While most families are winding down for the day by 8 p.m., a mom from Clovis, New Mexico is just getting started.
Stay at home mom Emily Boazman (@emilyboazman) posted what their life as a “night owl family” looks like in a viral clip on TikTok—and it’s left viewers stunned.
Boazman, 35, who shares 9-year-old daughter Crew, 7-year-old daughter Knox and 3-year-old son Keen with husband Jake, 44, a district attorney, usually kicks off the family’s nighttime routine at around 8:45 p.m., after returning from an evening walk.
“I’m the youngest of four girls and our entire life, our family has been night owls,” Boazman told Newsweek. “My parents weren’t very strict about bedtime… [and] I remember pulling all-nighters with my sister frequently. Still to this day, my entire family stays up super late.”
Back at her house just before 9 p.m., Boazman’s husband Jake comes home from basketball and dinner prep begins shortly after.
At 9:26 p.m., the family sits down to eat. There’s post-dinner cleanup, a little basketball highlight watching, hair wrapping for the girls, and finally, a bath and bedtime routine that stretches until nearly 12 a.m.
Once the kids are down, Emily and Jake unwind until almost 1 a.m. But despite the late nights, Emily said her children function just fine during the day.
In the week, the children are homeschooled and the family wakes up by 10:30 a.m.
On a typical morning, Emily will do the housework, make lunch for the family and read to the children while Jake is at court.
“They wake up just fine,” Emily told Newsweek. “I have to tell them to get up a few times but once they’re out of bed, they’re perfect for the rest of the day.”
“I struggle more than they do,” she laughed. “We usually sleep in until 9:30-10:30, but we’ll laze around in bed after waking up and just talk and snuggle.”
Her sisters and their families also live like the Boazman’s, which means the cousins can hang out in the evenings “without anyone worrying about bedtimes”, Emily added.
Emily and Jake explained said the routine works for their family lifestyle and community.
“Everyone around us has this same schedule and it just works to make plans at a later time,” Emily told Newsweek. “Our church friends mainly all go to bed late, our activities—like pickleball and volleyball—are always planned late.”
However, after sharing this insight into their family’s life on TikTok, Emily told Newsweek she was shocked at the reaction online, especially when she shared the same clip on Facebook and Instagram.
“I’ve had a ton of viral videos, [and] I know they will always bring in crazy comments, but this was another level,” she said.
“I was getting DMs from people saying we were abusive parents, that I was a narcissist for forcing my kids to stay awake,” Emily said.
“Not the kid crashing out at 11:46 and hmm I wonder why,” one Facebook user wrote.
Another said the Boazman’s nighttime routine was “not normal” and children need to go to bed at around 9 p.m. “Messing up their bodies natural sleep rythyms.”
“I have never forced them—my kids can go to bed whenever they want,” Emily told Newsweek. “If it’s earlier, and when I say it’s bedtime, they have to go to sleep. They can’t stay up later than me or their dad,” she said.
While Emily acknowledged that their lifestyle is different to most, she’s surprised by how deeply people seem to care.
“I get that people are shocked by it, but that they would care enough when another family they have no connection to, goes to bed…wow,” she said. “So insane.”
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