Appropriate Time for Go to Sleep

You go girl! I always had my little ones in bed early. I used to put my oldest down at 6:30. People thought I was crazy but it worked for us! My kids are well behaved, do well in school and are low maintenance. I truly believe it's because they get enough sleep. They're 10 and 7 now so they go to bed around 9 (which is too late for me!). I miss the early bed times and the quiet time for myself in the evening. Keep it up and enjoy the benefits! :)

I have a 3 1/2 year old who goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 most days and gets up at 6:45 on work days and usually between 7 and 7:30 on the weekends.

This is exactly what we do. So, I think it's fine. I am at home with my kids, so this is the best way for us. It would make me crazy if they were up all night. I will say that I have friends that work full time and don't get home until 6. They have dinner with the kids and spend a little time with them. By the time they go to bed it's 9 o'clock. Maybe that's what the people you talk to mean?

Appropriate (in my book) is what works for each individual family.

<Grinning> Heck, in the winter my 8 yo goes to bed by 6pm (we're up in the morning at 5am to be on the mountain, and home again at 5pm, which leaves us an hour). But in Rome he doesn't go to bed until apx 1am (it's cultural to take a nap in the afternoon and have dinner at 10-11pm). But most of the year he's in bed at 9pm. Although (since we homeschool) I have no compunction whatsoever of putting him to bed at 3pm so that we can watch a meteorshower from 2am-5am, OR to keep him out an about at the theatre/ballet/opera/rock concert until midnight and let him sleep until "lunchtime" several times a month.

The thing is MOST people get locked into a school bell schedule for 13-16 years (depending on whether or not they do preschool)... and as such have to arrange bedtime in order to suit school bells. Which creates a homoginizing 8ish bedtime for most American children. Also, since most kids have sibs... it just makes sense to get and keep younger ones on the same schedule as their older ones. So 8PM is almost written in stone in the American Psyche ((I KNOW it was in mine, I 2nd guessed myself for YEARS... because no matter how much sense it made in our own family... it just felt "weird" because it was outside of the norm.)) Outside of the norm isn't automatically wrong.

:) It's also what people pick up on conversationally. Outside of the norm catches our attention, so we say something... for myself, it's because I'm interested in how and why other's do things. For others it runs the gamut of reasons... from curiosity, to judgement, to defensiveness/fear, to "making conversation", to idea generating... ALL kinds of reasons. Most people I've met, however, seem to be genuinely curious as to why we do things differently, and how it "works" or "challenges" associated with it. LOL the people who (In my experience) actually jump straight to judgement are, rather ironically, those I'm closest to. Sometimes the judge in my favor (I could say I'm painting kiddo blue... and they would respond "Of COURSE you are! What other color makes sense?" (love them dearly, because they only care for my happiness... but there's no critical analysis... which confuses me, I like to understand something before I support it, no matter WHO is presenting it)... to those who "tell me how it is" (aka what I'm screwing up, how, and what I "should" be doing -I always insert "If you know what's good for you" with a movie-mafia accent. Oy. Also, the idea anyone has the "right" to tell me I'm an idiot with no critical analysis also irks me)

But yeah... "Best" is always different with each and every family and their own unique situation.

If it works for you, revel in it. And keep it :)

Your are fine, My 12 month old falls asleep at 630 at the latest and wakes up at 530 for work, or 630-7 on her own
my 4 yr old goes to bed at 7 and is asleep by8 and up at 530 for work, or 630 on his own. my 7 yr old goes to be at 7 and is asleep by 8 the 4 &7 yr old share a room. If your kids are falling asleep then the time works for them and you have them on the perfect routine for school the transition for getting ready for school is already set up. PERFECT.

There is no set time that is going to work for all families and all kids. If it was not working for him he would fight you at bedtime.

My friend works nights so her kids go to bed after 1030pm

I will never understand why people need to comment on things that seem to be working. Do whatever works for your family. If it works to have your kids go to bed when you are putting them there and get up when they're getting up, then go with it! There's no sense in changing it because others have commented.

I put my kids to bed between 8 and 9 pm and they get up anywhere from 5:30 to 8 on any given day. They are 4 and 20 months and they share a room (actually, the 4 year old has moved into the 20 month old's bed with him). It really works for us. If they get up early it just means I'll have to serve lunch early because they'll both be ready for naps early. :)

Having that time at the end of the day is really important, so if that's what your routine is, I say KEEP IT!

what's important is that this routine seems ideally suited to YOUR family. good for you!
khairete
S.

if you want to change their bedtime because it helps you out or helps the kids get better sleep then great. but if you are doing it because others think it's too late then just don't listen to them. you are their mom and know whats best for you and yours...not everyone else. it sounds as if the schedual you have is what works best for you and the kids. look up how many hours a typical kid should get of sleep per day. if your kids are near that amount of time then your good. i think its like 15 hours a day/night for your age kids...but look it up to be sure as the hour amounts change every so many years. and remember its just an average suggested amount not anything writen in stone....you can pretty much tell if kids even adults are getting enough sleep by the way they act. irritability acting up or just acting wild or very sleepy can be signs of being tired.

I have a 6yo, 3 yo and 8 month old. Since my oldest was 6 weeks old I have followed the sleep advice of Dr. Weissbluth who states that sleep begets sleep. The more a child sleeps, the more he will sleep. His method is based on more than 30+ years of sleep and development research. His studies prove that putting a child to bed EARLIER, not later, is the only way to get them to sleep later. Even then, most children have a 'wake up' time that is built into their systems. That is what I tell people when they comment, laugh, whatever about my kids' bedtimes. It is currently 6:57 pm and all three of my children are in bed. My 8 month old is asleep by 5:45, my 3yo is asleep by 6:30 and my 6yo is asleep by 7:30. My 8 mo old sleeps until 6 am (and takes three naps, each 1-2 hours), my 3 yo sleeps until 6:30 and takes a 2 hours nap and my 6yo sleeps until 7am. The only way I have ever gotten my children to sleep later is when I have gone south (when I go north, they wake earlier as the sun rises earlier). Like all the others wonderful mom's have said, if it works for you then keep it up:)

we put ours to bed between 7 and 730. I have tried backing bedtime up and they just get up even earlier. I think your times are fine.

If this routine works for you and your family stick with it. Your son being an early riser may just be his rhythm for now. When he is in school expect the routine to change. My oldest is the same, it does not matter what time he goes to bed he is up at the same time.

Do what works for you and your kids. Try not to worry about what other people do. I have two night owls I have to put to bed later and one "good" sleeper who needs to be in bed by 8pm to get a good night's sleep. My two night owls can be up until 9:30 (including my 8 month old) and still awake for the day by 5:30 - 6:00. Sleeping in at our house is 7am!

My 10 month old has had a 6:30 bedtime for months now. It was even EARLIER-like 6pm (if you can believe it!) if her naps were horrible and she was just plain tired at the end of the day. It works for our schedule-she is usally asleep before 7pm and is up at 6am-give or take 15 minutes. I tried to put her down a little later to get her to sleep a little later and it dodn't work-I don't think that works-as much as I wanted it to!! LOL.

The wonderful thing about being the Mom is that you get to figure out what is best for your family! And many Moms will wish their kids went to sleep by 8 PM. Some of the families with night owls might find that starting the bedtime routine, even moving dinner earlier, really works and you avoid that second wind that makes settling down active but tired kids really tough.

Congratulations!

I'm another one agreeing that what's appropriate is what works for your family. My 22 month old goes to bed between 8 and 8:30 and my 4.5 year old goes to bed between 8:30 and 9 pm. My younger one is up around 7 and my older one is up between 7 and 8. No one is in school yet or daycare so they don't need to get up by a specific time. It works for us, but I do get a little jealous of people whose kids go to bed at 7 pm.

I can't imagine having so much free time in the evening before bed! lol I go to bed around 11-11:30 so 4 hours to catch up on stuff in the evenings sounds awesome! Of course, then they'd probably get up earlier in the morning and that would be pretty painful. ;)

I wouldn't change a thing if I were you. Seems like it is working for everyone. My kids used to wake up super early too-and it didn't matter what time they went to bed either. I also am an early bird so I didn't mind it too much.

My son is 2 and we put him to bed between 7-7:30. Sometimes he will wake up as early as 5:30, but most of the time he wakes up around 6:30 and today he slept until 7:20! Our friends with kids think it's crazy he goes to bed so early but I think it's great! It gives my husband and I a lot of alone time. Putting him to bed later to get him to sleep later has never worked either, if anything he will wake up even earlier so there's no point in doing that unless we happen to be out later or something.

Whatever works for you guys!! I also start bed time routine at 7 (my boys are 3 and 4, also have a 1 wk old. son). But this is usaully a bath (if needed) then calm down time (then the potty, brush teeth stuff). Then they are in bed at 8 or 9 depending on the day we've had. If they nap at nap time (or I call it rest time.) then they may stay up till 9. I can tell u from experience w/ our 3 yr old. I don't care what time we put him in bed at night, he is up anywhere from 545 - 615 every morning. If they don't nap, bed time usually comes earlier - I really love those days. Like u said it gives u time to unwind and shower and whatever u gotta do. I wouldlike to be in bed by 9, but it normally ends up closer to 10. If it working for you, don't change a thing.

All that matters is that it works for you. My 4 month goes to bed by around 7 and my 3 year old by around 7:45 and they are both up by 6 during the week for daycare and on the weekends they are up by 6:30 usually no matter what time they go to bed. Who cares what others think. If your kids are happy and ready for bed at that time then its no big deal.

My boy was an early riser, too. It's just in their circadian rhythms. Doesn't matter when you put them to bed, they get up early. The early bed time gives you and your husband alone time! Stick with it, is my opinion. You are an early bird family. There's nothing wrong with that.

I agree with everyone else. It's whatever works for your family. Like another person said, I think the later bedtimes work better for parents who work all day. When I worked full time, I never wanted my son to go to bed early b/c then I'd never see him! He goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 (he's 3) and so does my daughter (who is 1). My son usually wakes up by 7:00 and my daughter may sleep until 8:00 in the morning. Now that I stay home with them, I kind of envy people who have such early bedtimes for their kids so they can have more alone time but when I've tried putting them down earlier, it doesn't work, just like you can't put yours to bed later. Kids get into routines and also their internal clocks are what they are so do what works for them and you, especially if it allows you a precious hour to yourself each night!

Hi Victoria,

We put our almost 2 year old son to sleep at 7:30 and he can barely make it until then. He usually sleeps until 6:30 - 8:00 but usually until 7:30. He also takes one or two naps during the day. I think 7 is a reasonable time and it seems to work for you.

For my son it does not matter what time I put him to sleep or how he has napped he will always wake up around 7:30 regardless. I think some kids/adults are just wired to wake up early.

Good luck!

My son is younger but I start bath, bed at 6:30 and will assume that at age 2-5 he may get to 7-7:30 for bedtime routine. MY son also gets up very early I too have tried keeping him up later but it only makes the evening miserable for both of us and he still woke the same time in the AM. I think that is a good bedtime!

It is suggested that children need between 10 & 12 hours of sleep per night...with that in mind, I have always put my young children to bed by 8pm. Like you, our ritual begins around 7:30 with lights out by 8pm. I find this recommendation of 10 - 12 hours to be quite accurate. My 8 yr old son, who has ADHD, pops out of bed as if he were on a springboard by 6:30 am daily. BUT, if it is necessary to put him in bed later.... he will always wake up in about 10 - 10 1/2 hours. This confirms for me, his need for the 10 hours of sleep. My 7 yr old daughter works of much the same bio-clock (just not quite as precise as my son). It is also of note that once they become teenagers the sleep-clock shifts, and they will fall asleep later, but also want to sleep later... but they still need the 10 hours for their brains and bodys to grow & develop.
Your son that gets up at 5:30, may simply need to adjust to a later bedtime... even if it's just 30 mins, before actually sleeping a bit longer in the morning. You do as you think best... but I feel your pain... on the mornings I really would like to sleep in ~ even a little bit ~ the bounding of mid-sized feet down the stairs, and the rustling of cereal boxes, the slamming of refridgerator doors, clanging of bowls and the clash of sliverware at 6:30 am sometimes take the wind right out of my sails ;-) But alas, they won't be little long.

Your times are reasonable and appropriate. Don't let other people bully you into what they find is their family routine. You know best for your family.

I put mine to bed at a time that they will get at least 8hours sleep. That time starts about 9pm. I believe it is based on individual schedules. My schedule doesn't allow earlier than that.

I think your bedtimes are appropriate. We have an 18 month old and she goes to bed at 7:30p. She gets up around 6 or 6:30a. I'd like her to sleep later but putting her to bed later (or earlier) doesn't seem to affect what time she gets up. Same time every day no matter what. When I was 4 years old up until I was about 9 or so I was in bed around 7:30 or 8p. If it works for you don't worry about what others have to say. Tell them to MYOB! Just like a sleepy, cranky 4 year old would ;) lol :)

your times are perfect! many, many toddlers and preschoolers do not get enough sleep at night. you can google reccommended sleep hours and as long as they around that number of hours of sleep you are doing very well. your 4 yo is doing very well with 12 hours of sleep. good job!