Can the solution really be this simple?
This morning rather than waking all the kids up at 8 AM, I let them all sleep until they woke on their own. There were a couple of long peaceful hours where I got stuff done, then they cheerfully emerged at around 10 AM.
For the past week or more the kids have been averaging 5-8 needs per hour. Those needs may be squabbles that I have to mediate, tummies to feed, or messes to clean up. Whatever it is, 5-8 times each hour I was called upon to solve a problem. Today has not contained a single major squabble and we are averaging less than 1 need per hour. I got a two hour nap with only a breif interruption in the middle. If the rest of the summer is like today, I will relish the whole thing.
So I’m now working on the premise that making sure the kids get enough sleep makes a major difference in how the day goes. This should not surprise me, but apparently it does. My tactic of trying to move bedtime earlier by keeping the getting-up time at 8 does not seem to be working. Bedtime still needs to be earlier than 10:30 PM, but I’m thinking that breakfast may need to slide to 9 AM for the remainder of the summer.
At least I had a nice relaxing day without having to flee the house for it.
It is most definitely that simple. We don’t do schedules in the summer for the most part. So everyone sleeps really late and stays up while it is cool enough to play.
My daughter (6 yr old) has done this as well. It doesn’t help that it doesn’t get dark until 9 pm. Guess kids are stuck on the sun. She now sleeps in until 8:30 am to 9:00 AM.