What time does your 6 year old go to bed/to sleep?

[BarbaraVineFan]

I start the bedtime routine with my 6 year old at 7pm. She is really bad at getting to sleep and although she is always in bed by 7.45 at the latest, she is frequently not asleep until 8.30 or even later. She has to wake up at 6.45 and I just worry that she isn’t getting enough sleep. I have tried an earlier bedtime but it doesn’t make any difference. What is everyone else doing? Is this absurdly late for a 6 year old?

One of mine was like this. I worried too but I think he often just needed ten hours or so. He’s the have a few nights needing 11 hours then back to the 10. I’d say now at 7 he’s mostly settled on around 10 and a half. Does your daughter seem tired or have trouble waking up. FWIW mine often didn’t want to get up but was full of beans once awake and also takes ages to fall asleep

We start bedtime at 7pm and in bed for 7.30pm with lights off for 6 year old. She generally falls asleep quickly but is occasionally still awake at 8pm. Then up between 6-7.

8pm
usually start bedtime routine between 6:45 and 7
any earlier I know he wouldn’t go to sleep anyway

It’s not absurdly late IMO. My 6 yo DS goes to sleep anywhere between 8pm and 9pm
and then will wake anywhere between 6am and 7am. Always usually about 10 hours.

We have tried all routines and all timings. If he goes to sleep earlier he gets up at silly o’ clock, like 5.30am or even 5am 🤦‍♀️

This is just the amount of sleep he needs and we have made our peace with it.

edited for typos

There's a whole range of normal. Some kids just need less sleep. It's hard when you get one of those, until they can read to themselves in bed to stay up a bit later, but quiet and calm.

A bedtime routine that takes 1.5 hours is mad but 8.30 to be asleep sounds about right for a 6YO that’s up at 6.45. DD is 8 and goes to bed around 9 and I think when she was 6 it would have been about 8.30. My 4YO goes to bed at 8 so I definitely don’t think it’s absurdly late or anything. Both are up at 7am and are well rested.

Hmm, a range of opinions. She does seem tired in the mornings tbh and it can be hard to get her out of bed. At the weekend, she goes to bed at the same time but wakes up naturally at about 7.30-8am, which suggests that she does need more sleep in the week- but I just can’t seem to get her to fall asleep any earlier!

Mine is a bit of a bugger about bedtime at the mo, but we've just introduced half an hour of quiet reading which is really good. She'll go to bed about 7.15/7.30, we do bedtime stories and teeth, then she'll read to herself for half an hour then happily go to sleep for about 8/8.15. She was staying up way later messing about when we didn't have reading time - I think she needs the wind down.

My nearly 7 year old goes to bed 8.30 at the earliest. Usually up at 7am. She's never tired and has never needed a lot of sleep.

In theory DD nearly 6 goes to bed at 8 but it's 8:10 right now and she's making a poster. It's probably closer to 8:30 most nights and then lights out around 9:30ish. She doesn't get up until 8am though. On weekdays she says she's tired and doesn't want to get up, but on weekends she wakes up at 7:30 full of energy so I think it's more that she cba going to school.

My 6 year old goes to bed between 7.30 and 8, sometimes he’s asleep straight away, sometimes he reads for a bit. He gets up around 7.30ish normally.

My 6 year old falls asleep between 7:30 and 8pm relatively quickly after lights out. She wakes up naturally somewhere between 6 and 6:30am.

She's never slept 12 hours and has very gradually decreased her sleep hours so that now it's a fairly reliable 10 1/2 hours per night, which is well within normal range for her age.

Mine is 7 next month, routine starts between 6.30 and 6.45 and she is asleep by 7.30 usually. Her little brother usually falls asleep first.

I say usually because right now she is still awake 🙄

Mine is 6 in a few weeks. Has always been low sleep needs. 10h is pretty average at night now - 8-8:30pm until 6 or maybe 6:30am is our usual.

Edited to add: long bedtime routines were scrapped a few years ago. If it’s not bath night around 7:40 he’ll be into pyjamas, teeth brushed and 15 minutes of reading our chapter book before lights out and generally he falls asleep within 15 minutes.

She goes to her room at 7ish, then she reads in bed and turns the light off at around 8. She’s a fab sleeper and brilliant at bedtime.
My 4 year old is a total nightmare and evens out the fact I got a great sleeper first 🤣

Wind down time at 7.30pm she'll read a book or do some colouring, making bracelets or whatever. Lights out at 8pm. She is usually up around 7am, so still needs a good 11 hours at night. Occasionally she'll mess around still and up be still at 9am but she pays for it the next day with tiredness. She is quite good at announcing if she is tired and taking herself up earlier if need be.

9pm. She isn't even home from her music lesson and brownies at 7.45pm.

10pm and up at 745.

6.30 to be asleep for 7. She sleeps through until 6, would sleep longer if her brother wasn't an early riser

My son is 5.5 years old but he often doesn’t go to bed until close to 8pm now and isn’t asleep until past 8:30pm most nights! And then is up at 7am for school. He used to do 7-7 but just found that he’s definitely needed less sleep these last few months.

She sounds like a dream!

Between 7.45 and 8.15. Both my children have gone to bed at that time between about ages 4 and 8. I teach 7 year olds who stay up til 11 or 12 and they are exhausted. I think as long as it's before 9pm they'll be generally fine, even if a little tired some days.

My 6 year old falls asleep between 8:30_9pm and wakes up between 6:30-7.

Occasionally sleeps in a bit later than that.

I have a 7 year old, but nothing much has changed since 6. He is often in bed for 8:30/8:45 and asleep usually by 9:30pm.

She goes to bed 8-8.30pm and is up usually around 6-6.30. She’s lower sleep needs like her dad!