I was wondering if your bedtime is tucking your kids in or like me laying with your younger children until they are just about or they are asleep. Just curious, no reasons why just wondering how some others "do" the night time thing.

I still lay with my daughter age 2.5 until she is asleep, my 4.5 year old usually the same unless he falls asleep in his bed before I get there from laying with his sister. My almost 8 year old gets about 15-20 minutes of mommy snuggles and its a kiss goodnight goes to sleep on his own. Older ones get a kiss and tuck and if needed some time to talk. I can just tell when they need mom talk time type of thing.

Not saying a certain way is right/wrong just wondering what other moms/dads do. I have always done this with my children until they reach a certain age when I just knew they could do it all on their own.

With both my kids, we have always had a cuddle with stories, then a cuddle in bed to do prayers and then they go to sleep on their own. Sometimes I sing to them too. If they wake up later, then I will often stay to cuddle in bed with them for a few minutes, rubbing their back or feet or whatever they seem to need. But with ds, after a couple of minutes to cuddle, he is practically pushing me out of his bed "Mommy you can go now." He has always been a really independent sleeper - wouldn't ever consider sleeping in bed with me even if he was having a really bad night and I tried to convince him to. Maybe that will change, I don't know.

I pray with all 3; 5,3, and 1, than tuck them in, sometimes singing a few songs then tell them goodnight with a hug and kiss. Usually daddy goes in their rooms and talks to them for awhile to catch up on their day or tell them a story. It's kind of their special time to talk to their daddy before falling asleep.

With son #1, we've got things figured out. He visits the restroom first, then comes to the kitchen for his medicine and vitamin. After that he sometimes wants a drink of water... We then go to his room where he goes to his bed. It's now precious to lay son #2 down beside him just for a few minutes. =) Then it's time for a story read from his Bedtime Bible. The stories are short. After that he gets tucked in, told "I love you, Daddy loves you, Mommy loves you (yes I know the "I love you" part referred to me too... but I did that in case someone else puts him to bed), Baby Daniel who is (whatever he's doing at the moment) loves you, Jesus loves you, and Jesus will watch over you tonight." I then turn his bedtime cd on. He's had it since he was a baby. He's very good about being asleep by the time song #4 or 5 comes on.

As far as just doing it to a certain age, ... my parents stopped tucking me in when I was little... but from then on, always checked on me and told me good night before they went to bed even when I was in high school/college. I liked that.

Now if we could just figure out a routine for this one... lol.

Rhyanne and I have a routine of a story, song, and then prayers. After that it is a hug and kiss and then lights out.

When Matt was with us, we always had a story, prayers and then I sang Great is thy faithfulness. He almost always went to sleep by the last verse, but if not, I stayed and sang it over again. My mom still does a story and prayer time, but she doesn't sing to him. Sometimes, he asks to call me so I can sing him to sleep. Boy, I miss my little guy! But God is working and next weekend he will be back with us again!!!

With Cash, he's still so little, but I already am trying to get a good routine with him. While he is nursing at bedtime, I pray aloud for him and our family, then I sing to him. I haven't settled on a song for him yet...been "shopping around" so to speak, but hope I find one that works for us soon.

Nope I send all mine off to bed.
We have family devotion time, prayer, then off they go. Even the baby crawls upstairs behind his brothers and gets into bed in their room.
Dh or I, usually hub, will shortly follow to turn off Doodles' light and give her another kiss. She likes to take a book to bed with her. See, all the boys get to read for a while when they head to bed. So, we let her take one too, though, she can't read and really doesn't even care. She rarely even opens the book, just tucks it under the covers with her LOL Anyway...so we give her a few minutes to 'read' then we go up to shut off her light. Because just like all the other boys, they won't do it. Eldest is good about self-regulating/discipline and will turn off the light at X time or when tired/done reading ... the others would just keep going..one would keep reading until his eyes fell out and the other would just stay awake messing around..until SOMEone turns off the light. Doodles may very well do the same. Or she may just fall asleep within 30 seconds, with the light still ON. So, anywho...

Yeah that's what we do. Just shove 'em all off to bed..."Good night" :~P

Heck, they snuggle with me all night every night from birth until around 1 yr...I think they're 'good' after that haha

We do family time at 9pm and then pray and off they go to bed.

We tuck them in and lights out!

we get their sippy cup (or water cup, as Bri calls it, b/c they can't take anything else to bed) get their bear, in the bed, covered up, Brian and I each put our hand on one of the kids (alternate each other every other night, like last night, brian touched bri, so tonight, I'll touch Bri) say prayers, then out the door we go.
Gabe gets a hug, a prayer, the same way, and lights out. We personally don't believe in the whole dragging it out stuff with snuggles and all that. There is plenty of time for that during the day. (Not saying it's wrong for those who do, it's just not "right" for us)

Our routine varies a bit. On bath/shower nights, I get my dd to bed first while ds is in the shower, then my ds goes right in after his shower or sometimes I read to him first, while she is going to sleep. They share a room so it is sometimes better if she is asleep before he goes to bed. Other times, they go in together, and both look at books until "lights out." That of course, doesn't account for the nights that they get totally rowdy at bedtime and I have to repeatedly go in there and tell them to go to sleep ;) I usually sit and pray silently before kissing and hugging each of them.

They are 4 1/2 and almost 2, so as the younger one gets older, I think their routines will be more compatible, and they will more often go to bed at the same time, with quiet reading/looking at books for a short time. For a long time, I gave in to my son just falling asleep in my room where the light to "read" wouldn't bother his sister, but now he has a gooseneck lamp with just a 25 watt bulb, which is perfect.

Both go to bed at the same time (can't count Goober #3 yet). I read and do prayers with DD and then repeat with DS in his room. If DH has off then we each get 1 room, 1 story and then switch. Blessings! ~Kerri