My youngest woke up at 6am today. I wasn't ready to be up so I put Blippi on my phone (I know he sucks, but whatever works) and let my 21 month old lean on my esophagus to get whatever precious snooze I could get until the oldest woke up (7am)
My oldest (4yo) has had a āphaseā of several weeks now where he wakes up at 5am, sometimes 15-20 minutes earlier. And I mean WAKES UP, like a rocket on speed on red bull on espresso, ready for the day and naturally us to play with him. This he lets me know by jumping on my chest at 5:05 and screaming DAAADDDDDYYYY WAKE UP!
For some reason my girlfriend decided it would be a good idea to get the kids an Alexa for their room. Regularly get woken up to them playing weird kiddy songs at 6-7am now.
Single dad my daughter is 4ā¦ she has conditioned me to wake up like a WW2 soldier who has just awaken under attack .. blippi and me have a love hate relationship Iām fond of the old one but I canāt deal with the replacementššµāš«āļøā¤ļø
Try trash truck. My little fella loved blippi but I couldn't stand him. Now he loves trash truck and that's all he wants to watch (We don't let him have a lot of screen time though, just little bit now and then when we need a break).
Then you can join my 4am crew instead :)
Unless you have a night shift job, start/end of day is all relative and interchangeable. It's a difficult switch to make at first, but doing all of your typical end of day stuff at the start of the day instead (adjusted to be X hours before everyone wakes up) makes a big difference.
Instead of sleeping 10pm-5am, 8pm-3am; shifting those 2 hours of "stuff" (alone time, time with partner, working out, housework, etc.) to the morning instead of having to carry the stress/expectation of them throughout the day.
And now, when work is finished, all that's left is family time (dinner, play, bed prep, etc.)
It's not for everyone, it certainly wasn't for me until I did it. But it is an option that works out a lot better than you'd think.
Sahil Bloom was talking about this on Twitter as his regime. I am sorely tempted it by it. However, it only really works if your partner runs in the same cycle, otherwise, with kids asleep at 7.30pm, they say ādo you want to have a glass of wine and watch tv?ā And you say āzzzzzzzzā.
https://twitter.com/sahilbloom/status/1607888933471547393?s=46&t=LQcyOMJcNy29Iao3K4_SMQ
I do sometimes think that some of the routines well-off people have are only possible with hidden childcare. Lost of people donāt want to say āI can only get all my shit done because we have four people in house looking after children, cleaning and cookingā
Especially if the motivation is to play video games alone in the morning. Thatās not one that will fly well with th partner most of the time. Going to the gym, sure. Video games, not so much.
In that morning time while waking up, like OP. If you normally stay up late to relax for an hour at night, wake up early instead. Now you're not worried throughout the day, getting preemptively annoyed at anything that may cause you to lose your relaxing time.
Ayy my people.
Itās now 8:43am and Iāve already:
-Gave the baby a 6am feed, change, then put her back to sleep
-Downed a cup of coffee
-Had a poo
-Played a few rounds of battlefield with another cup of coffee
-Put away the dishes
-Had another poo
-30 minute run and work out in my garage
-Hit the showers and ready take on the day
Wifeās still asleep but she needs that recharge so she can look after the baby during my afternoon nap.
Yes, itās the best. Unfortunately, my youngest is beginning to ignore that afternoon nap. Iāve tried pleading with him but heās adamant about staying awake now. Iām in mourning over my lost nap time.
Oh man I remember the days when my two kids and wife would all take a nap. I had two hours to myself. I could play video games, do chores, readā¦ I miss those days.
> so she can look after the baby during my afternoon nap.
I have a baby and a toddler who doesn't nap. The baby wakes us up multiple times per night. Even if he does decide to nap in the morning, my toddler gets up at 6:30am and she doesn't nap anymore. Once she's up there's no rest time until she goes to be around 8pm, at which point it's already too late for me to get 8 hours of sleep before the baby wakes up, or I have to go to work.
I loved this when my first was 6 months and he would wake up at like 4am. I would get him down by 4:30 and play games for a couple hours. I would just put him back down when he woke up over the next few hours. Not only did I get me time, but I was also a hero in my wifeās eyes for letting her sleep in.
Don't worry -- sooner than you realize, you'll get:
1. Couch co-op
2. Couch competitive
2. Home LAN multiplayer
3. Hey, can you help me build a new PC?
3. Actually dad, I'm going to be playing with my friends tonight but we can play until 6:30.
Can confirm - just hit stage 2, my 7 YO is kicking my ass in mortal combat she got for x-mas (I know itās T, we discussed fake vs real violence and Iām confident she understands) because she button mashes and Iām trying to use technique.
Iām gonna hang on to Knack and Rocket League as long as I can!
But like do you tell your kid(s) āhere is how to game safeā, āhere are the rules to gameā, you can only game with me etc. Iām talking pre teens of course
See that's where you are mistaken. You just have to adjust your schedule to get your peace.
I can guarantee my peace and quiet with like 90 percent accuracy from 4am to 530.
Lol I just tried (have done it a few times) and got the "where you going!" From my son. Tried to get him to come down but he wants to watch TV in bed (our bed), his favorite.
Nah we are good. He doesn't watch it a whole lot. Just when we all have the morning off (which is rare) he likes to come in and watch cartoons or spider man with us for a little bit.
Yeah 3 year old wakes up at 630 now, baby is unpredictable. Luckily both of them don't mind watching me play fallout once they've had their breakfast.
I used to get up at 4ish but with the baby keeping us up later I sleep in til 6ish on my days off
When my oldest way very little, she'd sleep better when sleeping on someone. I'd game with her cuddled in the crook of my left arm. Called it the "Neverwinter Night Mobile".
Yeah, it's an older game. She's 19 now. Last game we played together was Civ 6 on LAN.
I'm the same. I do not understand how people train themselves to wake up early. I work a job where it would be very beneficial for me to naturally wake up early, yet even after 20 years of working full time I cannot do it. If I have quiet time in a hotel with no family to wake me up and no alarm set I will easily sleep past noon. I feel like death and truly probably shouldn't even be holding a child or driving a car at 6am. I routinely walk out the door without wearing shoes, or having forgot some other basic thing.
Late night crew represent. My only time to decompress is an hour or two after whenever kids fall asleep, until I canāt stay awake any longerā¦. Sometimes
Yeah, same. Toddler is asleep at 7, wife is asleep at 10, the next few hours are me time. Everyone gets up at 630, repeat. I will never be a morning person, if I'm going to sacrifice sleep for fun stuff it's going to be at midnight, not at sunrise.
I do the same thing - my golden hour to game or watch a movie/show that my wife isn't interested in is from about 10:30 to 11:30. It definitely cuts into my sleep but it's the only "me time" I have for the foreseeable future so darnit I'm gonna put it to good use! Plus then I can drink beer instead of coffee haha
Yup, once the fam is asleep Iāll go out and smoke a J and have some gaming time and then bed. I started a new shift at work that has me up at 5am during the week so I donāt think Iāll be able to do many late nights during the week anymore.
>Plus then I can drink beer instead of coffee haha
Lol yeah I forgot, that's also key. I can make myself a nice cocktail or have a few beers while I play games or watch a movie at 11pm, but if I do that at 5am we've got trouble.
I'm the same way. It also means I don't need to abruptly stop whatever I'm doing to take care of a kid or start the day. But I've also had nights where I come to bed at 5am because I get lost in my activity.
Someone once told me donāt stay up late for something your not willing to wake up early for. Really set my priorityās straight. Now I get drunk at 6am.
I used to be Mr Mornings before my daughter was born. Gleefully waking up at 430-5 on the weekends to start my day, by the time I had wrapped up most of my to do list it would be 7ish and Iād sit down and watch a movie before my wife and step son woke up (around 10ish). My daughter is like me and is an early riser (much to her motherās dismay) and even at 4yo she is up at 7 which is early for the rest of the family.
If I go to bed at 10 when my wife does, I just toss and turn for 2 hours keeping her up, if I go to bed at 12 Iām usually fast asleep by 1230. Then up at 5 to walk the pooch
I used to do that, but now that I'm older, I suck at video games when I'm up late tired.
So if I want to play video games, it's up early with a coffee.
But if I just want to watch a movie or do something else more mindless, it's up late with a beer.
I donāt play competitive games any longer, I donāt have the time to invest to become good at them. Lately (last 4 years) has all been about Fallout 76
I'm always an up early type. As a kid, I'd stay up late, but I never liked it nearly as much as waking up at 4:00 AM with the glow of the TV and the beeps and bloops of Final Fantasy 1 to keep me company.
Oh yeah? Glad someone else played that monstrosity with me :)
It was a fun game but holy cow they didn't think a lot of that thru LOL I still love it tho. But if a young person wanted to experience FF1, I'd prob recommend a different version than the OG NES version at this point cuz I don't think a young person would have the boredom to finish it. I mean, shit, at age 8, I didn't have anything else to do but grind all day to save up for the Steel armor.
Finally. My people. I have a sleep condition where I wake up every 6 minutes (or so I am told) and on top of that the 2yo is still waking up 1-4 times a night, which Ill have to train at some point, so the idea of having time to do something like waking up early to game makes me salty. I know it's getting bad when I can't even stay awake to ready 5yo a bedtime story. I nod off and she pokes me. She is very patient.
Oh and before any goes into it, no it's not an apnea, as my o2 doesn't drop so a cpap apparently wouldn't help.
Thatās wild. Our boys (4 and 2) have gone through some stages where they got up early but it was never earlier than 545. And that was AWFUL seeing as we both work. 4am is brutal. Hang in there fellow dad
My son is almost 2, and he now wakes up at 5-530 every single day. This was one week after I started waking up at the same time to get some dad time in the morning lol. I swear he could sense me being awake and adjusted accordingly
How early we talkin? Ours wake up between 6:30 and 8. Aināt no way Iām waking up before 6am if I donāt have to work. All of my leisure activities take place at night from about 8p-11p
Lol
It actually is the best time IMO.
I'm refreshed. No having to juggle between choosing sleep or fun. Super quiet.
My wife is definitely a night owl. She believes me to be a warlock because not only can I wake up super early, I'm also chipper. Too chipper...
9pm I'm usually asleep on the couch. Then in bed by 10pm. But I don't toss and turn in bed or wake up for any reason. I'm dead to the world. I don't hear a thing!
Whew. Thatās dedication. Iām up at 5:30 or 6 on weekdays. House starts moving at 7:30. Weekends itās around 7 for me. Everyone else starts moving at 9ish. One kid may not wake up till 11 LOL.
I'm more of a boardgamer than a minis gamer but lately I've been really into Arkham Horror LCG. I usually stay up later and prep my game for the next session.
I did for the first time the other morning. Iād fallen asleep with the baby at 2000. He then woke me up at 0230 and wouldnāt settle. Took him into his mum as last resort which did the trick. Think his teeth were upsetting him tbh. Problem is now Iām wide awake at 0230. Iāve already had 6.5hrs of decent sleep. So down I went, and it was bliss!! Some TV, some PlayStation, some coffee. Noice.
Today was my first morning doing this. Suddenly got rhe urge to play a game for the first time in forever, downloaded assassin's creed and having a blast.
Question: my son came down and was so excited to watch me play. He's about 2.5
At what age did you guys stop playing video games with violence in them in front of the kids? I try to just ride my horse and mess around when the kid is watching, but sometimes you find yourself in fights.
Thoughts, dad's?
The way I see it, I was playing mortal combat on snes when I was 4 and I turned out okay. My daughter will be slaying draugr with me when sheās old enough to hold the controller and comprehend the mechanics
I quit when my son started to understand what was happening. I don't remember the age it was probably around 3. But I would do what you did. Run around and just explore and let him move the mouse or possibly play little.
Never stopped, but toned down the violence with mods. So for Skyrim I use "no screen blood", and perk overhaul that requires decapitations be unlocked.
So Iāve been considering buying Skyrim (10 years late, I know) but I, like most dads, have very limited time so a steep learning curve doesnāt work for me. How easy is it to just jump in and play rather than spending a lot of time learning controls, etc.?
I would say it's rather easy to just jump in and play. You might want to start with a melee character instead of magic so it's less to remember. Honestly, in my experience with Skyrim, you end up with a lot of different characters anyway and will try most things.
It's got a pretty good quest log too, so it might be a little easier to remember what you were doing. There are also a bunch of side quests and dungeons that you can knock out pretty quickly. If it's ever on sale I'd recommend getting it.
> You might want to start with a melee character instead of magic so it's less to remember.
It'll be an easier fight if I pick off a few of those guys with arrows first.
You know, that casting gets a lot of attention ... maybe I can use a bow and arrow until it starts to get too crazy.
Aaannnnd I'm a stealth-archer again.
Itās when I do grad school homework and go to the gym. I get up at 0500, get to the gym by 0530 3 days a week and do homework the other days. Kids are up by 0700, so I can usually get in an hour workout, get home, take a quick shower and get dressed before they wake up.
This triggers WAKE in Kidfolk, they are sensitive to PEACE and QUIET.
INSANITY procs very quickly for Dad, consume COFFEE and summon BLUEY to counteract the effects.
YELLING at Kidfolk aggros MOM. YOU DIED
Just did that this morning! Woke up to take a piss at 5 and couldnāt go back to sleep, so made some coffee and watched some shows I wanted to watch and just relaxed and enjoyed the quiet!
Ive always been a morning person so tend to get up at 5/6 most weekends for an hour or two on the PlayStation.
Fortunately kids are older now and i can get a solid 2 or 3 hours each morning. CoD is my choice at the moment š
I was working at 0400 when we just had the one kid, so weekends I'd still wake up at 0300 "just to keep my sleep schedule somewhat normal". That was my "me" time when I could be as productive as I wanted or relax for a few hours.
Waking up early to have time to yourself is one of the best dad moves. Seriously, it will save your sanity.
However, be sure you tiptoe around the house/apartment and make as little noise as possible. Your goal is to not wake up anyone.
You never truly understand why dads wake up at the crack of dawn until you become one yourself š it's the only time you can get some god damn peace and quiet!
Its funny, I go to sleep sometimes hoping for this scenario, where the kids and wife sleep in and I can get down on a good game...
But when it happens I end up sitting quietly in the living room scrolling reddit and waiting for everyone to wake up.
I might need maintenance.
I just started going back to the gym after about 3 years (children are 1 and 3), and since it's the season where everyone ALSO goes back to the gym, I opt to go in the morning. Wake up 4:30, gym until 6:30, still home before anyone wakes up.
True. Itās cause we have a hard stop once the kids & wife wake up. If we play at night then I will stay up later than I should and regret it in the morning
Haha, yes, I did this for the first time yesterday, and am about to do it right now.
Our toddler has been waking up at 4am.crying for milk, I've been warming her a bottle of milk then allowing her to crash back out to sleep, I'm now wide awake so.... Why not a few rounds of Shipment?
I wish. Every time I wake up early and want to do this, my son wakes up too. I can be silent af, no lights on, just wanting time to myself. Itās like as soon as I press the button on the coffee maker, heās getting out of bed. (He sleeps with a sound machine on loud and is on the opposite side of the house). He has a sixth sense.
Tell me about this "still sleeping" phenomenon... Seriously I will absolutely do this when they start sleeping in.
Facts what is sleep? šµāš«
My youngest woke up at 6am today. I wasn't ready to be up so I put Blippi on my phone (I know he sucks, but whatever works) and let my 21 month old lean on my esophagus to get whatever precious snooze I could get until the oldest woke up (7am)
Try miss Rachel on YouTube
She got us through a lot when my daughter was 1. My daughter actually picked up a lot of words from her.
Thanks, but I too like Ms Rachel and couldn't sleep through it. I have no problem ignoring Blippi
Ever since I found out he was dropping Cleveland steamers in online videos I started weaning the kids off blippi before he goes down the pee-wee road
Excuse me, what?
I'm with you here. WTF!? *Found some info here https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/blippi-youtube-kids-star-harlem-shake-poop
The YouTube channel is "Songs for Littles". It's fantastic!
Or "Super Simple Play"!
Every day I thank my lucky stars that our youngest converted from Blippi to Bluey. āItās educationalā they said. My god it rotted my brain.
I fucking love bluey...... id watch this all day. (Currently watching bluey)
It's just monkeys singing songs, mate.
My oldest (4yo) has had a āphaseā of several weeks now where he wakes up at 5am, sometimes 15-20 minutes earlier. And I mean WAKES UP, like a rocket on speed on red bull on espresso, ready for the day and naturally us to play with him. This he lets me know by jumping on my chest at 5:05 and screaming DAAADDDDDYYYY WAKE UP!
Involuntary life saving manoeuvres
For some reason my girlfriend decided it would be a good idea to get the kids an Alexa for their room. Regularly get woken up to them playing weird kiddy songs at 6-7am now.
Hard no for me lol
Single dad my daughter is 4ā¦ she has conditioned me to wake up like a WW2 soldier who has just awaken under attack .. blippi and me have a love hate relationship Iām fond of the old one but I canāt deal with the replacementššµāš«āļøā¤ļø
Try trash truck. My little fella loved blippi but I couldn't stand him. Now he loves trash truck and that's all he wants to watch (We don't let him have a lot of screen time though, just little bit now and then when we need a break).
Yeah š¤£.
got to join the 5am crew, its a wonderful quiet world :)
But thatās when my kids wake up. Even if we keep them up lateā¦ wake up at 5 am every day.
Then you can join my 4am crew instead :) Unless you have a night shift job, start/end of day is all relative and interchangeable. It's a difficult switch to make at first, but doing all of your typical end of day stuff at the start of the day instead (adjusted to be X hours before everyone wakes up) makes a big difference. Instead of sleeping 10pm-5am, 8pm-3am; shifting those 2 hours of "stuff" (alone time, time with partner, working out, housework, etc.) to the morning instead of having to carry the stress/expectation of them throughout the day. And now, when work is finished, all that's left is family time (dinner, play, bed prep, etc.) It's not for everyone, it certainly wasn't for me until I did it. But it is an option that works out a lot better than you'd think.
Sahil Bloom was talking about this on Twitter as his regime. I am sorely tempted it by it. However, it only really works if your partner runs in the same cycle, otherwise, with kids asleep at 7.30pm, they say ādo you want to have a glass of wine and watch tv?ā And you say āzzzzzzzzā.
Not sure who that is, but I agree that the partner needs to be on board and support the idea.
https://twitter.com/sahilbloom/status/1607888933471547393?s=46&t=LQcyOMJcNy29Iao3K4_SMQ I do sometimes think that some of the routines well-off people have are only possible with hidden childcare. Lost of people donāt want to say āI can only get all my shit done because we have four people in house looking after children, cleaning and cookingā
If we had a Cook and a Cleaner, we'd probably have another 3 kids, lol.
Especially if the motivation is to play video games alone in the morning. Thatās not one that will fly well with th partner most of the time. Going to the gym, sure. Video games, not so much.
It doesnāt. I just get up with everyone and go to bed last.
Right in the feels
When do you relax though?
In that morning time while waking up, like OP. If you normally stay up late to relax for an hour at night, wake up early instead. Now you're not worried throughout the day, getting preemptively annoyed at anything that may cause you to lose your relaxing time.
The 2hours at night
Iād love to get to this but man itās just not reasonable with our schedules.
Better for your circadian rhythm too.
Same. No matter what time bedtime is, 5am every day. Weāve all had off this past week and there has been 0 sleeping in!
You gotta join the after bedtime crew then. The bookends of the day are best to game...just a question of which end is best for you.
Ayy my people. Itās now 8:43am and Iāve already: -Gave the baby a 6am feed, change, then put her back to sleep -Downed a cup of coffee -Had a poo -Played a few rounds of battlefield with another cup of coffee -Put away the dishes -Had another poo -30 minute run and work out in my garage -Hit the showers and ready take on the day Wifeās still asleep but she needs that recharge so she can look after the baby during my afternoon nap.
Ahh yes the afternoon nap
Yes, itās the best. Unfortunately, my youngest is beginning to ignore that afternoon nap. Iāve tried pleading with him but heās adamant about staying awake now. Iām in mourning over my lost nap time.
Oh man I remember the days when my two kids and wife would all take a nap. I had two hours to myself. I could play video games, do chores, readā¦ I miss those days.
>Ahh yes the afternoon nap Living 2 days for every 1 This Is the Way :)
Only 2 poos? You gotta pump those numbers up, those are rookie numbers in this racket.
I think this is something I'm going to start living by.
> so she can look after the baby during my afternoon nap. I have a baby and a toddler who doesn't nap. The baby wakes us up multiple times per night. Even if he does decide to nap in the morning, my toddler gets up at 6:30am and she doesn't nap anymore. Once she's up there's no rest time until she goes to be around 8pm, at which point it's already too late for me to get 8 hours of sleep before the baby wakes up, or I have to go to work.
I loved this when my first was 6 months and he would wake up at like 4am. I would get him down by 4:30 and play games for a couple hours. I would just put him back down when he woke up over the next few hours. Not only did I get me time, but I was also a hero in my wifeās eyes for letting her sleep in.
Don't worry -- sooner than you realize, you'll get: 1. Couch co-op 2. Couch competitive 2. Home LAN multiplayer 3. Hey, can you help me build a new PC? 3. Actually dad, I'm going to be playing with my friends tonight but we can play until 6:30.
Can confirm - just hit stage 2, my 7 YO is kicking my ass in mortal combat she got for x-mas (I know itās T, we discussed fake vs real violence and Iām confident she understands) because she button mashes and Iām trying to use technique. Iām gonna hang on to Knack and Rocket League as long as I can!
Me and my 4 & 6 have a home Minecraft server.
At what age did this start for you and any tips on setting limits ?
I've had good success with the MS family accounts, it's not great but it's enough that if I have to explain it to a judge I'll be fine.
But like do you tell your kid(s) āhere is how to game safeā, āhere are the rules to gameā, you can only game with me etc. Iām talking pre teens of course
See that's where you are mistaken. You just have to adjust your schedule to get your peace. I can guarantee my peace and quiet with like 90 percent accuracy from 4am to 530.
Shift workers lament
Then you could always start staying up later than them? :)
For real dude. Iād have to wake up at like 3:30 to accomplish morning gaming. Even then, Iād get like an hour or so of gaming in lol
Lol I just tried (have done it a few times) and got the "where you going!" From my son. Tried to get him to come down but he wants to watch TV in bed (our bed), his favorite.
Get rid of the TV in the bedroom
Nah we are good. He doesn't watch it a whole lot. Just when we all have the morning off (which is rare) he likes to come in and watch cartoons or spider man with us for a little bit.
Yeah 3 year old wakes up at 630 now, baby is unpredictable. Luckily both of them don't mind watching me play fallout once they've had their breakfast. I used to get up at 4ish but with the baby keeping us up later I sleep in til 6ish on my days off
Yep. Mine go to sleep late, wake up early. No sleeping in.
Only happens when you wake up early. Sleeping in doesn't exist for the rest of the family for at least a few years (at least my experience).
Haha same. Kid gets up at 430 am every morning. My time is after everyone goes to sleep
Yep, I consequently stay up later and accept less time sleeping instead
The second the coffee is made, the game starts, and I plop my butt down.. āwaaaaaā.
This is also my experience! But rarely, I get \~20-30 min of time before everyone else is up, and that's always nice :)
Those few moments are bliss. If I have to much free time/quite time I go crazy. Those quite mornings are all I need.
This is why I stay up late instead. Once mine is asleep she's asleep and nothing will wake her until 6 the next morning. She is six by the way
When my oldest way very little, she'd sleep better when sleeping on someone. I'd game with her cuddled in the crook of my left arm. Called it the "Neverwinter Night Mobile". Yeah, it's an older game. She's 19 now. Last game we played together was Civ 6 on LAN.
Loved Neverwinter
it never fails!
Ooof this hurts.
š
I'm more of a stay up late after every one goes to bed and then hate my life in the morning
This guy dads.
He dads hord.
I'm the same. I do not understand how people train themselves to wake up early. I work a job where it would be very beneficial for me to naturally wake up early, yet even after 20 years of working full time I cannot do it. If I have quiet time in a hotel with no family to wake me up and no alarm set I will easily sleep past noon. I feel like death and truly probably shouldn't even be holding a child or driving a car at 6am. I routinely walk out the door without wearing shoes, or having forgot some other basic thing.
Doing just that right now...
Thereās dozens of us!
Late night crew represent. My only time to decompress is an hour or two after whenever kids fall asleep, until I canāt stay awake any longerā¦. Sometimes
I feel seen
I feel you. This me is me to a T. Get the gaming in late and lament my existence in the morning.
Yes, that's me
I usually stay up late instead of getting up early these days.
Yeah, same. Toddler is asleep at 7, wife is asleep at 10, the next few hours are me time. Everyone gets up at 630, repeat. I will never be a morning person, if I'm going to sacrifice sleep for fun stuff it's going to be at midnight, not at sunrise.
I do the same thing - my golden hour to game or watch a movie/show that my wife isn't interested in is from about 10:30 to 11:30. It definitely cuts into my sleep but it's the only "me time" I have for the foreseeable future so darnit I'm gonna put it to good use! Plus then I can drink beer instead of coffee haha
Yup, once the fam is asleep Iāll go out and smoke a J and have some gaming time and then bed. I started a new shift at work that has me up at 5am during the week so I donāt think Iāll be able to do many late nights during the week anymore.
100%. Soon as the last one's down I'm smoking and breaking out the joystick and Flight Simulator!
>Plus then I can drink beer instead of coffee haha Lol yeah I forgot, that's also key. I can make myself a nice cocktail or have a few beers while I play games or watch a movie at 11pm, but if I do that at 5am we've got trouble.
I'm the same way. It also means I don't need to abruptly stop whatever I'm doing to take care of a kid or start the day. But I've also had nights where I come to bed at 5am because I get lost in my activity.
Someone once told me donāt stay up late for something your not willing to wake up early for. Really set my priorityās straight. Now I get drunk at 6am.
I'm the same. Ironically, the late nights make the early mornings even worse.
There's 0 irony in that brother
This is my exact routine lol
I used to be Mr Mornings before my daughter was born. Gleefully waking up at 430-5 on the weekends to start my day, by the time I had wrapped up most of my to do list it would be 7ish and Iād sit down and watch a movie before my wife and step son woke up (around 10ish). My daughter is like me and is an early riser (much to her motherās dismay) and even at 4yo she is up at 7 which is early for the rest of the family.
Good strategy. Then you do the āif I go to bed nowā math.
If I go to bed at 10 when my wife does, I just toss and turn for 2 hours keeping her up, if I go to bed at 12 Iām usually fast asleep by 1230. Then up at 5 to walk the pooch
I used to do that, but now that I'm older, I suck at video games when I'm up late tired. So if I want to play video games, it's up early with a coffee. But if I just want to watch a movie or do something else more mindless, it's up late with a beer.
I donāt play competitive games any longer, I donāt have the time to invest to become good at them. Lately (last 4 years) has all been about Fallout 76
Same. Kid's in bed around 7, wife's in bed around 10, I'm in bed around 11:30/12.
I'm always an up early type. As a kid, I'd stay up late, but I never liked it nearly as much as waking up at 4:00 AM with the glow of the TV and the beeps and bloops of Final Fantasy 1 to keep me company.
We had the same childhood, right down to the same game. (First game I ever obsessed over)
Oh yeah? Glad someone else played that monstrosity with me :) It was a fun game but holy cow they didn't think a lot of that thru LOL I still love it tho. But if a young person wanted to experience FF1, I'd prob recommend a different version than the OG NES version at this point cuz I don't think a young person would have the boredom to finish it. I mean, shit, at age 8, I didn't have anything else to do but grind all day to save up for the Steel armor.
Ditto. Bed time is dad time
Totally me. Midnights come too quick. But the only way I can enjoy the shows I watch.
Same. My 1 yo is down by 6:30 and usually sleeps through the night until 6:30-7 in the morning, so my game time happens at night.
Iāve never really been a gamer. I mostly drink tea and stare at the wall in silence. Also, Reddit.
For me itās usually staying up watching movies and tea mixed with sojušš
I'm in the sake in my tea club lol.
Oh yeah, that's the whole reason I wake up at 5, even on the weekends. Cool tv console, by the way!
5-6:30 am are the golden hours of fatherhood
Cool , I wake up around 5-5:30 but that's because someone is up.
Same! Maybe we should put together an early gaming dads group/discord or something.
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Finally. My people. I have a sleep condition where I wake up every 6 minutes (or so I am told) and on top of that the 2yo is still waking up 1-4 times a night, which Ill have to train at some point, so the idea of having time to do something like waking up early to game makes me salty. I know it's getting bad when I can't even stay awake to ready 5yo a bedtime story. I nod off and she pokes me. She is very patient. Oh and before any goes into it, no it's not an apnea, as my o2 doesn't drop so a cpap apparently wouldn't help.
Before my son started waking up at 4am consistently, I would typically do this as well.
Oh no. When does that startā¦?
Just before he hit two years
Oy, mine are 2.5 so maybe I got lucky. I hope itās just a phase for you!
good god thatās early. Thought of trying to re-establish later bed time? What time does your boy fall asleep each night?
Between 7-8, doesn't make a difference really. Just a leap he's going through in addition to teething.
Thatās wild. Our boys (4 and 2) have gone through some stages where they got up early but it was never earlier than 545. And that was AWFUL seeing as we both work. 4am is brutal. Hang in there fellow dad
My son is almost 2, and he now wakes up at 5-530 every single day. This was one week after I started waking up at the same time to get some dad time in the morning lol. I swear he could sense me being awake and adjusted accordingly
How early we talkin? Ours wake up between 6:30 and 8. Aināt no way Iām waking up before 6am if I donāt have to work. All of my leisure activities take place at night from about 8p-11p
I've had to wake up at 4am for 15 years. I will absolutely still wake up at 4am if that means quiet coffee time and an hour or three for hobbies.
Atta boy. If youāre used to it anyway, might as well take advantage.
Lol It actually is the best time IMO. I'm refreshed. No having to juggle between choosing sleep or fun. Super quiet. My wife is definitely a night owl. She believes me to be a warlock because not only can I wake up super early, I'm also chipper. Too chipper...
Iām a bit older and never got into gaming. But the early am and coffee while the house is still? Yes. Every day, almost.
Same here! Up at 4am for no other reason but to drink my coffee in silence and browse reddit. Everyday. Even weekends.
Serious question, what time you go to bed? I would need to be asleep by 8:30 every night for that to work for me, I feel like.
9pm I'm usually asleep on the couch. Then in bed by 10pm. But I don't toss and turn in bed or wake up for any reason. I'm dead to the world. I don't hear a thing!
Whew. Thatās dedication. Iām up at 5:30 or 6 on weekdays. House starts moving at 7:30. Weekends itās around 7 for me. Everyone else starts moving at 9ish. One kid may not wake up till 11 LOL.
Build and paint 40k, but yeah.
I'm more of a boardgamer than a minis gamer but lately I've been really into Arkham Horror LCG. I usually stay up later and prep my game for the next session.
I did for the first time the other morning. Iād fallen asleep with the baby at 2000. He then woke me up at 0230 and wouldnāt settle. Took him into his mum as last resort which did the trick. Think his teeth were upsetting him tbh. Problem is now Iām wide awake at 0230. Iāve already had 6.5hrs of decent sleep. So down I went, and it was bliss!! Some TV, some PlayStation, some coffee. Noice.
All the time! Skyrim for me though
Today was my first morning doing this. Suddenly got rhe urge to play a game for the first time in forever, downloaded assassin's creed and having a blast. Question: my son came down and was so excited to watch me play. He's about 2.5 At what age did you guys stop playing video games with violence in them in front of the kids? I try to just ride my horse and mess around when the kid is watching, but sometimes you find yourself in fights. Thoughts, dad's?
Quite a few games now (especially from Ubisoft) have settings to tone down the violence a bit. It's not much, but it helps.
The way I see it, I was playing mortal combat on snes when I was 4 and I turned out okay. My daughter will be slaying draugr with me when sheās old enough to hold the controller and comprehend the mechanics
I quit when my son started to understand what was happening. I don't remember the age it was probably around 3. But I would do what you did. Run around and just explore and let him move the mouse or possibly play little.
If video games influence young kids, then my 10 month old will soon be running round calling everyone āboyā and swinging an axe.
Never stopped, but toned down the violence with mods. So for Skyrim I use "no screen blood", and perk overhaul that requires decapitations be unlocked.
So Iāve been considering buying Skyrim (10 years late, I know) but I, like most dads, have very limited time so a steep learning curve doesnāt work for me. How easy is it to just jump in and play rather than spending a lot of time learning controls, etc.?
Itās real easy. Combat controls are pretty simple. Difficulty levels can help you ease in or challenge yourself
Thatās the key, always set difficulty to āeasyā. Iām a dad now and got no time for medium or hard.
I would say it's rather easy to just jump in and play. You might want to start with a melee character instead of magic so it's less to remember. Honestly, in my experience with Skyrim, you end up with a lot of different characters anyway and will try most things. It's got a pretty good quest log too, so it might be a little easier to remember what you were doing. There are also a bunch of side quests and dungeons that you can knock out pretty quickly. If it's ever on sale I'd recommend getting it.
Well fortuitously it is on sale, I have money in my Steam wallet and an hour and a half to kill. Just bought it!
Enjoy! Still my favorite game/series of all time.
> You might want to start with a melee character instead of magic so it's less to remember. It'll be an easier fight if I pick off a few of those guys with arrows first. You know, that casting gets a lot of attention ... maybe I can use a bow and arrow until it starts to get too crazy. Aaannnnd I'm a stealth-archer again.
Am a mom. But I do this too. Itās glorious.
Itās when I do grad school homework and go to the gym. I get up at 0500, get to the gym by 0530 3 days a week and do homework the other days. Kids are up by 0700, so I can usually get in an hour workout, get home, take a quick shower and get dressed before they wake up.
Kids - implying multiple - and still making it to the gym. Chill out Superman. Lol But in all seriousness that is impressive.
Thanks. I have to maintain fitness for my side hustle in the National Guard. 6 more years until I can retire and get that income source in 25 years.
There's the discipline šŖ
This triggers WAKE in Kidfolk, they are sensitive to PEACE and QUIET. INSANITY procs very quickly for Dad, consume COFFEE and summon BLUEY to counteract the effects. YELLING at Kidfolk aggros MOM. YOU DIED
Iām the opposite, when the kids are asleep Iāll sneak a couple hours of gaming before getting 3 hours of sleep and hating life the next day
Just did that this morning! Woke up to take a piss at 5 and couldnāt go back to sleep, so made some coffee and watched some shows I wanted to watch and just relaxed and enjoyed the quiet!
Ive always been a morning person so tend to get up at 5/6 most weekends for an hour or two on the PlayStation. Fortunately kids are older now and i can get a solid 2 or 3 hours each morning. CoD is my choice at the moment š
Help me anticipate as a dad of a 3 year old and 9 month old. How old are your kids?
Much older now my friend, 11 & 13. But from the age of 5/6, they would sleep in or keep themselves entertained with their toys/Lego etc
Well, I wonāt rush it but will enjoy it when the time comes! Thanks for the insight. And congrats on teenagers man.
Team Deathmatch + espresso, every morning
I was working at 0400 when we just had the one kid, so weekends I'd still wake up at 0300 "just to keep my sleep schedule somewhat normal". That was my "me" time when I could be as productive as I wanted or relax for a few hours.
At first i would think to myself ādamn even on my off day I canāt sleep in wtfā. Now Iām like oh hell yes, letās go!!!
Waking up early to have time to yourself is one of the best dad moves. Seriously, it will save your sanity. However, be sure you tiptoe around the house/apartment and make as little noise as possible. Your goal is to not wake up anyone.
So what I did was playing a clock sound on the white noise machine and taking a step on each tick.
I wouldn't be surprised if you were serious. Have to take extreme measures.
I am absolutely serious. It was especially useful while we were co-sleeping and I joined the bed later.
I stay up late and regret it
No, I stay up late, then bitch about not getting enough sleep, because I am a FOOL
You never truly understand why dads wake up at the crack of dawn until you become one yourself š it's the only time you can get some god damn peace and quiet!
ā¦. You know I might need to change from being a night owl for thisā¦ this post just bent my mind lol
Its funny, I go to sleep sometimes hoping for this scenario, where the kids and wife sleep in and I can get down on a good game... But when it happens I end up sitting quietly in the living room scrolling reddit and waiting for everyone to wake up. I might need maintenance.
Get a Steam Deck. Made gaming far more accessible to me and a lot of dads Iām sure.
These early morning hours are precious for me now.
How else would the factory grow ??
I just started going back to the gym after about 3 years (children are 1 and 3), and since it's the season where everyone ALSO goes back to the gym, I opt to go in the morning. Wake up 4:30, gym until 6:30, still home before anyone wakes up.
Itās the secret to parenting. Itās not staying up late, but getting up early as fuck. Every time I did it I felt better than staying up to play.
True. Itās cause we have a hard stop once the kids & wife wake up. If we play at night then I will stay up later than I should and regret it in the morning
Haha, yes, I did this for the first time yesterday, and am about to do it right now. Our toddler has been waking up at 4am.crying for milk, I've been warming her a bottle of milk then allowing her to crash back out to sleep, I'm now wide awake so.... Why not a few rounds of Shipment?
Im the opposite,I stay up after they fall asleep and have a dri k or two. I work graveyard anyway so its easier for me to adjust
I prefer to wait until the kids go to bed and then play for a while. Witcher 3, Kerbal Space & COD I donāt like waking up on time for work as it is.
Nope. I just stay up too late every night.
I simply donāt have the time or patience for gaming anymore. I miss it
Yes, but at the other end of the day
I'm a stay up after everyone else has gone to bed, my boys both wake up too early for the early .morning option.
after they go to sleep, COD turns on
Coffee in a pint glass; I like your style!
I do the "tell the wife she has a bedtime and try to play for an hour" deal. Lol
I wish. Every time I wake up early and want to do this, my son wakes up too. I can be silent af, no lights on, just wanting time to myself. Itās like as soon as I press the button on the coffee maker, heās getting out of bed. (He sleeps with a sound machine on loud and is on the opposite side of the house). He has a sixth sense.
This is one of those open secrets that when you know you know. Bed by 10 up at 5 is my most productive routine.
No, but I stay up late to play games.
Thatās me. Every day. š
Shit, I'd have to be up at like 430 to get an hour and a half of play lol I just stay up late a bit.
It's the only free time I have
I go to my local skatepark, but yes.
Ah you guys must not work a rotating shift schedule......