There are no wrong ways to sleep in on a Saturday morning. There’s only the prospect of child neglect. For parents, a safe sleeping crib is a magic machine in child-rearing because this legal baby cage isolates the little ball of energy, preventing escape while ensuring the safety of the prisoner. In response, children have evolved a powerful defense against neglect. Crying is kryptonite for parents, something not even tiger moms are immune against. While we’re big advocates for hosting strategic crying ceremonies during sleep training or discipline, we take the kids side when it comes to their calls for sticking to the established schedule.

There are healthy ways to keep your kids content while you catch a few extra ZZZs – and we’re not talking sleep-training. The fact is that you stayed up too late last night and your child didn’t. Sometimes you just need to disregard everything for an extra hour or two for sawing logs – or doing other things with logs which might also require locking the door.

So what happens when parents want to indulge their own schedule while preventing a breakdown? Here’s how to get your child to sleep late in their own bed:

1. Line-up Babysitter – Early morning babysitting comes cheep when contracting neighborhood kids – or free from an older sibling
2. Schedule Morning Activity – A prearranged pickup will allow you to go back to bed
3. Guilt-trip Spouse – Sending in your partner works out great until it backfires
4. Cheerios Garland in Crib – String cereal on non-toxic, breakaway string
5. New Toys – Time to bust out that really annoying toy that keeps your child fascinated for minutes on end
6. TV in Bed – Television as babysitter, when seldom used, can actually be good for the child, too
7. Recorded Stories – Make an audio recording of you or your spouse reading your child’s favorite story
8. Clock Radio – Put a favorite CD into these clever little gadgets and set it for the time when you already know your child wakes up
9. Laser Light Show – These toys are sold on Amazon and it only works once
10. Heard Your Children – Let your kids sleep together for a change and they might end up entertaining each other for a few extra minutes – until they don’t