What is the 'right' time to put your little one to bed?

[Pies]

Hi, I read an article in the Daily Mail today which suggested that the 'right' time to put your 2.5 - 3yr old to be is 8.10pm. I must confess that I've had enough of my DD by 7pm but she is a bit of a pickle at bedtime so wondering if its a bit early. What do you wise ones think?

[Bakingtins]

3yr old at 7 pm, 7yr old at 7.30pm. The 'right' time is what suits you, as long as the child gets enough sleep. Do you often believe things in the Daily Mail??

[mezza123]

7-7.30. Dm is wrong! My DS doesn't nap so he's ready for bed by then, and I'm ready for him to go. I never understand late bedtimes for kids? Why would u?! Just on sofa now enjoying my me time :)

[SoonToBeSix]

Thats very late my dc age 16 months and 2.11 go to bed at 7pm.

[BertieBowtiesAreCool]

Blimey, my 5 year old still goes to bed at 7.

Must admit it does seem a very "British" thing though, I live abroad and my other expat friends think it's strange (and are a bit jealous ) but I think DS would be tired on less sleep.

[sillymillyb]

Ds went up at 550 tonight. 8pm?! Sod that! He'd steal my chocolate and id be demented by yet more sodding peppa pig! I need my evening time to myself or I'm a crappy mum!

[SpicedTeaAndXmasCakeOrDeath]

8.10pm?! DS1 (2.11) is in bed around 6.30pm, 7pm at the latest. He'd be ill and knackered if asleep any later

[lilyaldrin]

I prefer a later bedtime as we can all eat together, and it means DS doesn't get up at 5am When he was still napping in the day he'd go to bed about 8.30pm and get up about 7am - I couldn't have coped with 7pm-5.30am, though lots of people seem to manage with early wakers.

Now he is 3.5, goes to nursery and doesn't nap, he tends to go to bed about 7.30pm (8pm latest) and wakes about 7am. He can't really go to bed earlier than that as we eat dinner about 6.30pm.

[MacaYoniandCheese]

It's 4pm.

[vez123]

I haven't read the relevant DM article but find 8:10 a bit random. Surely it depends on the time when the DC wake up and whether they have a nap as well. Add to that two working parents who will have to leave the house by 7:45 and I find that an 8:10 bedtime is too late. It really depends on so many things!

[ThedementedPenguin]

My 15 month old goes to bed at 8pm ish. Any earlier and he cries until after 8. He gets up anywhere from 6.30am onwards.

Some days he naps and some days he refuses to.

I am exhausted by him as he still get up at night.

[DeWe]

Depends on the child and your routine.

Dd1 went to bed at 8:30 until she was at preschool. Then we moved it to 8:00. Once at school she needed to be in bed by 7:00 or she was too tired in the morning. She napped in the afternoon until school age too.
Dd2 was a night owl as a baby: 9:00 was better than earlier or she spent however long getting wound up so she slept less well. Once she was 2yo she started going to bed at about 7:00.
Ds it was a battle keeping him awake until 7:00 until he was 4 or 5. If he went down earlier he woke at unearthly times (but Tesco shopping at 5am is very easy) He would have naturally gone to bed at about 6:00, but I would, as much as possible, string it out until 7-7:30.

[Jakeyblueblue]

The daily mail article says that all children have a natural body clock that is unique to them. It doesn't say 8.10 is the best time to put them to bed, just that that was the average in the ones involved in the study. It's based on the theory that out natural melatonin rise, induces sleep and this occurs at different times for different people. The study showed that those children put to bed an hour later than their natural melatonin rise, slept better than those who had a set bedtime at an earlier time. Those who were put to bed before it occurred were more prone to bad behaviour, unsettled nights and pre bed tantrums.
On a personal note, this was a welcome read! I've long given up with set bed times for my 2.6 year old. Tried every trick in the book. He's just a night owl and is not tired or ready for bed at an earlier time. You have to chose your battles and I let him call the shots with bedtime. He goes when he asks and is asleep within 5 minutes. It's usually around 10 and he will then sleep until about half 9 the next day.
Nice to see a little bit of support for this approach, rather than the usual raised eyebrows I tend to get!