at what age did you ease up on your LO's routine?

hopeful34

I still feel like i am a slave to their routine. I am a clock watcher and i so can't wait until I don't have to worry as much about it. Just wondering when it might be ok to be more relaxed about their routine. Even if your LO's are 10 yrs old lol...i just would like to know either way.

thanks!!

leslie13510

I don't know if it was luck, just their personalities, or the fact that I was never super strict about the routine, but it was definitely under a year when I stopped feeling like we needed to be home by exactly X time for a nap, or that lunch could be an hour earlier or later than normal.  Probably between 7 and 9 months old?  As long as things weren't thrown way off, and the general order and time of day of their activities stayed the same, it really was never a huge deal (except for a period between about 3 and 6-7 months). 

If we were at a friend's house late for a party or dinner, I just put the PNP's in the car and brought them in if someone got fussy, otherwise they'd just go to sleep a little later that night, and probably sleep a little later the next morning.  If they missed a nap in the morning (when they still took 2 a day), it generally wasn't a big deal, and they'd just sleep longer in the afternoons.  They still needed a general routine (and still do now), but we haven't been slaves to the clock in a looooong time, and as long as it's not an everyday thing that their routine is thrown way off, they roll with it pretty well.

LALASEPT05

I would say maybe in the last month or two we've been more able to skip a nap or go down for a nap later. We went to FL in September when they were 15 months old and we had a tough time because they really needed their schedule. if we did it now i think it would be much easier. We have less melt downs if we miss a nap or go for a nap later.

Rangergal9

My girls go to daycare during the week so they just follow that routine.  On the weekends we just try to get them one nap at some point during the day.  I don't really remember when we became more lax, but generally we have them nap and then will go out and do stuff.  Or sometimes we just plan for them to nap in the car.  As far as feeding them, we just feed them while we are out... they eat breakfast at home, then lunch at home or out, then a snack later (we also bring things for them to snack on if we are out), and then come home for dinner cause they go to bed at 6pm.

I'd say by this point you could probably be more lax with their schedule.  Like I said my girls are on a schedule during the week but are fine on the weekends when the schedule changes a bit. 

MrsLnt

I think it depends on your kids' personalities and sleep temperaments. DS is a touchy sleeper. He's one of the few kids on earth that doesn't sleep in the car. We had a day a few weeks ago where we did both the AM and PM nap in the car and he hardly slept at all and it jacked up his sleep for a few days. I could never just lay mine down in a PnP in a room somewhere and expect them to sleep. They are good at self-soothing, so long as they are in a familiar element.

I'm hoping that by 18 months and when we are on one nap, we can be more flexible. Until then, the benefits of following their schedule far far outweigh the consequences of trying to do other stuff and not giving them what they need. 

jdancer5

By 8mo or so I eased up to the point of making a nap later or even napping them at someone else's house- occasionally. By 10/11mo I became more flexible about bedtime here and there so we could enjoy evening visits or an evening family outing. IMHO the reason our LOs are so good about being flexible is because it's somewhat rare and we provide a lot of consistency (without living by the clock) in their normal routine. I'm always reminding DH of this because he would like a looser routine that follows his own schedule

janjag

We have eased up a smidge but still keep to the sched.  Vivienne will sometimes skip naps, but she is in her crib.  She gets downtime even if she's not sleeping.  We are still always home for naps.

I feel like with the girls we were more BTC, and with DS we are a little more go with the flow... still watching the clock, but since I don't have to mesh his needs with someone else, I can go more on his cues.  Hope that makes sense. 

blondek8

I think it depends on a number of factors. My guys were never on a super strict schedule. They just didn't tolerate it. They've always had a loose routine and we've never been slaves to a schedule.

We've gotten even more lax since they turned a year in October. They wake up somewhere between 7-8am and go to bed somewhere between 7-8pm with 3 meals, an afternoon snack and a nap in there somewhere. Occasionally, they require a second nap but those days are few and far between lately.

meldoo2002

I still watch the clock.  Within reason.  Or without reason as some people probably think.  My kids still tend to eat lunch at 11am, nap around 12:30, dinner is always at 5pm unless they are hungry a bit earlier and it's ready earlier.  Bath starts at 6:10, and I try to be out of their room by 6:45pm.   Yes I can adjust slightly... like tonight we stayed at a party until 6:15 so they weren't in bed until a little after 7pm.  Nap is almost always between 12 and 1 unless we are out for a family day, but this happens like twice a year.  So I've relaxed a little, but I would not go to a birthday party during nap... and still won't.  I don't push bedtime back more than a 1/2 hour... ever.  I'm kind of anal, but my kids need sleep.  And dinner was late tonight... we ordered Chinese and my brother wasn't back til 5:45 with it.  From 5-5:45 my kids asked when dinner was coming.

groovygrl

We still follow schedule relatively tightly (within 30 min generally)and I know some ppl think we are nuts but they're not around for the insanity that happens when bedtime is an hour or more late or if naps don't really happen bc they occurred too late... We have had sleep issues from day 1 though and we just deal with it bc it is better than the alternative. However it is getting better for sure.

lindz3

My boys are 16 months are have a very similar schedule, to which i am pretty strict about. It helps SO much. I don't get to do a lot, but that's just a small price to pay and only for these first few years. I don't plan on easing up any time soon lol.