Our bedtime routine is well established. Showers before dinner (Toby refuses to sit in a bath). Dinner at 6, followed by hair, teeth, a short play time, family bible time, then bed by 7.30. Well that is the theory anyway.

The 3 kids all share a bedroom, and it has never been a problem. Occasionally they have a little chat before sleeping (which I love to listen to), but they have never really kept each other awake.. until recently that is.

Hannah has obviously got to the point where she doesn’t need quite as much sleep, and a 7.30 bedtime is too early. Instead of sleeping, she begins some epic game to entertain herself and the other two, and no one gets any sleep at all. Hannah copes, but Meg and Toby are tired.

Last night, I went in at 8.00 to see Toby standing and singing “the mummies on the bus go round and round” at the top of his voice, whilst the girls were shrieking at his ‘humorous’ lyrics. Hannah was jumping around on the top bunk and coordinating all the shenanigans, whilst Meg was doing some complicated gymnastics underneath. Clearly this is not sleeping. Eventually I hauled her out of the bedroom with a book, and got her to lie down on a couch and read.

I have always maintained that my children will always go to bed at 7.30pm whilst ever they live under my roof (a girl can hope, can’t she), but it appears that Hannah didn’t get the memo. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but I also love 7.40pm when they are all in bed, and I can sit down and do something uninterrupted (even if it is just marking).

It seems that our bedtime routine may have to change, and I am going to have trouble adjusting!