How do you manage the kids’ evening routine and bedtimes as they get older?

[Eachpeachpearprune]

DD is 5 and currently goes to bed at 7pm (as she has since she was tiny!) This has been fine up until the last few months where she has seemed to be less tired and wants to draw etc in her room for half an hour before sleeping, which she does. She has a younger sibling and dinner is about 5/5.30 and bath about 6.15 ish.

What is your bedtime routine with your 5 or 6 year olds? Do they go to their rooms and chill/draw/read etc before sleeping as they get older or stay downstairs with you until a certain time?

She has to be in her room at 7.30 has to go to sleep at 8 if I hear her past 8.30 I will intervene and tell her it's time to sleep.

DD is 6 and has dinner between 5-5.30pm. Bathtime is around 7pm although she doesn't have a bath every night. She usually falls asleep around 9.30pm and we read together and play music to her from 8.45pm. We've never expected her to be in her room earlier than that and she'll usually be in the playroom, living room, garden or play in her room after dinner, but usually with one or more adult/sibling with her. She has homework, spelling and music practice most nights. Sometimes we'll all pop out after dinner for a local walk.

A couple of weekdays she has clubs which mean getting home at 6.30pm/7.30pm so dinner etc is later, but bedtime is at the same time. She gets up at 7am every morning on her own, and has never woken earlier than that.

My early riser had bath at 4 (for various reasons it worked for us), dinner at 5, in bed 6.30-7 with stories, cuddles and sleep.

Once we settled on the routine when she was 9 weeks old we weren’t allowed to mess around with it for about 10 years.