Need advice - 7yo won't go to bed until 10pm

5d ago1 min read

So my son's been stalling bedtime like crazy lately. We've tried the whole routine thing - bath, stories, white noise machine, whatever. His older sister (10) is fine, but this kid just keeps coming out with "one more question" or "I need water" or "my pillow is too warm." Bedtime is supposed to be 8:30. Last night we didn't get him down until 10:15.

The thing is, he's not sick or anything. Just seems like he's figured out that he can negotiate indefinitely. Anyone deal with this? What actually worked?

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Comments(5)

JJoe C.Regular3d ago

Has he got stuff on his mind? Sometimes the stalling is actually anxiety about something—school stress, friend drama, whatever. The routine hits different when there's an underlying thing going on.

SSam F.New Dad3d ago

The fact that your older kid's fine tells you something—it's not the routine that's the issue, it's something specific with him. Could be he's not tired, could be FOMO about missing stuff, could be he needs one-on-one time before bed.

RRandy B.Regular3d ago

My 7yo does the same thing. What helped was making HIM responsible for the routine—like he has to tell ME when it's time for stories, when it's time to turn off lights. Gave him back some control and he stopped fighting it.

TTony F.Regular2d ago

10pm is wild. At that point I'd just shut it down—lights off at the scheduled time whether he's "ready" or not. Sometimes kids need the boundary set hard. Might be rough for a few nights but worth it.

EEd P.Regular4d ago

Try asking him what he actually needs instead of assuming. Like sit down and be like 'you keep staying up late, what's going on?' Kids will sometimes tell you if you actually ask instead of just enforcing the rules