EVERY mum knows that bedtime is one of the biggest battles parents will face.
And every mum also swears by a different method when it comes to getting their little ones up that wooden hill.
Whether it’s a military style bath and bed routine, or a DIY approach it appears there is no right or wrong when it comes to settling the little ones down.
Here we reveal three mums VERY different bedtime routines…
NO PARENTING AFTER 7:30
Mum-of-seven Constance Hall from Australia claims she ‘checks out’ of parenting at 7.30pm, so she can drink wine and chat with her mates.
After this time, Constance says anything if her kids need anything, it's up to them to sort it out.
"Anything you need that’s not an emergency after that is up to you to do,” she told Mamamia.
"I’m not your mum; I’m not here. I’m not your slave, I’m just a statue of a woman who an hour ago wiped your bum and is now drinking wine chatting on the phone to her sister.”
Constance’s family includes daughter Billie-Violet, son Arlo-Love, twins Rumi and Snow, and Raja, as well as step-kids Zeyke and Sunny.
She added on Facebook, “Call me lazy, call me a slummy mummy, but when you have six kids living under your roof things change, you're kidding yourself if you think that you can give six kids the same life you gave one.
"It’s about f*ing off the st that doesn’t matter to leave time for the stuff that does."
THE 4:30PM START
By the time she was 22, Chloe Dunstan, now 27, from Perth already had three children with her husband Rohan – Evan, eight, Otto, seven, and Felix, six.
Before even having the chance to breathe, triplets Rufus, Hank and Pearl – almost five – came along before they were joined by twins last year.
In order to make bedtimes run as smoothly as possible, Chloe starts her nighttime routine as early as 4:30pm.
During this time, the older kids often help tidy their play room, while the young tots have a nap.
By the time 6pm rolls around, the kids are sitting down to enjoy their dinner, with Chloe and her husband only sometimes joining them.
On busier days, they don't have dinner until all the kids are asleep, which is a few hours later.
Straight after dinner, the kids take turns having baths and popping on their pjs.
All the while Chloe attempts to bath and feed the newborn twins – while still watching over the older lot.
But there's no time to sit and watch TV of an evening, as Chloe then has the kids brush their teeth and jump into bed to read a book.
By 8pm, the kids are tucked in and ready to go to sleep, and only then can Chloe sit and enjoy some time with her husband.
Chloe says: “It's definitely gotten easier over the years with the night-time routine as all bar the twins can now dress themselves.
"With the triplets there for a bit when they were young, it was a lot of work. But I think with big families you have to do whatever works for you."
THE ‘NO-RULES’ 2AM BEDTIME
Kerry Davies, 39, from Crewe, doesn't believe in setting rules for sons Zachary, nine, and Gabriel, 13, letting them decided their own bedtime – which can be as late as 2am.
Speaking to Fabulous Digital, Kerry previously explained: “The boys don't have bedtimes.
“When they have school, they're quite good, but at the moment because it's the holidays Zachary will stay up watching Netflix with us and go to bed at 10pm or 10.30.
“Gabriel will stay up until 1am or 2am gaming, then sleep until 2pm the next day, but there's nothing for him to get up for at the moment. I'd just be getting him out of bed for the sake of it.”
She added: “We call ourselves "lazy" parents, because the focus is always on us doing less.
“Kevin and I try to coach the boys through life, rather than dictating rules. We're very honest and will explain the consequences of their actions.”
In other parenting news, this dad says that he has a favourite child system and treats one better than the others.
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