I'm trying to find out when other moms put their preschool age children to bed at night. I've got a 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old sons who go to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 pm which I am starting to think is too late. We were talking to a 10 year old girl the other day with an 8:00 bedtime. It wouldn't be too bad if my 2 year old actually slept later in the morning, but he is up between 5:15 and 5:30. They each get a nap at daycare too.
Hi,
My 4 year old and almost 2 year old go to bed at 7:30. It used to be 8-8:15, but they are usually exhausted by 7:30 and I have found that the earlier they go to bed, they sleep much better. Also if they are very very tired, then they always wake up a couple of times at night and are more restless.
7:30 works really well for us.
Good luck,
Aarti.
We try to put our 5 yr. old to bed at 8:30. Alot of times, it ends up closer to 9:00 by the time we read books, sing and she gets up a few times because her little mind is constantly thinking of something, not water or using the bathroom. I think as kids get older and have to get up earlier for school, they need to go to bed earlier to get an adequate amount of sleep. If it works for you and your kids, don't fix it.
Hi D.,
my kids have always had an 8 pm bedtime. I have found though that at times when they stay up later than that, they don't sleep any later :)
My 10 and 12 yr old girls still have an 8 pm bedtime... and it's lights out,.. no exceptions. On the weekends, they still go to their room at 8 pm, and have to be 'in bed' - they can stay up talking or playing their DS's until 9 pm.
We do this mostly out of necessity now. My husband and I go to bed at 9 pm (I am up with the new baby by about 4:45 am and I stay up for the day at this point and he leaves the house by 5:45 for work). We need that hour at night to ourselves without kids.
One thing my first pediatrician told me (he was actually MY pediatrician when i was a baby...) is that kids truly need the sleep - they can function for the most part but you may see some negative behaviors and they may not do as well in school... etc. I dont know if that's the case as i have always had this bedtime, but I can say that when they stay up late (they do this at their dad's house on his weekends - they stay up til 10-11pm sometimes)they suffer for days afterwards... the night they come back from his place, they are wanting to go to bed at 7 pm.
I am willing to bet if you pushed the 2 yr olds bedtime to 8 pm, he probably wouldnt get up any earlier... of course you have to consider how long his nap is... if he's napping 3 hours, he may start cutting that a bit shorter with the new bedtime.
All in all i dont think his 830 bedtime is harming him in any way... 30 minutes in my opinion is pretty insignificant. And you have to consider what's best for your family - we're in bed early by mmost standards, so... it is all relative i guess :)
I have an almost 3-1/2 year old daughter and ever since she dropped her nap, her bedtime is 7:00-7:15. We start her bedtime routine at 6:30 and she's asleep by 7:00 or shortly thereafter. She gets up between 6:30-8:00 so she is definitely getting an adequate amount of sleep. I know that children that age need at least 12 hours of sleep a day and that includes naps. So, if they are getting a total of 12 hours a sleep a day, I say don't worry about what time they go to bed. It sounds like your boys are getting the sleep they need.
I have a 3.5 year old and a 22 month old. I put them to sleep between 8 and 9pm. It is hard to get them to sleep any early with it being light out and there friends playing oustide. My boys need to be up by 6am. I think they should be going to bed earlier but I just can't get them to go to sleep when it is light out.
D.,
I found that the days that my preschooler gets a good nap, she will stay up later in the evening, sometimes until 10pm. I think a good rule of thumb is 10 hours total sleep. So, if they are getting a good 2hr nap, 8 hrs at night is probably fine.
Plus is depends on the child. My 8yo is asleep right at 8pm and hard to wake up at 6:30 am, but she needs alot of sleep. My 5yo can be up until 10pm and be up at 6 no problem, but she has always been a light sleeper.
I finally decided with my 5yo to just let her be up rather than fight her to get back in bed since bedtime is 8pm in our house too. Usually once she would get tired she would voluntarily go up to her room to bed, typically by 10pm or so.
I saw on GMA that children between the ages of 4-12 need at least 10hrs of sleep per night are not getting that and lack of sleep can lead to obesity. Here is a web article:
My almost-2-year-old goes to bed around 7:30 or 7:45 and sleeps until 6:30 or so. He also gets a 1.5-2 hour nap during the day.
Our 3-year old is in bed by 8:00. We start around 7:30 and he is in bed, lights out, etc. by 8:00.
I have 2 children, a daughter 6 1/2 and a son 2 1/2. I start at 8:00 p.m. and usually they are asleep by 8:30 p.m. My husand and I both work and we get the kids up at 6:30 each morning. This works really well. We even follow this routine on weekends, with the occasional later bedtime. Hope this helps.
hi D.,
8:00pm is our 4 yr old's bedtime. We start at 7:15 in order for her to be in bed by 8. (bath, jammies, toothbrushing, story all takes about 30 to 40 minutes). She will sleep sometimes 12 hours, sometimes 9 or 10 but she no longer naps.
My daughter used to get up at 5 am every morning (sometimes still does) and I tried letting her stay up a little later but she would still wake at the same time and then just get crabby later on. They are all different - if your schedule is working and your kids don't seem cranky / tired, I wouldn't worry about it.
W.
My 4 yr. old daughter doesn't nap and hasn't for a long time, so she has an early bed time. She's in bed by 7:30. In the winter her bedtime was 7:00. It's nice to have the better part of the evening child free!!
My boys are 5 and 2 and they go to bed around 8:30-9:00. My 5 year old gets up around 7:30 and my 2 year old gets up around 8:30. My 5 year old does not nap, my 2 year old naps for 2-3 hours. I have tried getting them to bed earlier, but it doesn't work. They just aren't tired. I think every family has a schedule that works for them. As long as your kids aren't tired/cranky, then I would stick to your usual time. I know many others who go to bed around 8:30ish, and I also know others that go to bed around 7ish.
My girls, 3 and 4-1/2, are both in bed by 7:30pm. We start at 7pm with brushing teeth, pj and then two stories and then lights out. They share a room so some nights they don't settle down until 8pm, but most nights they are asleep right away. Both sleep until at least 7am, often later. Even at five kids still need twelve hours of sleep.
