Early Bedtimes in the Summer?

[sweetpeppers]

I'm having a hard time getting my son to bed as early now that it stays light so late. It wouldn't be a big deal (well, it isn't a big deal, just a little deal) if he would sleep later to make up for staying up later, but he gets up just the same time so now he's getting an hour less sleep every night. Do you think we need less sleep when the days are longer? And what are your tips for getting to bed while it's still light out?

[HollyBearsMom]

Lots of energetic free play outside after dinner followed by a warm bath/shower, story time and having Black out shades on the all windows.

Works like a charm for my son who wakes up at the same time everyday regardless of what time he went to bed.

[JudiAU]

As soon as play is over the curtains are closed (black outs) and the white noise is on and I close the doors to the rest of our living space. I get our water (I drink a lot at night) and books and everyone calms down. It really helps.

So let's see...that is a light cue, a music cue, and a spatial cue all of which help the transition.

[mommariffic]

What are black our curtains? (and why don't I know about them!..) I struggle with this with DD because she comments (often) about how it's still light out and I have to explain Father Twilight um...takes his time in the summer? We have green velvet like curtains and blinds but they don't do much, our bedroom is the only room in the house that gets FULL sun all the time! 

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by mommariffic 

What are black our curtains? (and why don't I know about them!..) I struggle with this with DD because she comments (often) about how it's still light out and I have to explain Father Twilight um...takes his time in the summer? We have green velvet like curtains and blinds but they don't do much, our bedroom is the only room in the house that gets FULL sun all the time! 

Black out curtains shut out more light than just regular curtains.  :)  They are a must!

I moved last year and all year meant to make DS curtains since the blinds still let in noticable light in the summer.  I procrastinated until it was fall and didn't matter.  :)  This spring, I finally got on the ball and did it!  The blinds block substantial light, but the curtains are fabulous!!!  Ours aren't even officially "black-out", just two layers of quilting cotton...but those two layers make all the difference.  DS quit saying "but the sun is still up!", and we do our stories and routine so that helps.  Thankfully, he's old enough to understand that the sun stays up late in the summer, but that doesn't make it easier to settle down!

You could always line regular curtains with something heavier like flannel...it would be a similar effect to black-out.  And try swapping out your blinds for specific black-out ones if you can afford to replace them.  They're not perfect, but they make a lot of difference.
 

[JudiAU]

Originally Posted by RollerCoasterMama 

Black out curtains shut out more light than just regular curtains.  :)  They are a must!

I moved last year and all year meant to make DS curtains since the blinds still let in noticable light in the summer.  I procrastinated until it was fall and didn't matter.  :)  This spring, I finally got on the ball and did it!  The blinds block substantial light, but the curtains are fabulous!!!  Ours aren't even officially "black-out", just two layers of quilting cotton...but those two layers make all the difference.  DS quit saying "but the sun is still up!", and we do our stories and routine so that helps.  Thankfully, he's old enough to understand that the sun stays up late in the summer, but that doesn't make it easier to settle down!

You could always line regular curtains with something heavier like flannel...it would be a similar effect to black-out.  And try swapping out your blinds for specific black-out ones if you can afford to replace them.  They're not perfect, but they make a lot of difference.
 

Black out curtains rock. And actually the homemade cloth, made with a few layers of tightly woven fabric, are better for your family then the real ones which are made of nasty things.

[Melaniee]

I always used roller shades for my children's bedrooms. Like PPers have said, I would pull them down just before it was time to get ready for bed - usually when the children were NOT in their rooms so they would just return to them already dark. We use gentle lighting at night as opposed to the bright overhead lights, so those would be on as well.

Last year we moved to a house that proved puzzling, however. My daughter's room got the evening sun, and we have no air conditioner. I would slightly turn the vertical blinds to block it, and slightly pull the curtains (which aren't light-blocking anyway), but still wanted the air to come it. It was awful.  Luckily we are soon moving someplace with beautiful, magnificent, much-missed air conditioning. And now I know I can survive temperatures much warmer than before so hopefully will be using it even less. ;)

Curious if anyone has the same issue, though, where you need the windows open still on summer evenings, but want to at least diffuse the sunlight?

[kanga2roo]

Does everybody sleep with the windows closed? I could never do that- we have them open , even if its just a crack, year round. Our slider has vertical blinds, so we can have all but a few inches closed, but its still light! We use a sound machine ( on rain) and make a "sleep tent" over ds's eyes and face once he's comfy. We just make a little peak with the sheet, but he has had to get used to going to sleep when its bright. The same thing happens in the morning. Our side windows face the beach so the sunrise brightens things up. The only way around it is to shut everything but I just don't want to give up the salty sea air. When its super hot, we do put in the air conditioner, but I don't really want that in, or on, more than we absolutely need it.

  Lots of outdoor time and a full tummy helps around here :)

[appalachiamama]

We have roller shades and they get pulled every night at 7:30 no matter what.  We also use low lighting at night like some of the other posters.  Bedtime for our little girl is around 8:30 or 9:00, but I prefer that so that I have some quiet time in the morning to get ready for the day.  I agree that fresh air really helps for tiring little people out without overstimulating them.

[brennan]

Originally Posted by kanga2roo 

Does everybody sleep with the windows closed? I could never do that- we have them open , even if its just a crack, year round. Our slider has vertical blinds, so we can have all but a few inches closed, but its still light! We use a sound machine ( on rain) and make a "sleep tent" over ds's eyes and face once he's comfy. We just make a little peak with the sheet, but he has had to get used to going to sleep when its bright. The same thing happens in the morning. Our side windows face the beach so the sunrise brightens things up. The only way around it is to shut everything but I just don't want to give up the salty sea air. When its super hot, we do put in the air conditioner, but I don't really want that in, or on, more than we absolutely need it.

  Lots of outdoor time and a full tummy helps around here :)

No, we sleep with our window open at night.  Right now its quite open.  The horizontal blinds are fully closed and we have a navy blue curtain over top.  It doesn't let as much air in as when there's no blinds, but we live in the north and its light until 11:30, and gets light super early so not only does dd want to stay up till almost midnight, she also wants to wake up at an ungodly hour.