How about you have the older one read with the younger one, tuck her in and then leave the room? They still get the special bonding time but older kid gets to stay up a bit later. The younger one needs to get used to the idea that privileges increase with age.

My sister and I shared a bedroom for about 10 years and my parents let me read with a light in bed. I loved it and as she got older my sister got to do the same thing. Sounds like a great solution to me!

My own kids are 3 years apart and we do something similar to what op describes. About 30 minutes of stories as a family the. The younger one goes to bed. Older knows he’s allowed to stay up and read and then crawl into bed. They understand (mostly) that the older one does this because he needs less sleep. Works for us.

Anonymous wrote:I have newly 5yo twins and one wakes earlier than the other (also tends to fall asleep a bit quicker and occasionally naps at school while the other never naps). My morning rule is simply that whoever is up first can't wake the other one. So, just let your 7 year old know once she's up she needs to scoot out of the room.

If you want to change on the other end, just let them know routine is changing a bit and 7 year old will be getting some free/alone time while 4 year old gets one on one story time.

Sadly, this may be a PITA for you, but they will adjust quickly. We recently had to change bath time ... from shared bath to separate bath or shower. They didn't like the idea but were getting too big, were acting zany, and it was developmentally just time. For me, it's definitely annoying since they both want me to talk to them while they play and it just takes longer. But they adjusted to the routine change fine.)

What does this mean?

I have newly 5yo twins and one wakes earlier than the other (also tends to fall asleep a bit quicker and occasionally naps at school while the other never naps). My morning rule is simply that whoever is up first can't wake the other one. So, just let your 7 year old know once she's up she needs to scoot out of the room.

If you want to change on the other end, just let them know routine is changing a bit and 7 year old will be getting some free/alone time while 4 year old gets one on one story time.

Sadly, this may be a PITA for you, but they will adjust quickly. We recently had to change bath time ... from shared bath to separate bath or shower. They didn't like the idea but were getting too big, were acting zany, and it was developmentally just time. For me, it's definitely annoying since they both want me to talk to them while they play and it just takes longer. But they adjusted to the routine change fine.)

Anonymous wrote:I think you should let your 7 year old read in bed with a small night light for an hour. It might work great. Try it for a week and see.

this. Plus what would the 7 year old be doing if allowed to stay up an hour later anyways? Watching TV? This might encourage them to love reading even more since they'll see it as a privilege.