Bedtime was supposed to be 9pm when I was a small child (under 10), but my parents would often let me stay up until 9:30-10. I would then sneakily read in bed for another hour, usually. By the time I was 12 I threw off all shackles of bedtimes and went to bed whenever I wanted. It was then that I decided “no bedtime before midnight” and so it has been ever since.
As a child, I was mortified that anyone would have to go to bed before the sun went down in summer (around 8:45 here). It was a heinous crime to all the children that heard the stories from woeful kids whose parents forced them to sleep at 7:00 or 8:00 with the sun still up.
My four year old goes to be at 9:00. He takes a shower at 8:15, and we read a story before bed. (Lately, he’s said that he’s too tired for a story). He falls asleep very quickly. He gets up on his own at 7:30 every day. Somethimes on the weekends, he’ll sleep in until 8:00.
Our 15 month old is usually in bed by 830 or nine. we start the bedtime routine around eight, but sometimes he’s just not ready. He’s decided that rocking is not for him anymore, so we just lay him in his crib and sing or read a story. Occasionally he will cry when we leave, but it usually only lasts for a couple of minutes before he is out.
His wake up time is between 630 and seven.
When my kids were little (say, less than 12) their bed time was 8:30 on week days and 9:30 on weekends. After they were 13 it shifted to 9:00 on week days and 10 on weekends. They all loved when they graduated to the later night at 13, though honestly it was only a half hour change. Now they are all grown up so they go to bed whenever they like.
My 2.5 year old starts the bedtime routine somewhere around 7:15-7:30 and is in bed sometime between 7:45 and 8:00.
Then she wakes up at 10:30.
Occasionally she wakes up again at 1 AM.
Then she’ll go back to sleep for the night, where she’ll usually get up about 7 AM (or 6 AM on the weekends when our alarm is off and we get to sleep in).
Oh, and this weekend, we’re taking down half the crib to put up her first big girl bed. That should be fun and not wreck holy havoc on her sleeping period.
My 4 year old has a weeknight bedtime of 8-8:30pm, 9:00-9:30 during the summer months. On weekends, 9-9:30 during the winter, 9:30-10pm during the summer months. I think it’s cruel to send kids to bed during the summer before the sun has even set. I hated it when I was a kid and try to minimize that for him.
mine are 6 and 7 and their bedtime is 7:00 and stretches to 8:00 on certain activity nights and of course they can stay up later on holiday.
That may seem early but since being very young we’ve got them used to being in their bedrooms and getting themselves off to sleep. We don’t specify lights out until about 9 so they are free to play or read until then should they wish but honestly, they know when they are tired and most nights they’ll be flat out before then. (they don’t normally wake before 06:30 either)
I don’t have any children, but my best friend has a 3 year old daughter. Her bedtime is at 8, just like mine was at that age. Most parents I know put their children to bed around 8 or 9, and the bedtime usually becomes closer to 10 as they get a bit older.
My 17 month old has an odd schedule. He stays up later at night so he will sleep late in the morning. My husband works 3rd shift and watches him during the day. This means that my son usually goes to bed with me around midnight or so and then sleeps until about 10am, allowing my husband to sneak in a nap when he gets home from work. Then he naps usually from 2-3 and again from 6-8 or so. It will be interesting to see how this will work for us when the baby comes in a couple months.
Almost-three-year-old: Usually 8:00 or so, sometimes as late as 9:30 if he had taken an unusually long and/or late nap that day. That’s in the summertime, though; in winter, he’ll more likely be asleep by 7:30 most nights, occasionally as late as 9:00.
I’ve been putting it off for months too. My wife, on the other hand, has been looking at me for months and saying “she’s gotta grow up sometime, you know.” I remain unconvinced of this fact.
So here’s what we’ve done so far. Whether this helps or not is anyone’s guess:
Gone shopping with her to pick out her very own pillow and sheets. She’s been using the pillow for a week now and we’ll put the sheets on when we convert it over.
Bought this, which should come in next few days: Amazon.com
Maybe not EXACTLY that, but close enough. We got the idea from a Doper friend who lives in the UK and she said it worked really well for her kid.
My kids are 5 and 7 and they go to bed between 7 and 8. Generally, closer to 7 than 8.
We had them on a hard deadline of 7:00 to be in bed until about a year ago.
My youngest doesn’t need that much sleep, but we do it for fairness reasons. He usually farts around in his room for about an hour before settling down and then is also the first to wake up.
We just did this, too. Our kid is about the same age as yours. I would have kept her in the crib longer, but as she’s been getting heavier, lifting her in and out was getting harder on my back.
I put the baby gate across her door at night, if she gets up too early in the morning, she can play with her toys in her room without being able to wander around the house. I hang a soft bag with toys that are well suited for unsupervised play from the foot of her bed (after she goes to sleep) and mix them up occasionally so that she has some variety. So far, she is cool with this. She is supposed to play IN BED, but it wouldn’t be the worst thing if she gets up and plays on the floor.
I have a 10 and 7 year old and bed time has been 8:30 since they were 18 months old. Works well; not too hard to wake them at 7:00 for school and they wake up normally before 9:00. They are allowed to stay up and read if they desire, the 10 year old takes advantage of this, and we force a 10 pm lights out regardless. My wife and I are relatively late risers, we will get up between 7 and 8 if left to our preferences.
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.
