Mommy Mondays: Bedtimes

Are there things your parents made you do that you hated?  Yeah.  Parents are the worst.

But you know what is even worse?  When you grow up and realize that their rational for making you doing those hated things actually made sense.

For me, the rule I hated and couldn't understand was the 7:30 bedtime my parents imposed. So early!  I think it went up to 8pm when I was 13, and stayed there until the summer after my senior year of high school.  The early bedtime wasn't really for me and my brother's immediate benefit, it was more of a long term benefit - the early bedtime was so my parents could have some adult time.  Time without children and their infinite needs.  Which, they argued, made them better parents, and us a happier family.

Although it was something I hated as a child and young adult, I can respect the idea.  And it was something Thatboy and I knew we were going to institute with our own children.  And we have.  I know plenty of people who put their children to bed at the same time they go to sleep, but for us, Thatbaby goes to bed as early as we can get him to bed so Thatboy and I can have some time to reconnect after the day. 

When I first got pregnant, Thatboy and I discussed how we weren't going to let having a baby drive a wedge between our relationship.  And it's something we have to work on.  Because a child requires a lot of your attention.  And a child means there are much fewer date nights, or impromptu weekends away.  There's just less time for you as a couple, unless you make time.  It's important for us to eat dinner as a family, so the evenings after Thatbaby goes to bed are the times we make for each other.

So the goal is to get Thatbaby in bed around 7:30, although it's usually closer to 8pm.  And why I totally advocate getting your kid to bed as early as you can  (which is obviously going to be different for each child).