twins having different sleep needs?

I have a feeling there is not a great solution to this problem, but I'd sure love any input. I have 2 two year olds and a 6 year old. They all go to bed at 7:15 and (theoretically) get up at 6. The 2 year olds nap. Over the past couple of months, it has become clear to me that one of my 2 year old simply needs less sleep than the other one. He has a hard time falling asleep at night, and is often up closer to 5 than 6. We've done pretty well training him to stay in his room by providing rewards for staying in his bed, but he still wakes me up well before 6 frequently, and if not me, he wakes his sister by doing things like trying to sleep in her bed or singing to himself loudly. I do feel badly for him, but I can't imagine how we would go about keeping him up an hour later than his siblings - especially his 6 year old brother! I should mention that my six year old and my other twin very much need the sleep they are getting, and would be monsters with less sleep. We can't limit naps during the week because he is in daycare, but we've stopped napping him on the weekend (this in itself is hard, because my daughter still needs to nap). Any thoughts? Maybe it's just a phase, but it's been going on for a couple of months now. Laura

 

Would it maybe work to keep him up an hour later? That's actually what we did with Sabrina when she was young. Not because of waking up, but she just was a night owl and very very hard to get to sleep (which we later found out is actually quite common among people with her visual disability). That was also during the time when they were sleeping in separate rooms, so it was less of a problem.

 

Just brain storming.. what if you give him a little time to fall asleep and when he didn't go get him. Let him have quiet play for a little while and then back to bed a later.
The negative might be starting a bad habit. The positive would be it wouldn't disturb the other two going to bed and maybe he would sleep later.
Not an easy situation. GL

 

I do have one twin who sometimes has a harder time. After his twin falls asleep I will let him come out with me while I do dishes. He has to sit in a chair in the living room and look at books or play quietly. It is "mommy's time" so he cannot bug me or run around acting crazy. Then after an hour I take him back to bed. It doesn't happen all the time and not even every week so letting him stay up has not created a habit.

I can also speak on the older sibling issue. My brother is 5 years older then me. My mom had me stop naps at 18 months and still put me to bed after my older brother because I simply did not need as much sleep. My brother had to have X amount of sleep. Without it he oculd not function.