Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I hear and agree with those of you saying that it is a great thing that dad wants to spend time with the kids but come on....just because he misses the kids or doesn't see them much does NOT mean their routines and schedules should be interupted in order to give dad what he wants.
What happened to doing what is best for the kids? Not what is best for dad or mom? The routine the kids need, the proper sleep the kids need etc is way more important than dad missing his kids. If he honestly misses them then instead of mom having to suck up the slack and dealing with ornery crabby kids why can't dad schedule one day a week off or to take off early and spend some quality time with the kids?
He could also take them on Saturdays and Sundays and do something fun with them. He could also spend the hour each evening he does have with them and bond with them too with bath time, story time, dinner etc.
If mom was not doing daycare, then allowing them to stay up would be another daycare provider's issue and we'd see the complaining going on in the venting thread about parents who keep their kids up too late. 
Dad can make the changes HE needs to make to spend time with the kids and NOT make the kid's routines and schedules messed up just so HE can have what he wants...... I definitely agree that it is important that the kids spend time with dad (and mom) but NOT at the expense of their well-being.
Idk, I still believe very much that it IS in the children's best interests to spend time with a father that wants to spend time with them. If I had a dck that wasn't coming until 10:00 because their bedtime was later, expressly to spend time with their mom or dad, I would love it! I've found that the kids who do stay up later and sleep in later (everyday, not just once in awhile) still sleep at the same nap time as everyone else. They still need the same number of hours of sleep in total as any other kid.
Little ones don't stay little forever, and men (in general) tend to stop trying to do the things that people discourage them from doing.
I've had a couple of kids that would throw fits when their parents came to pick them up at the end of the day. But just because they were crabby about it, I wouldn't say "It's better for them to leave them with me", kwim?
I do understand OP's sentiment. It's harder to deal with cranky kids during the day when you've got 5 more to take care of too. But still, the long-term benefits far outweigh my short-term challenges. JMO
