Bed Time for a 3 Year Old

What is the disagreement? What time does she have to be up in the am? what time do you think she needs to go down? what time does he think she needs to go down?

my children's bedtime (4 & 7) has always been 8pm. since it is summer we haven't made a big deal about them being in bed on time. When we were camping a few weeks ago my 7 year old ask if they could stay up "really super late." in a mock serious tone I asked what really super late was. she hymmed and haweed and concluded 8:17? so funny.

No nap? 7pm at the latest. My kid is three and put himself to bed tonight at 5pm (seriously I thought the world was going to end) On days she does take a nap 8pm

When my son was younger, his bedtime was at 8pm. But now that he's almost 3 yo, lights are out at 9pm.
He naps once a day (2 hours), and wakes up in the morning (almost always) 7am. The reason why I let him go to to bed at 9pm, is 1. because my husband gets home from work at 7pm and only has 1 hour to spend with before he goes to bed. Not mentioning that my son's bathtime is at 7:15. 2. I don't strictly go by the "guidelines" of how many hours of sleep a person/child should have and 3. I want to put him to bed in a decent time so that I can have some alone time with my husband.
I think that if my child were to go to school and wake up at 6:30, then I would put him to bed at 8 instead of 9, but I think putting them to bed earlier than 8pm is too early for us, in my opinion, not to judge anybody's way of raising their child.
But just go with the flow and don't worry about this kind of things, not everything has its rules, even the the smartest person in the world only sleeps 5 hours at night
Good luck

If she needs 10 to 11 hours of sleep I think the bedtime should then be set at 11 hours before she needs to get up.
Just do the math, no one can disagree with that, right?
Make sure she also gets 15 minutes or so to wind down before lights out (a story, a snuggle, whatever your routine is.)

Depends on your/her schedule. If you work traditional hours, I'd say an earlier bedtime is better. If you don't work or have later hours, then I think you can be more flexible.

We are normally more flexible with bed times on weekends, but DD does much better with an early bedtime because she's an early bird no matter what. We both work, so an early bedtime is a must for DD during the week.

My sons' bedtimes are 7:00-7:15pm for the 15 month-old (he take 2-3 hour nap) and 7:30-8:00pm for the 4 1/2 year-old (no nap). They both sleep for 11-12 hours at night.

Our daughter's bedtime at 3 years old was 8pm - if she was acting tired or grumpy or irritable, we would move it up to 7:30, since the routine of brushing teeth, reading stories, etc. usually took between 20 to 30 minutes. Now she is almost 5, and during the summer we've been letting her stay up later until 9 or 9:30 but once school starts, it will probably go back to 8 again.

it has to do with what time she goes to bed then, doesn't it? what her routine is, whether she is getting up at 6:00 am to go to day care or sleeps until she's done and hangs out at home all day doing nothing in particular. i would say that as long as she's getting about 11-12 hours (what i believe is needed for a 3 year old) that her bedtime isn't really that huge of a deal. my son is almost 6 (still in preschool/daycare until august) and sleeps from 8:00 pm (his bedtime for several years now) and he gets up at 6:00 am. but he also takes a nap. so to me it sounds like your daughter isn't getting enough. i guess it also depends on why she isn't napping. at 3 she still needs it. even if she isn't sleeping she should be afforded the opportunity for some downtime during the day. i don't really prescribe to the theory that a 3 year old doesn't "need" naps. of course kids are not all alike but that is my perspective.

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What is the debate? Do you disagree on the time because of childcare? Is one keeping her up late and that interferes with someone else's time? When my DH's ex kept the kids up late (late drop off Sundays) and they had to get up for school and didn't want to, that was an issue for us because it impacted their day and our morning. Is that what you are debating? For example, is her preschool or daycare reporting behavior problems after someone's time with her?

My DD rarely naps and sleeps about 10-11 hours as well. Her bedtime is 9:30PM because she is not in school or daycare and doesn't need to be up at a particular time, though she's usually up by 8-8:30 on her own. In the fall, it will be earlier because we will have to be at preschool by 9 but it will still probably be in the 8:30-9 range if she sleeps well at night. (We live around the corner from school.)

FWIW, we dropped an official nap time when 30-40 minutes of quiet time was just her rolling around and not sleeping.

At 3 my kids were going to bed between 7:30 and 8pm. This actually was their bedtime until recently and they are now (almost 7) and 8 years old. But my kids have always been early risers and no matter what time they go to bed they always get up at the same time. So for us it was always critical to follow a consistent, strict evening/bedtime routine and make sure they were in bed on time. The upside is that we've never had a problem with them going to bed, even when traveling or daylight savings.

So depending on what time she gets up, I would say that 8pm is the latest she should be going to bed.

My son is 3 and goes to bed at 9, ever since the time-change (we learned our lesson last year that moving the bedtime was easier on the whole family than trying to transition him), and it works for us since he doesn't nap anymore and is usually cheerful and energetic the whole day. He wakes up around 8 every morning (he doesn't need to be up earlier for any reason - if he did, I would suggest an earlier bedtime).

When Daylight Savings ends (begins?), his bedtime will probably go back to 8. I prefer a slightly later bedtime because it allows him to spend more time with Daddy when he gets home from work, though, so we'll have to see. Like I said, we don't have to be up for anything special early in the morning.

3 year olds require about 12 hours of sleep a day, so decide what her wake time is and go back 12 hours to arrive at her bedtime. The rule should be she has to remain quiet and in bed even if she is not sleepy, her mind and body truly need the rest to develop properly.

My 3 year old takes about an hour to 1.5 nap, he goes to bed at 9pm, wakes at about 7:15 to 730 am.

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children

When my oldest was 3, she DID go to bed later (at the latest I'd say 10pm?) But se ALWAYS got a good amount of sleep in total.. about 13 hours for the full day (a 2 hour nap included). NOW, my husband worked late, and when I worked part time I didn't have to be at my job earlier than 10AM, AND we weren't morning people, so we kinds had her (and her 1 1/2 year old sister) closer to OUR schedule, not as late as us, but later than a lot of people we knew with other kids... (husband and I go to bed at 1-2AM)

NOW that my oldest is almost 9, my youngest, who is 3, has more of a set bedtime because her older sisters (8, 7 and 5) have school. For school, we get up at 8AM, sometimes as early as 7:30... SO, I like them to be in bed by 8:30. That includes the 3 year old. Husband and I still go to bed at 1-2AM. I like to keep the kids on the same schedule- makes life easier.

My youngest just turned 4 and if he only gets up to 10 hours of sleep at night he naps during the day, if he sleeps 11 or 12 hours no nap necessary. The three days he has to get up at 6:15 he is in bed at 8 and naps those days. When he is home during the day he goes to bed about 8:30 and usually sleeps until 7:30/8:30.

11-12 hours of sleep is not out of the ordinary for a toddler. And since they're usually early risers, going to bed early is important. About 7:30pm was bedtime for my boys at that age.

By 8:00pm. Your child is 3.

Here is a good link:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

My son is 5 and my daughter is 9, and they both have the same bedtime.
8:30. And they are TIRED. They go to sleep just fine at this time.

But, Kids... will often want to stay up. EVEN if they are tired. But if you know the child is tired and per their cues, you need to get them to bed. You are the parent.
A sleep deprived and over-tired child, is no fun... they get fussy and irritable the next day. Then they need to catch up on sleep.

Our goal was for her to be asleep by 8 or 8:30.. The problem down here is it does not get dark and the neighborhood does not get quiet until about 9..

So we had to begin the bath by 7:15.. we had to make sure her room was darkened that quiet music was playing and no distractions were going on.

Quiet bath, lots of books and reading.. Then she was ready to sleep at 8:00, sometimes.. it took longer..

Yes, she would nap at day care for 2 hours until 2:00.. then get home about 5:00 and play with the neighbors..and then we would come in and have dinner.. the neighbor kids, including one of the loudest kids in the world.. would play outside later, than us, because they got home later..

I would say that between 8pm and 9pm is a good time for kids this age. If they are not getting up to go to child care at 6:30am or 7am then they have no need to go to bed earlier than that.

My daughter just turned three a week ago. Her bedtime right now is between 8:30pm and 9pm. When she doesn't get a nap, she's usually ready for bed closer to 8pm. She wakes up between 6am and 7am.

We tend not to be too "strict" on bedtime. A lot depends on her activity level during the day, how she's feeling, etc. And, just because we "put" her to bed at 8:30pm, doesn't mean she goes to sleep right away. I think last night she finally went to sleep around 10:30pm....but she was in her bed and "ready" for bed by 8:30pm.

As with all kids, i think the answer is always "depends on your kid." Both of my girls don't sleep very much compared to a lot of other kids (from what I've heard). They've always been early risers (much to my former night owl self's chagrin), light nappers, and need less than the "suggested" amount of sleep.

All of our kids (9, 6, 4 and 1) all go to be at 7:30pm. Lately our almost 10 year old stays up a bit later to read. He's a voracious reader. They all get up around 6:30-7am. Our 13 month old takes a 30-45 min nap at 11am, otherwise I'm the only one that wants/needs a nap in our house!

When our oldest was 3, he slept for a good 12 hours, WITH a nap. When our 2nd was born, he rarely napped, even as a newborn(!) and then got upset if we put him to bed before 10pm, but we just kept consistent with the 7:30pm bedtime. Now, we tell them to get ready for bed around 6:30pm and they are all in bed by 7:30 with teeth brushed, books read, bathed and in PJs. With 4 kids, we have to have a well-oiled machine, otherwise our marriage would deteriorate without some time to connect at night. I work and he's home all day with the kids....since we homeschool.

Children 3-6 years of age need between 10-12 hours of sleep per night. Put her to bed 10-12 hours before she has to get up. My boys have always been good with 10 hours a night, they go to bed at 10:00pm and get up at 8:00am.

Our son's bedtime (4 y/o) has been for a couple of years 8:00 p.m. Now, does that sometimes get stretched on a fun night out to friend's house - yep. But, for the most part, 8:00 is when we start the bed-time routine. So, if it's a bath night, bath is at 8:00. If it's not a bath night, reading a book starts at 8:00. If a bath night, only one or two books. If not, two or three books. So, lights out usually happen at about 9:00. We then lay in bed with him for a bit chit chatting and mellow'ing out. Then I'll say, "okay, it no talking time, time to close our eyes." He's usually asleep within 10 minutes of that - about 9:30. We get up at 7:00 a.m. most days.

Also, our son naps at pre-school because everyone does. But, when at home with us, he only naps if he has had a really busy day and basically falls asleep in the car. Or, MAYBE if I lay with him - MAYBE. I think we're on the downswing of naps:(

My son who will be three next month goes to bed at 9pm and wakes up about 7:30am. He still takes a nap everyday for 2 hours. I really think a three year old still needs a nap. 10 hours total sleep time is not enough for your little one. I believe at this age I read they need about 13 hours total sleep.

bedtime for my 3 year old is 8pm. sometimes he is not actually asleep until close to 9, so I guess we probably average 8:30. I have found that when he goes to bed too late, he actually gets up earlier the next day and then has trouble napping. His napping is sporadic now but he probably still naps 3-4 times a week. If she seems well rested and her behaviour is good then 10-11 hours is probably fine. If she often seems tired/cranky, then she probably needs more.

Our "technical" bedtime is 8 for both our kids (2, 4), but it can be earlier, although I try to never really do later.

At 3 my daughter still napped quite a bit, not all the time, but a lot. So, she went to bed at 8. The closer she got to 4 the less she started napping so she started going to bed at 7:30. She is now 4 going on 5 in September and she goes to bed between 7:30-8 and doesn't nap.

Our 2 going on 3 in September year old goes to bed at the same time as his sister. He still naps every day for about 2 hours, but is so active during the day that even if she goes to bed early, we almost always just put him to bed at 7:30 too.

Both my kids sleep until at least 7-7:30 every morning. If I put my kids to bed any later then I would have even less time with my husband :( and I think they'd be grumpier. They may not "act tired" but they certainly fall asleep quickly no matter what time they go down.

Oh and it doesn't get dark here until like 9 either but I told my kids too bad! My 2 y/o doesn't notice it but my 4 y/o does and I told her that bedtime is bedtime, even if it's light outside. She grumbled a little bit about it this summer, but I think she's genuinely very tired at bed time she doesn't mind too much! ;)