Are UK parents obsessed with getting their kids to bed early?

[RosieLeaLovesTea]

Am I the only one that thinks UK parents are obsessed with getting their kids to bed early? I see posts of 7pm/7.30pm, some as early as 6pm.

I work full time and don’t get home until 6.30pm. We don’t eat until 7pm. So generally 9pm is bedtime. Plus it means that if we do go out at weekends our kids are used to going to bed a bit later.

I like to have some alone time but I don't have this schedule because of that, I have this schedule because it works for my children.

Plenty of people have said they put their kids to bed late because they don't want them up early but you don't seem to have criticised them for that

Agree. Mine (7 and 13) have always been night owls. They never get grumpy tired or anything and both naturally fall asleep about 10.30 and wake up at 8am. Zero point putting them down earlier they wont sleep. No, i get no evening by myself. Yes, i get lie-ins. It works for us. The idea of putting my 7yo down at 7pm is laughable. He's just getting into his stride 😂

The alternative would be forcing my tired baby to stay awake after 7pm. Now that would be selfish.

He needs 12 hours and needs to be at nursery by 8am so 7pm-7am it is.

It is a bonus to an early bedtime but they will ultimately be doing it because it's what suits their child and their schedule.

Do you really think that the majority of parents who do early bedtimes are sending wide awake children to bed?

@SouthLondonMum22 but again, you’re situation isn’t what I have just described? You’re doing it because it’s best for your baby.

My DD was still awake at 10:20pm yesterday. She was quietly & calmly listening to an audio book in her room. This was after a full 10 hour day at nursery. She could have gone to sleep at any point she wanted - she just was not tired. She woke at 6:45am this morning as usual.

There is no way she would be ready for bed at 7:30pm.

No one on this thread has said they only put their child to bed to get adult time, especially those who also work full time. No one.

Some people have have said it's a plus for them, the ones I've seen say that are SAHM's.

No one is sending their wide awake child to bed to avoid spending time with them.

Not smug at all - it was in reference to my step mother expecting me to put teenagers to bed at 7pm so we could have adult time with the annoying children out of the way. It wasn’t to suggest no one else likes their children! We are all different. Mine would not sleep before 9pm and always wanted to chat on the evenings. I was always amazed at kids that would sleep at 6.30 etc., but not in a judgy way. I’ve just got night owls.

You just claimed it yourself…napping for 2 or 3 hours after lunch.

we have 45-60 minute lunch break as adults and kids are at school all day.

it’s different cultures. Kids don’t sleep during the day and they start school from 4.

My 6.5 year old (yr1) wakes around 6am every morning regardless of when he goes to sleep. He needs 10+ hours sleep so aim to have him down around 730-745ish.

i love a 6am start. I hate rushing. It means we all have a drink in bed. I watch the news whilst my cuppa bring me to life and he cuddles next to me with his books or whatever and usually asking me weird questions or telling me funny dreams he’s had. I really enjoy this time.

We do his reading in the morning as he’s more alert. We leave for school 815am.

He goes tk after school clubs as we both work full time so usuall he gets home around 5-530pm and we have dinner going so we all eat together pretty quickly after that.

@Goldencup actually, what I should have said is that I’m sorry I offended you. Every situation and family is different, that’s exactly why these threads/debates are not helpful to anyone. So, I apologise.

Depends on the child

Mini blondes (6) has always loved her sleep

She's in bed 630 most nights - sometimes pushing to 7

She wakes up 7.15/730 most days but again some school days I have had to wake her 745

School mums hate me 😂

On holiday she coped with a later bedtime 2-3 nights then we would have a night in and she would want to go to bed 6/630 and would wake 730/8

As she gets older /struggles to settle at that time I will make it later but it works for us

No point keeping a tired child up

If my children go to bed any later than half 8/9 they are complete wrecks the next day!

It depends on circumstances my 2 year old will not nap in the day by 6 hes aboslutly knackered some bight he goes to bed between 6 and 7. If he wasn't tired he would go later .

Depends on age. A kid between 2-5 year old is supposed to sleep approximately 11 hrs at night so bedtime of 7-7:30pm is good. This way parents get some grown up time too. There are many studies that if kids don’t get adequate sleep especially in the earlier years they show behaviour similar to ADHD etc and are over diagnosed.

Isn’t it child dependent? My oldest is 9 and still turns into a monster of he doesn’t get enough sleep. He’s generally flat out between 8 and 9 on a weekday, and even then I have to drag him out of bed at 7am.
My 4 year old has always been an awful sleeper and we’ve trialled lots of different bed times. Too late or too early and she’s awake in the night for hours. Between 7.30 and 8 seems to be the sweet spot for her at the minute. No doubt when she goes to school in September this will change again.
I need to go to sleep around 10.30pm to feel refreshed in a morning. My partner can go to bed at 2am and feel fresh. We both get up at 7 - we just need different amounts of sleep!

I am British but agree with you. Our son goes to bed between 9-9.30pm.
I work full time and don't get home until 6ish so dinner is late, then his dad is home from work around 8pm.
I have friends that put their kids to bed at 7 or 7.30 but seems to be the ones that don't work.

I always kept similar hours to the kids. Family tea at 5, start bedtime routine around 6:30, kids asleep by 7:30, me asleep by 8:30-9. We’d all wake at around 5:30-6. It worked for us; I’m a morning person. Now they’re grown up, I still eat at 5 and go to bed early!

We eat as a family at 6, then ds (7) goes to bed at 7.30 and the older kids (13,12 and 11) go to bed at 9 with lights out at 10. They all wake up at 7.30. On the weekend they go to bed an hour later and wake up about 9.

It works for us. If I didn't put ds down at 7.30 he would fall asleep himself by 8, he spends all of his school day running round with his mates and is shattered by the time he gets home.

We are lucky as both dh and I finish work at 4 so have plenty of time with them. Obviously not the same for every family but I think calling it 'obsessive' is rather misjudged.

We do have local family but no support. Mine sleep 10pm-6am, and recently I’ve started getting up at 5 so I have my ‘evening’ for an hour before the day starts.

I used to just go for the recommended time for their age, and then see how tired they are. For instance I got this from an internet site:

How much sleep kids need varies by age. While every child is different, experts recommend:

• infants (0–3 months): 14–17 hours, including naps
• infants (4–12 months: 12–16 hours, including naps
• toddlers (1–2 years): 11–14 hours, including naps
• preschool (3–5 years): 10–13 hours, including naps
• school-age (6–13 years): 9–12 hours
• teens (14–17 years): 8–10 hours

My teens go to bed at the same time as me, but otherwise everyone is early. I remember my children starting primary school and couldn’t even get through dinner time without falling asleep!

Everyone is different, and some children need more sleep then others.

I suppose its just what works for alot of people. I wouldnt say I'm obsessed but like a lot of people in the UK we have no family close by, therefore very little support, so the evenings are the only time me and my partner get any alone time together or form of break but if i wasnt getting home til the same time as you from work, then obviously their bedtime would be later.

But if I put my 5yo to bed at 10pm every night she would be a nightmare! She sleeps 11-12 hours solid each night, and often has to be woken at 7:30 to get ready for school - she just needs her sleep!

My kids went to bed early when young. Both were early rises like myself didn't matter what time they went down they still got up early. Saw lots of sunrises and had lots of outdoor breakfasts. Always ate dinner with kids was just at 5.30pm.

I found mine woke at 6am if I put them to sleep at 6pm, 7pm or later. So we always aimed 7pm. However some days if we’d been busy they were tired by 6pm so they’d go then.
It worked for me as I was SAHM so sometimes needed that break on a night time. If I had worked then maybe it would have been different.