Hotel Sleep

My kids are not great sleepers but we have traveled since they were infants (now 2 and 4) but keeping to their routine and allowing them to come into mommy and daddys bed if needed has worked well. Also, we go into the bathroom if needed while the kids settle down...bring a portable dvd, or jsut have some romantic 1:1 time ;)

They probably won't sleep well. Your oldest might, but the 3 year old probably won't. You just have to be prepared that they will be up later than their normal bedtime and probably up earlier than their usual wake up time. Isn't that what vacation is for?! ;) Just take their cuddle objects, if they have them and improvise as you go.

Leaving children that young alone in a hotel is totally unacceptable. Would you leave them home alone? I'm betting not. They would have absolutely NO CLUE what to do if there was an emergency. What if they woke up scared while you were at the sauna? It would be a disaster.

This is a FAMILY vacation, which means you have to do everything as a family. If you want the freedom to go to the sauna, leave the kddos at home and have a romantic get away with your husband.

I'm confused by your question about leaving them alone, what does (supposed to be sleeping) mean?? Are you planning on leaving them even if they might not be all the way asleep? That's just crazy to me, your PP are correct, your kids are way too young to be alone in a hotel room and wouldn't know what to do if they woke and found mommy and daddy gone. I have a 9 yr old I wouldn't feel safe for one second leaving alone in a hotel room! IF you choose to do a family vaca with kids then plan on doing EVERYTHING with the kids, if you want alone time with hubby then make sure you get a sitter first and then you can have all the sauna time you need. Vacationing with kids is no different then being in a new place but still having the same responsibilities you would at home. You'll still find yourself up late at night trying to get everyone settled down and yes it may be hard especially for the 3 yr old to sleep in a new place. If it's that important for you to get use of the sauna, please have your husband stay behind with the kids so you can get some relaxation time in. You will be safe in the sauna alone, your kids will not be safe in a hotel room all alone.

I have a friend who lets her oldest bring a sleeping bag and sleep in the bathtub. Then he gets his own space and it's a great adventure! (just don't flush when you have to get up to pee in the middle of the night!)

I agree with the other posters. Sorry, it's a pain, but no leaving the room. Once the little one's asleep you can watch TV.

We just got back from vacation -- my husband slept with our 2 year old and I slept with with our 4 year old and it worked great. I agree about bringing familiar items, but be absolutely sure to get them out of the bed in the morning. If they get wrapped up with the sheets when housekeeping cleans the room, they're probably gone for good. We learned that the hard way.

leaving kids alone in a hotel room sounds not only illegal, but crazy.. you never know what can happen in a strange place. Adjacent rooms is ok as long as you stay in the second room...

we split up when we travel, I sleep with one kid, hubby sleeps with the other. seems to make it easier on them.. not us, but them. We ONLY do that then, we never sleep with them otherwise so it works great.

We just got back from a hotel vacation with our 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old. It went much better than expected. They were completely exhausted from all the day's activities, so they crashed at about 8/8:30 each night. The only downside was that my husband and I went to bed at the same time as the kids (not so bad for me...I'm pregnant and loved getting 11 hours of sleep each night!!!).

We had one room with 2 double beds. We had my 2 year old in a pack and play and my 3 year old slept in my bed. She loved it! My husband got the bed to himself!

I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them alone in the room, but mine are much younger than yours. I would worry if someone woke up and was in an unfamiliar place and would be scared.

We kept the same bedtime routine as home...bath, stories, bed. I would recommend bringing some familar things from your child's bed...a sheet/blanket or pillow, stuffed animal or lovey, or something from home. We forgot to bring my 2 year old's Barney doll and he kept asking for it. We felt bad that we forgot his favorite bedtime thing.

Good luck, have fun, and don't worry too much about it! If you don't make a big deal out of it, hopefully they won't either. We were pleasantly surprised (our kids are not known to be good sleepers!).

Hello,

So as a mom of 3, ages 7 1/2, 3 1/2, and almost 10 months old, I would first tell you to make sure to set your expectations very low on the sleeping front. Do not expect that you children will go to bed when they are suppose to or easily. I would never leave my small children alone unattended in a hotel room whether I was in the hotel or not, there are too many "what ifs." Just try to keep your at home routine as similar while being away as possible. Bring whatever night time items they use or have including a music item if that is what they have.

Try your best to enjoy it, bed time being away from home is pretty tough, our kids have gotten better each trip we take and thankfully 2 out of my 3 kiddos are pretty adaptable and sleep pretty much anywhere it's our middle child that will fight the sleep and keep going like the energizer bunny but eventually she always falls asleep. :)

Best of luck

I can't believe that you would even post a question about leaving your 7&3 year olds alone in a strange place ( or anywhere for that matter) while you go to enjoy the sauna. This is not only irresponsible as someone else said it is probably illegal. Why don't you skip the "family" vacation and get a sitter so you can have some alone time, it sounds like that is really what your after.

I am not sure what will work best for you to get your children to sleep, we usually let our boys (4 and 6) watch tv when stuck in a hotel. We just got home yesterday from a 3 week stay in one (we are military and this is normal for us). But you can not leave them in the room and go use the pool/sauna unless they are old enough to babysit themselves while awake, that would be the same as leaving them alone at home while you went out to dinner. What would happen if the 3 year old woke up and could not find you, and went wondering around the hotel crying for you and found someone else instead?

I'm sorry but I can't believe you even posted the question of "whats the thought/feeling of leaving sleeping kids in the room alone if we are still in the hotel?"
Really! They are 3 and 7, that's child endangerment for exactly what the others have said. What if they wake up and wander out of the room? You
don't know what could happen being in a strange place.
We have a hot tub at our house and will go in it while the kids are sleeping but they are asleep and in our house AND we always bring the monitor so we can hear if they wake up and need us.
Call the place you are going and see if they have babysitting services.

As for them sleeping in a strange place, bring the items they always sleep with (pillows, blankets, stuffed animals). That will help.

We have 4, so we usually have to get 2 rooms and my husband and I divide up with the kids. We've never left ours alone, other then to step right out the door. We brought a babysitter with us when we wanted alone time. We even paid for a room for a babysitter and kids when we only had 2 kids. Now, when I would get ice or something, they would all be in one room and I would go over the rules about not opening the door (my oldest 2 are 10 and 7). As for getting them to sleep, we lay down the law as soon as we arrive. And they always have a stuffed animal of their own from home.

Let them bring their own personal blanket. We just stayed in a hotel and the blanket was rather worn and hard. I wished I had my own, as that blanket kept brushing against my face and it was a bit scratchy. No choice of hotels where we went, so it was probably the original blanket from the get-go.

You can't leave your children in the room unattended while you go to the sauna. They are both too young to be left alone. They would be clueless in the event of an emergency, as their emergency lessons have been minimal and their reactions are probably less. Further, as you mention they are in a strange place and may not sleep well. What will they do if they wake up in this strange place you are not there to answer their call. That would traumatize them.

If you are really busy during the day, the 3yr. old should fall asleep easily with her blankie or lovey from home. The older one should then be able to go to sleep later in the same bed. Maybe Dad could take him for a snack or ice cream while you settle her down. As for leaving them alone, I don't think that's wise. You wouldn't leave them alone at home at this age. Too many things can happen, even if it's only a drunk banging on the wrong door. Some hotels have a sitter service, which you can find out before you go. If not, plan on some snuggle time with Dad, but not much else.

Utilize the hotel pool and wear them out...swimming is exhausting and lots of fun...nighttime swimming is always a fun adventure...and then maybe you could use the sauna then too?

Me personally, I would not leave children that age alone in a hotel room, sorry.