Growing up, Staying Up

Teddy has had the same bedtime as his brother forever.  Lately, he has also been getting phone calls from friends to meet online to play a game, often 5 minutes before that bedtime.  Well, it is summertime, so maybe other kids are staying up later.  One child who called, we know routinely stays up until 11pm.  Frankly, DH and I need the boys to go to bed sooner than later--we are just to darn tired, and we need the break.

I've watched Teddy's reaction as he had to tell his friends he couldn't play at that time.  He was upset, disappointed, and a little embarrassed.  His bedtime seemed to be pretty early compared to his friends, and while he did give us looks to ask if please just this once he could stay up later, he accepted it when we told him no.

He didn't pitch a fit.  He didn't whine that all the other kids get to stay up later.  He just shrugged, and shoulders slumped, joined his brother in getting ready for bed.

That more than anything else persuaded me to persuade DH that we should make a change.  Both boys are routinely up in the morning hours before it is time for school, so they were clearly getting plenty of sleep.  And while not physically ready to separate their rooms yet, individual bedtimes might help give them a little space away from each other.  DH agreed.

We explained the change to the boys, with the caveat that we would be monitoring behavior, and morning routines.  We made sure to let Teddy know that part of the reason we had decided on the change, was the very calm way in which he accepted our instructions when his friends had called.  His ability to handle disappointment without pitching a fit, or even whining about it, showed us that he was maturing.  He spent his first late night playing online--of course.