, set the table, open blinds, take out trash). Breakfast is usually right around 6:45 as we need to get DH out the door by 7:10 (earlier if there is snow!). DH and I both shower in the mornings; I cook a hot breakfast, pack his lunch, start the laundry, feed the dog; he checks work email, puts dishes away, etc.

School starts at 7:30 am. We break for a snack at 9:30 am (two of us are hypoglycemic so we need to keep blood sugar levels steady). Lunch is at noon. We finish all seatwork by 11 am most days which includes my reading extra to the boys and both boys listening to the Little Hearts readings (so good!). Younger DS has a quiet time after lunch and older DS and I go through his history and storytime then; our little guy is just too young emotionally yet to handle some of the stories.

And just to complete the rest of the day: snack at 2:30 and dinner at 5 pm. DH arrives home around 4:50 and has time to change and greet us before we sit down to eat! All other chores such as sweeping, folding laundry, walking the dog, etc. happen after all school is done.

- Bronwyn

[blessedmama]

I, Shannon, am like you...I like sleep! There is nothing like the fan blowing that lovely wind in my face combined with the hum that beckons me to snuggle in deeper, one of my children taking the place of my husband and snuggling in with their warm bodies next to mine, and the sheets and mattress that are the perfect feel. Ahh

I am a night owl because that is my down time. I would love to be a morning person but I can't seem to get up before 7 a.m. unless I need to be somewhere. My boys (6 & 7) like to get up with the sun, my girls (9 & 4) could sleep until 9 if I let them. I like to be up and ready to go before 8 a.m., anytime after that I start to feel like I could sleep all day.

After all that talk about my fan I think I need to go to bed.

[Mommamo]

Right now, the kids get me up... generally between 5:30 and 6. Because they get up at that time no matter when they go to bed, bedtime is generally in the 6pm hour. We don't really have a set time to get going right now...

I look forward to the day I have to wake someone up The thought makes me happy!

That's exactly how we are! I try to get my kids to wake up later, but no matter when I put them to bed they are up between 5:30 and 6:00. But it's nice because they go to bed between 6:30 and 7:00, and the evenings are when I work.

Our school day clearly starts early, then, and is over a little while before lunch.

[striving2Bprov31]

I have to be up early (5am to 540) to get my shower in before my youngest two are up! They wake up on their own around 620 to 645. Then I wake my oldest up at about 10 minutes to 700 to do her math. THEEEENN, I wake my ds8 at 740 to begin his day.

For my sanity, I have to be showered, hair fixed and ready with shoes on before my kiddos are up. If I don't do those things I just don't feel prepared to take on the day!! I feel half-baked!!

"To each, his own."

Choosing joy,
Liz

[my3sons]

I think Deltagal had some good wisdom in her post - morning start times can change over the years!

I need sleep - like 8-9 hours a night. Especially since my thyroid has gone bonkers. I soooooo wish I could survive on less, but alas, I am not built that way. So, I fit in the early to bed, early to rise camp. I go to bed around 10 PM and get up around 7 AM. We do the bedtime routine at 7:30 PM, and the toddler is down for the count right away as he no longer takes a nap. However, my 2 older sons stay up in middle ds's room until 9 PM, usually hanging out playing board games or reading together. We do our meals pretty early when compared to others too, other than breakfast that is... breakfast 8 AM, lunch noon, supper 5:30 PM. Our AM routine is 7:15-7:30 AM get ready for the day (dress, brush teeth, etc.), 7:30-7:45 AM get rooms ready for the day (make bed, pick up, etc.), 7:45-8 AM do morning chores for the day, 8 - 8:15 or 8:30 AM breakfast, then we start school. Works well for us now, but this hasn't always been our start to our day. It's been earlier, and it's been later, but we've always needed to finish around lunch for the most part, as I have always had some kind of a part time job to meet dh's wishes. Great question!

In Christ,
Julie