by Joanne Smith

Created on: December 30, 2009

Having your children staying up for the New Year’s Eve count down depends more on your child than it does on the evening at hand.

New Year’s Eve is a night to reflect on the past years memories and engage in celebrations of what will be to come.  It is a night of the midnight count down, one which millions of people will celebrate and millions more will sleep through.  The celebration of bringing in the New Year is a personal tradition, one which families form through out the years.

Based on the needs of your own family you will create celebrations that will work towards meeting the needs of your entire family.  If you are allowing your children to remain awake to watch a count down celebration make sure it is in their best interest to do so.

Is your child a child who can go the next day on less sleep, and still remain happy and co-operative?  Is your child someone who seems to show more behaviors when they are tired and ends up being disciplined because of it?  If you know ahead of time that your child is going to be grumpy and argumentative, and this is something that causes the family stress if they stay up late, than consider not allowing your child to be up until midnight.  If you consider fatigue to be a leading cause in lowered immune systems and your child is already fighting off a bug, it may not be in their best interest to be up late.  However, if you know your child has nothing planned for the New Year’s Day and can sleep as long as they need to the following day, or you know staying up late is worth the behaviours you know your family will face the following day then staying up for the count down may not be as traumatic for your child.

One consideration for your child staying up must be why your child is staying up.  If your child is staying up because there is going to be a party happening at your home, consider allowing your child to have a party of their own, earlier in the day.  It is the New Year celebration that matters, not the time of night they are up until.  If you child wants to stay up because of the company that will be at your home during the count down, invite the company earlier in the evening to allow your child to visit and intermingle with the company before bedtime. 

Encourage your child to create New Year’s Eve Day plans.  Explain the significance to them about what the year ending means.  Ask them some of their plans for the New Year. 

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>