'I let my son, 6, choose his own bedtime instead of raising kid who can't think for himself'

ok.co.uk:

A mum says she lets her six-year-old son choose when he goes to bed because it helps him learn from his mistakes. Hayley Ambrose, 34, says she's allowed Leyland to dictate his own nap time since he was a baby. "I couldn’t face the hours of bedtime hell if I tried to get him in bed for 7pm," she told The Sun. "If I did try, we both felt exhausted the next day." Hayley, a single mum from Cambridge, says parents might criticise her lack of bedtime rules but some people raise kids who "can't think for themselves". "When it comes to sleep, I have ripped up the parenting rule book," she says. "I can’t face the daily battles of getting my son into bed by a set time so I let him decide." She continues: "It’s been that way since he was two and some nights he’s up with me until midnight - even on a school night. "On weekends, he often stays awake until 1am and there have also been times he has fallen asleep on the sofa so I’ve left him there until the next morning." Hayley says letting Leyland decide when he is ready to sleep is "part of growing up and being able to understand his own body".

She insists she's "doing everything right" by her son, who she says doesn’t want her attention in the evenings and instead entertains himself by watching TV or playing in his room.

Hayley says Leyland is performing well at school, has plenty of energy for sports and she does enforce other rules, such as no devices during the week.

The NHS sleep advice for children reads: "Good sleep is important for your child's physical and mental wellbeing. "A relaxing bedtime routine is an important way to help your child get a good night's sleep. "The amount of sleep your child needs changes as they get older.