# When's bed time for your little one(s)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 9, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004 "2013-07-09T02:56:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/41 "2013-07-10T06:50:56Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Wow… I guess we are the worst parents in the world. Someone has a 14 YO who goes to bed at 9:45 and sometimes gets and extra 15 minutes. My 15 YO’s girlfriend left here at 11. > > We haven’t enforced a bedtime since they were around 8. This morning two of my kids were out the door to do volunteer work at the hospital downtown by 7:45… I didn’t have to wake anyone up. My oldest was running with a team mate at 9:30. > > And the concerns of letting kids stay up late. My oldest graduated a semester early with a 4.67 GPA, National Merit Scholarship, All American in her sport and Academics, and is attending a prestigious private university (4.0 first semester) on a full ride scholarship. Next in line has a 4.25 GPA and is also being heavily recruited, and my youngest with a learning disability only has a 3.85 GPA. > > Oldest (18) went up to bed on her own around 11:45, next (16) is spending the night at a friend’s house, and the youngest (15) just went up to bed at 12:30. Congratulations, that is the world’s worst stealth brag. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/42 "2013-07-10T12:12:58Z")
Iggyette, 13yo, is in bed about 11pm most nights, though sometimes as late as 1am. She wakes around 9am-10am. But her school schedule is very different - 2pm to 7pm. The school building is in use for younger kids in the morning. This is her first year of the afternoon schedule and she loves it. She is not a morning person. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/43 "2013-07-10T12:19:23Z")
My little one goes to bed whenever I do. Often my little one is up and wanting attention before the alarm clock goes off. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/44 "2013-07-10T15:57:44Z")
My 4-and-a-half-year-old (where the hell does the time go?) starts her bedtime routine at 8:00 and is in bed with lights out at about 8:45. She’ll frequently–especially if she takes a nap at day care–sit in bed babbling for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour after that. She wakes up at about 7:30 most mornings. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/45 "2013-07-10T16:07:14Z")
4 and 6 year old. Usually between 7 and 8:00. In the summer, we sometimes let them stay up later. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Congratulations, that is the world’s worst stealth brag. Seriously. Epic fail. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/46 "2013-07-10T16:12:12Z")
Almost 2-year-old; in bed between 7:30 and 8. Up around 7am generally, sometimes as late as 8am. For those that keep their young kids up later so they’ll sleep in later - my understanding is that’s not exactly how it works. Sometimes moving the bedtime up will actually cause wake-up time to move later as well. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/47 "2013-07-10T16:12:51Z")
During school days it’s 8:30, maybe 9 or so on the weekend for my eight year old. With summertime I get a little more relaxed and she’ll be up until 11 some nights, or we’ll be in bed watching a movie around then at least. I just read this morning that not providing a stable sleep schedule is not good for kids though, so I’m thinking we’ll try to get in bed a little earlier until school starts. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/48 "2013-07-10T18:23:05Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > Congratulations, that is the world’s worst stealth brag. He just wanted to make sure we knew how awesome his kids are, in case we missed it the [first time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16286658&postcount=42). ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/49 "2013-07-10T18:59:42Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Almost 2-year-old; in bed between 7:30 and 8. Up around 7am generally, sometimes as late as 8am. > > For those that keep their young kids up later so they’ll sleep in later - my understanding is that’s not exactly how it works. Sometimes moving the bedtime up will actually cause wake-up time to move later as well. My son wakes up at 6:30 every morning, no matter how late he goes to bed. His sister will sleep in a little. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/50 "2013-07-10T19:21:59Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > He just wanted to make sure we knew how awesome his kids are, in case we missed it the [first time](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16286658&postcount=42). Aw… the haters are so cute when they get jealous. The point intended in both this and the other thread was that teaching personal responsibility is a much better lesson than enforcing arbitrary rules or deadlines. They can carry this over to other aspects of their lives. Since others were linking to articles that say not making your kid go to bed promptly at a given time will surely lead to failure and delinquency I countered with my real life example of parenting. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/51 "2013-07-10T19:26:58Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Aw… the haters are so cute when they get jealous. I promise I’m not jealous of you or your kids. > [@](#): > > The point intended in both this and the other thread was that teaching personal responsibility is a much better lesson than enforcing arbitrary rules or deadlines. Who cares? This is a thread about bedtimes, not lame-ass stories about GPAs and charity work. And my kids’ bedtimes are anything but arbitrary. > [@](#): > > They can carry this over to other aspects of their lives. Since others were linking to articles that say not making your kid go to bed promptly at a given time will surely lead to failure and delinquency Did you actually read the links, or are you just guessing? > [@](#): > > I countered with my real life example of parenting. “Looked for any excuse to trot out lame stories about my kids.” ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/52 "2013-07-10T19:49:19Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Who cares? This is a thread about bedtimes, not lame-ass stories about GPAs and charity work. And my contribution was that I don’t believe in enforcing a strict bedtime after a certain age. > [@](#): > > And my kids’ bedtimes are anything but arbitrary. Really, what scientific approach did you use to determine if 9:00 or 9:15 is the exact appropriate time for a certain age? > [@](#): > > Did you actually read the links, or are you just guessing? Did you? The first line is “Late nights and Lax bedtime routines can blunt young children’s minds.” I was countering that in my case this hasn’t been true. I didn’t say it would work for everyone, but for some here is an example of where it did. > [@](#): > > I promise I’m not jealous of you or your kids. The haters line was intended as a joke. > [@](#): > > “Looked for any excuse to trot out lame stories about my kids.” Sorry to have upset you so with making you read that. I guess next time I’ll just post that I disagree with most of the posters in your parenting style, but you will just have to trust me that my kids turned out ok despite of it all. I guess it would be so much easier if my kids were all failures so you could all say you told me so. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/53 "2013-07-10T19:52:31Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > And my contribution was that I don’t believe in enforcing a strict bedtime after a certain age. That was part of your contribution, yes. A small part. > [@](#): > > Really, what scientific approach did you use to determine if 9:00 or 9:15 is the exact appropriate time for a certain age? So, you didn’t read the links, and you didn’t read my posts in this thread. Try again. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/54 "2013-07-10T20:16:12Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > That was part of your contribution, yes. A small part. So your kids go to bed between 7 and 8 and sometimes a little later in the summer. And your son gets up at 6:30 and your daughter sometimes sleeps in. Wow… the internet is giving you a standing ovation for your contribution. > [@](#): > > So, you didn’t read the links, and you didn’t read my posts in this thread. > > Try again. Well, lets see… your first post came after mine and was criticizing me. Is your complaint that I used 9 or 9:15 as my example of an arbitrary time instead of 7 or 8 (or sometimes later)? You still haven’t explained why it isn’t 6 or 7, or maybe 8 or 9. And the links… I quoted one, and the only other one was for an alarm clock. What important thing did I miss? You seem a bit cranky… maybe you should start going to bed earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/55 "2013-07-10T20:23:06Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > So your kids go to bed between 7 and 8 and sometimes a little later in the summer. And your son gets up at 6:30 and your daughter sometimes sleeps in. > > Wow… the internet is giving you a standing ovation for your contribution. I gave exactly what the OP asked for, and exactly what the OP offered as an example. > [@](#): > > You still haven’t explained why it isn’t 6 or 7, or maybe 8 or 9. Nor did you explain why you set a bedtime for your kids when they were young. You haven’t even said what that time was, which was \*\*the only thing \*\*the OP was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/56 "2013-07-10T20:33:50Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I gave exactly what the OP asked for, and exactly what the OP offered as an example. > > Nor did you explain why you set a bedtime for your kids when they were young. You haven’t even said what that time was, which was \*\*the only thing \*\*the OP was looking for. Ah… now I understand. You were too busy being in awe of my awesome kids that you didn’t notice that I was responding to post 4 regarding a 14 year old who goes to bed at 9:45 (or sometimes 10). As to how we decided when they were younger, it was a complex formula based on their BMI, exact age, and how the stars were aligned. Nothing arbitrary here. I’d go into more detail but I’m planning to write a book for all of the new parents who think there is one and only one solution that works perfectly for everyone. And I seriously apologize to the OP who posted a simple opinion question that apparently I derailed by including examples of how my method worked in my situation, but for some reason others took offense to. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/57 "2013-07-10T20:39:20Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Aw… the haters are so cute when they get jealous. > > The point intended in both this and the other thread was that teaching personal responsibility is a much better lesson than enforcing arbitrary rules or deadlines. They can carry this over to other aspects of their lives. Since others were linking to articles that say not making your kid go to bed promptly at a given time will surely lead to failure and delinquency I countered with my real life example of parenting. Do you teach them reading comprehension as well? Because the single article linked to by a single poster didn’t say that at all. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/58 "2013-07-10T20:51:11Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Did you? The first line is “Late nights and Lax bedtime routines can blunt young children’s minds.” I was countering that in my case this hasn’t been true. I didn’t say it would work for everyone, but for some here is an example of where it did. How do you know? If your kids had gotten more sleep, they might have already graduated college early and cured cancer. You don’t know! Seriously, though, there doesn’t need to be a bunch of arguing and bickering to get the point across to you that your stealth bragging is annoying and unnecessary, does there? ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/59 "2013-07-10T21:02:31Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > How do you know? If your kids had gotten more sleep, they might have already graduated college early and cured cancer. You don’t know! Who said I included everything they have done? 😛 > [@](#): > > Seriously, though, there doesn’t need to be a bunch of arguing and bickering to get the point across to you that your stealth bragging is annoying and unnecessary, does there? Point taken… I never considered it stealth bragging. I considered it examples to show that there are examples of success despite parenting styles that may differ from the norm. I didn’t start the arguing… I intended to post a counter opinion with some examples to back it up. I didn’t respond until the second person claimed I had an “epic fail.” The overall tone of the thread was “what is the correct time?” with the implication that if not done correctly the child would not live up to their fullest potential. I have an opinion that may not match the main stream way of thinking. I chose to use real life examples of how my results turned out. Apparently in doing so I offended some of you and for that I apologize. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004/60 "2013-07-10T21:15:15Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > The overall tone of the thread was “what is the correct time?” with the implication that if not done correctly the child would not live up to their fullest potential. We’re obviously reading different threads, because that doesn’t describe this one at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whens-bed-time-for-your-little-one-s/663004.md?page=4)