Bedtime for a Soon to Be 3Rd Grader?

My nine year old stays up until 9 or 10. She's a night owl and has trouble getting to sleep at night so we usually let her stay up and read in her room.

My daughter just finished 3rd grade. Her schedule for the year was 9pm on school nights and 10:30pm for non-school nights. But I do have to add that my daughter is ADHD and takes medications and one of the side effects of the meds is insomnia so she can't go to bed any earlier. She lays there for a while till she falls asleep as it is.

My daughter will be a third grader next year , she is 8. During the school year she went to be at 730pm, read a book until 8pm and ligths out. if we had outdoor activities that day, bedtime was at 7pm and she read until 730pm. she is always up by 6 or 630am.

Now that she is on vacation we let her go to bed at 830pm and read until 9pm (later if we are having movie night). she loves her Harry Potter books so she always wants to read before bedtime. She is thrilled that she goes to bed really late(lol) but still wakes up at 630 or 7am at the latest. she lets us sleep in though, my 1 yer old sleeps until 10am, I wake up at 730 to 8am.

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Mine is a tad bit older at 9 1/2, but she goes to bed at 9pm during the school year and 10pm on the weekends/summer vacation. Both of my kids sleep a little later in the morning (9am) and it's great for me! :)
My 9 year old feels special b/c she gets to stay up later than her sister who's 2, and she generally just watches tv from 9-10 or 8-9.

We let our nine year old stay up later in the summer. During the school year she is in bed at 8:00 and reads until 8:30. At 8:30 she goes to bed. During the summer she goes to bed closer to 9:00/9:30. We try to make sure she still reads 3 or 4 nights a week. In the summer, we let her play more at night and are not as strict about her reading 30 minutes before bed.

Wow. I think people who put their kids to bed at 7pm are missing out on so much with their kids. We like to watch TV as a family, or just chit-chat, after the homework, activities, supper, baths, etc. I think that time where kids can just relax and hang with their family is very important. I have a 10 and an 8 year old. During the school year, we used to shoot for 8:30. Over the past year, we've bumped it to 9 b/c we were too rushed, and they never wanted to hit the sack that early, esp. when that was a daylight hour! We feel lucky if they go down by 9:30 b/c that way hubby and I get a good hour alone together. During the summer, they stay up later and normally go to bed when we do... around 10 or 10:30. They wake up at 7am during the school year and have been sleeping until 8ish this summer. I love every minute I spend with my kids, and I would NEVER send them to bed when the sun is still up, esp. during the summer, when it is still daylight here at 8:30. Live a little-- have fun-- ENJOY childhood!

Hi Michelle,

My just turned eight year old has a "get ready for bed" time at 8:00. This includes jammies, teeth, books (we both read one or a couple of chapters) and then tuck in. I try to have lights out by 8:30 p.m. She is not a good morning person so I am pretty strict with her bed time.

In the past, during summer, I kind of have thrown bedtime out the window. Unfortunatlely it led to some very lazy and unproductive days. It is my goal this summer to keep to the schedule - maybe extend to 9 or 9:30 upon occassion. I would like to be more active instead of wasting the days away.

C.

I'm going to be the odd man out here. My son is 10, during school year it's 9:00-9:30p (this has been his bed time since around 8 y/o), varies depending on sports or school activities. He gets up btwn 7:00-7:30a depending: if he is riding the bus or if I am taking him. Summer he can stay up as late as he wants, that being said, he ususally goes to sleep around 12:30 - 1:30am unless we have plans the next morning early. If so, I just tell him to go to bed at "said time" and he does. We like to sleep in so this works for our summer schedule.

Our soon to be 3rd grade son sleeps for 11-12 hours. So (in the US) we put him to bed 12 hours before we want him up, and if he gets up early... no biggie.

Fall : 9
Winter : 6 (snowboard season M-F, we get home, eat, crash)
Spring : 9
Summer : 9-12

Oddly enough, it works out (in our area) to about an hour after sunset, regardless of the season. Overseas, bedtimes change. He goes to bed around 1-2am in Rome... but he also sleeps for 4 hours in the afternoon in Rome.

My kids go to bed at 8:00 with a lights out by 8:30/8:45 during the school year. They are in 3rd and 4th grade. This gives them time to read and unwind. They do well academically as they are rested and alert. I also feel that it helps their temperament as they can handle situations without falling apart. Weekends they stay up a half hour to an hour later, but come Sunday night they are back to their earlier bedtime. We don't allow TV during the week either as it is a stimulant and makes it more difficult for kids to sleep. It is amazing how much more time we seem to have with the TV turned off.

I agree with Kim C, if I let my kids stay up later then they are grumpy. My kids (ages 12, 7.5 and 2.5) go to their rooms at 8 pm and read until 8:30 pm. They usually get up around 7 am regardless of when they went to bed the night before so I don't let them stay up late unless its for something special. Plus, I think its easier to keep the school time schedule all year and makes it that much smoother of a transition when school starts again in the fall.

I have a 7 1/2 yr old going into 3rd grade in the fall. During the school year she goes to bed between 7:30-8:30 depending on our daily schedules. She is never asleep though before 8:30. She will lay in bed and read or talk to her stuffed animals!

For the summer, I am trying to make it her responsibility to go to bed when she is tired. So far, she has put herself to bed no later than 9. It is still light here at 8:30, so it is harder for her to fall asleep. I will tell her that we have plans the following day at X time, so she needs to make sure she gets enough sleep.

No matter what time she goes to bed, she is alwasy up around 7 am.

Elise will be 8 at the end of summer and go into 3rd grade. Her bedtime is 7:30, give or take 15 minutes. She wakes about 7. During the summer I may let her stay up till 8, but only later if we are doing a family outing that day and there is no way to get home in time.
Her 11 yr old sister has 15 minutes later times, but that has to be spent in her bed reading. In the fall her bedtime will be earlier then her sister cause her school starts at 7:30 a.m. so she'll have to leave at 7 to get there on time.

i guess we are really strict here in our house! our younger son is now 15. during the school year, he is in bed at 8:30, not later than 9. He does have a few nights where he has late basketball practice and doesn't get to bed until after 10. When my kids were in 3rd grade. they were in bed by 8. Summertime, all bets are off! unless he has sports camp in the morning and has to get up at 6. If that is the case, he is typically in bed no later than 9:30.

We have let our boys (4.5 & 8.5 y/o) go to bed as late as 10 pm this summer & they wake up around 7-8 am. They have been so grumpy lately that I'm putting them back onto their school bed time of 7 pm. I'll see how they do. My oldest normally needs 12 hrs, but has not been as grumpy as my youngest. Feel free to be lax on the bedtime if they are not grumpy. Just start up their school bedtime 2-4 weeks before school starts back up so you can adjust it if they need it.
God bless!

Our bedtime for the kids (pre-school & 2nd grade) is 8:30 during the school year also. In the summer though, we usually let them go until 9:30 since they like being outside as long as they possibly can, they are usually pretty worn out by then & ready for bed without a fuss.

When my son was in 3rd grade, it was 7:30 bedtime, but he has always needed a ton of sleep (11 hours at that age). He always is up well before 7am, still. He is 11 now and goes to bed at 8:30 on school nights and 9-9:30 summer/weekends. In order to avoid negotiations, I ask him what night it is and his bedtime, before we start the routine. Every kid is different, but my pediatrician says regularly that kids don't get enough sleep because of their very active schedules and TV/video games. He always emphasizes that kids only grow when horizontal.
Good luck, let her have some fun staying up, especially if she will sleep in some.
S.

We're extreme, I guess. Our son's bedtime routine starts at 7:30 and he's asleep by 8:00. We will sometimes let him stay up later, but keep it consistent year-round. He has to be up at 6:45 during the school year and summer (goes to camp early AM), so the early bedtime is essential for him to get the necessary sleep.

My 8.5 year old daughter still goes to bed around 7 p.m. on school days. She really needs about 12 hours of sleep in order to be as rested and happy as she needs to be. The average for this age is 10-11 hours, so bedtime needs to be that many hours before when you need your children to wake up. During the summer, my daughter and I tend to go to bed later because of the daylight hours - but then we sleep later, because I am a teacher and also don't need to get up and go to work. During the summers when I have worked, my daughter continues to go to bed around 7:00.

Good luck.