When I first heard this from another mom, I was shocked. At that time we had one child and he was still pretty young. We all know that babies require a lot of sleep. But toddlers and even preschoolers? Wasn’t this a little excessive. Then we implemented it. We won’t turn back! It is true.
Our kids’ bedtime is 7:00. They are not allowed out of their rooms until 7:00 in the morning. (Yes, this took some training. The oldest two have digital clocks in their rooms that they watch to know when to get up.) That’s means that my husband and I have twelve hours of refueling, relaxing, and resting. (Except my husband gets up at 4:45 so his is cut short!)
Here is the short of it. Kids need sleep. After 12 hours of playing, they are tired. Come 7:00 they are ready for sleep. But above that, my husband and I need time together before he needs to get some shut-eye and I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. We need time to discuss the day, watch a movie, or simply finish those things that the day didn’t allow time to get done.
Please understand that 7:00 is not the magic number. Really, 12 hours of sleep isn’t exact either. Every family has a different schedule. The point is…Are you leaving “couple time” in your day? Or, is your day filled with “children” from the moment you wake up until your head hits the pillow?
It's just me so no "couple time" but I do insist on rest time in the afternoon and a strict 8pm-7am night time sleep. My oldest is transitioning from needed a nap so I have some stories that I've downloaded from Storynory that I play for him at naptime. He must listen to the entire CD (About 90 minutes) before he can come out . . . usually within 30 minutes he's asleep! And with them going to bed at 8 I have a few hours to relax and (rarely) catch a movie with a girlfriend from time to time.