To think these are typical meal times/bed times in the UK

To answer the original question, your timings look spot on for the majority of British people, especially without young kids. Of course there will be outliers. When I’m not at work I have lunch between 11 and 11.30-I’m hungry then and would rather not snack. DS (2yo) has lunch at 11.30 at nursery so we have lunch together at weekends. Breakfast around 7.30, he has tea 3.30 at nursery, then dinner 6.30 so we can eat together before his bedtime at 7.30.

That would have probably been helpful to include and it must be tough. Although in that situation I'd be even more eager for an early night to get a few extra hours before being up again.

I mean, for me, those are very early times.

I don't eat breakfast, but I have a coffee at around 10ish.
Lunch at around 1pm.
Dinner about 8pm.
My daughter goes to sleep at about 9pm, and I go to bed around 1am.
She gets up at about 8am.

I work 10am-6pm so I'd never see my daughter if she went to bed at 7pm.

But you do you.

The only non rigid meal time for us is breakfast as wakeup times vary. Lunch is at 12, snack is at 3:30 and dinner at 5:30, sometimes a slice of toast before bed.

My toddlers go to sleep at 7, school age at 8! I love my evenings!

We aren't too strict though, so will go out for lunch/dinner at non designated times but if we are home, thats our schedule!

I'd say typical though I do think the British are particularly early with when they put children to bed. I'm in the USA and things go a bit later -- not Spain late, but people tend to get home from work later so I don't know anyone who puts a child older than a toddler to bed before 8pm. Meanwhile my British family think that children can't possibly function if they don't have their tea as soon as possible after getting home and then bath and bed by 7.30.

Most of us have kids with additional needs and are up and down throughout. I average about 4 hours. You sort of get used to it lol

Fine for an 11 year old. 5 year olds need 11 hours

All your friends go to bed at 1am (ish)? Aren't they all fucking exhausted all the time?

Sounds very early to me

Unless they are on a particularly early shift I've never met an adult in bed by 9.30pm.

My kids were more like 9.30 and my friends are all 1am ish. Your timings seem early to me tbh.

Im a creature of habit!

breakfast 7, dinner at 1, snack at 4, tea at 8.

makes me feel amazing to eat regularly and on time. Good for energy levels and sleep too!

We do breakfast at 7, lunch 1.30-3pm, dinner usually 8-10pm
My friends are all similar

Won’t your 10 year old ask for something else to eat before bed time? A couple of posters have mentioned dinner at 5pm and it seems so early!

Your timings are inline with mine. I eat lunch at 12. Clearly also ridiculously early. 😉

Mine were in bed later as babies than when they were toddlers. Earliest bedtime was after dropping the afternoon nap, nighttime sleep peaked at around 11 hours.

Also, just because it’s different in Spain it doesn’t mean it’s better. I have plenty of experience of both Spain and the U.K. and there are pros and cons to both ways of doing things. My children get far more sleep than I did as a child though and I think that’s of a huge benefit to them; they are never tired and grumpy, for a start, whereas I remember being tired a lot!

Even when they were babies?

Oh absolutely not. As I said above, due to the weather is was completely normal for us to stay up late, as otherwise we wouldn’t get any time outside (far too hot in the middle of the day). I grew up in Madrid so in the winter we’d have a more typically ‘British’ routine, as it was cold. The weather is by far the main reason for the differences in routine between Spain and the U.K.

Weekends could be up to an hour later, so might be half 8 might be 9pm bedtime on a Friday or Saturday or holiday day eve. Depends on tiredness but it's nice to stay up later in summer.

Totally normal for Spanish parents to get a babysitter in every few weeks and go to dinner.

I would be more surprised if they had hours of adult-only time every single evening, or if said babysitter was putting you to bed by 8pm then spending hours in silence in the living room

But then as is the point of this thread, each family and child is different - so of course there are Spanish families who will have typical British routines, and viceversa!

I'd put lunch at 12 to 2, though I have been known to get something later on a weekend. If I need to go to the market for eggs, then we may have a late breakfast at around half 9, then something very light midafternoon. Especially summer weekends, everything can be later. Weekdays sound right.

Never had children in bed at 7 as they were sleeping around 11 hours at the longest at night, so 8pm tended to work.

Yes, both Spanish (well, my dad is half French).

In our house lunch is been 1 and 2.30. Dinner varies between 4.30 and 8 pm depending on who is doing what and my kids (currently 9 and 6) are never in bed before 9.30pm. They have zero issue getting up for school. Right now one is playing a board game and the other is running about in the garden with her cousin.

I don't think any of my friends with similarly aged kids pack them off to bed so early especially in the summer when we want to make the most of the daylight.

That said, whilst your timings dont work for my family...I'd never bring a pack lunch to visit a friend unless we were having a picnic.

Were your parents Spanish?

I’m not saying Spanish parents don’t have adult-only time. They just don’t have it in the same way a UK parent does - eg kids in bed at 7:30/8pm, adults downstairs watching TV or finishing the chores of the day.