childrens bedtimes

I agree with ethel completely. Children should have regular bedtimes. That is one thing I don't like in european cities - seeing young children being trawled around in buggies when they should be tucked up in bed.

A Sunday outing to visit Granny and Grandad is, of course, exempt. But they should be got into pj's at Granny's house and tumbled straight into bed at the other end. Not too late either.

Our babies and young children would come with us to visit family or friends in the evening. They'd either all be put to bed together or fall asleep in our arms. Bundle them up in blankets and straight home to their own beds. When on holiday abroad or in this country if the weather was ok, they'd come out with us in the evening, fall asleep in our arms or in their pushchairs and then be popped into bed when we got back.

During the school week we had regular bed times and routines that went with that. Our children and others in our friendship/family group just fitted in with the routines or the flexibility at special times.

If it's once in while it's not a problem. It is a Saturday.

We used to take ours 25miles to my in laws. To come home we got them ready for bed and drove them home, take them out of the car in their pyjamas, and transfer them straight into bed. It would not be good to keep them up late every night.

I don't agree with keeping children up late, they can be awfully crabby the next morning. Once in a while for a family celebration is okay but do it on a regular basis and you get a letter from the teacher saying that Johnny/Jane is tired in class and would benefit from an earlier bedtime.

I do hope so!

It's summer and the schools are out. Perhaps they're on holidays?

Do you love in a holiday resort Ethel

If it's just an occasional outing then I don't see the harm. If they have several children they probably don't get many opportunities to go out.
If they were out every other night then it would be a different matter.

I don't think it matters once in a while, or even on a regular basis really.
I think early bedtimes were more for the parents' benefit than the children's. People put the children to bed at 6.30 or 7.00 and then wondered why the children woke up at 5.30am, but wanted the evenings to themselves.
In other countries quite young children going out for dinner in the evening is considered normal.
Now that in very many families both parents work, they need time in the evenings together with the children.

I did the same when mine were babies.

Not necessarily agree with you Ethel

When my GC were babies, and I'd invite their parents over for dinner, they'd put the little ones down to sleep in my house. When it was time to go home, they'd put them, still fast asleep, into the double buggy and push them home, about a mile away.

They were then transferred to their own cot/bed still asleep.