If you have young children, what time do you go to bed?

[PlumBear]

Asking because we have a 7, 5 and 2 year old and are utterly broken with exhaustion.
Having dropped her nap the 2 year is asleep by 7pm, thank God, but the older 2 can still be awake at 8.30pm / 9pm. Then up around 6.30am the next day.

by the time they’re all asleep and we’ve tidied up downstairs, all my husband and I want to do is sit in silence on our phones for a few hours and decompress. Family life is incredibly noisy and chaotic at the moment and have no family nearby to help.
so we usually end up going to bed around 11pm. I know this is too late, especially as the toddler is still up once or twice in the night and can wake as early as 5am but I also know we desperately need some time to ourselves at the end of the day. We are really struggling at the moment.

how do you balance it? And what time do you go to bed if you have children of a similar age?

TIA

Mine are similar ages, we usually go to bed around 11:30pm and usually up around 6:45 so 7ish hours in bed which I think is fine (still interrupted sleep here too!).
Are you still having to stay with the children while they fall asleep?

9pm. Toddler goes to bed at 7 so we have an hour and a half to relax and watch our show before we go up. Toddler gets up between 5am and 6am and I'm pregnant so I need the sleep!

It's only recently since my youngest was 4 that I have started staying up until 10pm. Before that I would go to bed 8pm in the week 9pm at weekends to spend time with DH.
My eldest 8 still goes to be around 7.30pm. In his room for 7.15pm, asleep anywhere from 730-8pm.

Mine are 10 and 13…I go to bed at 09:30…asleep by 10:00.

I usually go to bed around 1 or 2am, up at 7am. I like getting my stuff done when they're in asleep for the night and I know I won't be disturbed. I find that's enough sleep for me, it was my normal hours pre-dc too so I've never felt sleep deprived as a parent. DCs are asleep at 9pm and up at 7am, and sleep through.

We gradually shifted it to doing all the jobs while they were still up so once they were in bed we were free for the evening. Or one person going up with them and the other cleaning the kitchen etc. But we never stayed up till they fell asleep, it was always read a book and then leave them to go to sleep by themselves.

Daughter is 6 and we're all night owls so she goes to sleep about 9pm and we turn the lights out at around midnight most nights. I'm not a great sleeper, but DH is out like a light as soon as his head hits the pillow, then gets up with DD at 8am on weekdays. At 7 and 5 the older two should surely be able to entertain themselves.

Mine are 6 and 13. They are both in their rooms by 8pm. They're allowed to play xbox (ds13) and read a book (ds6) until 9pm. Me and my dp tidy up, chill out, watch tv from 8pm until about 10:30 then go to bed. We dont get interrupted at night so we manage until 7pm when the alarm goes off and wake the kids at 7:15.

My kids are grown but back then we were in bed at 11. My DH was at the gym at 6am sharp and my oldest was an early riser- if he made it to 6am that was a good day - but that’s just the way we did it. My DH didn’t get in from work til 8pm so with dinner and a bit of down time hard to see us getting to bed earlier. Fortunately my kids slept well and after I was done breastfeeding they would pretty reliably go to sleep about 7.45-8pm and not wake up until the next morning.

I stay with the toddler until she’s asleep (usually only takes about ten minutes). I then go through and read to one of the older ones while DH reads to the other. Brush teeth etc. were usually both back downstairs by 7.45pm but usually have to traipse back upstairs several times to stop them running in and out of each others’ rooms and generally messing around.

i find it hard to properly switch off until they’re all asleep.

Thank you to everyone who has shared.

Screen activity two hours before sleep disrupts the brain relaxing into sleep.
So I would have no screens for you or the kids after dinner if you are absolutely exhausted.
My DH read and tucked kids into bed while I tidied up.
Teaching kids to tidy their things and prepare for tomorrow before dinner helped.
We went to bed half an hour after the children. So about 8:30pm.

Once they are all school age they often have after school activities which add an hour to dinner time and bed time - though our whole household swear by going to bed early.
We love to slumber from 9 - 9:30 pm until 7 am.

Anywhere between 9:30 and 11pm.
Kids are 4 & 2 and either wake up during the night to pee, nightmare etc and or wake early. Sometimes 5 then the youngest will go back over for an hour.
Kids go to bed around 7ish, sometimes it quarter to 7, sometimes quarter to 8 by the time one of us is out of the youngest’s room.
Anything past 10:30 would be a late night for us, and would’ve made up with an earlier night the next night.

13 year old DS in his room from 8:30 so we can watch adult shows - he can read (no screens) up to 9 to 9:30. We go up 9:30 read till 10. Up at 6:15.

2 year old - 7pm
7 year old - 7:30pm

They wake between 06:00-06:30

i go to bed between 21:00/22:00 I don't go to sleep straight but never awake passed 23:00

About 9pm. We watch TV in bed though till about half 10/11. The kids go up about 8.15.

Rarely before midnight even though I'm shattered.
Similar ages here and it's usually 9 before we've got them asleep, but then we usually have hours of work to do before we get to go to bed ourselves 😞
Kids usually up 6:30-7

Usually up to bed about 10/10:30 asleep by elevenish. We don't have an early riser though, his alarm goes off at 7:30 am , mine at 7:10

I get into bed the same time as them, 8.30/9.00, doom scroll for maybe an hour then go to sleep

ours are 10 and 5, both asleep by 9ish (into bed by 8,lights out at 8:30)

We usually go about 10, I'm always asleep before 10:30/11, Alarm is 6:30.

Ds2 still wakes at night and comes into our bed.

I've got a 9yr old and 4yr old.

4yo in bed and asleep by 7:15-730pm
9yo stays downstairs with us chilling, but has to go to his room at 8:15pm and can read until 9pm if he wants to. He tends to put an audiobook on and drifts off listening to that by 9pm.

I like lounging in bed watching TV or reading in the evening, so sometimes I'm in my bed with a cuppa at 7:30pm (eldest DS can join me to watch a TV show or have a chat). Other times I'm downstairs with DH and will go up around 10ish. I watch TV and fall asleep about 11-11:30pm most nights. Up at 6:30pm.

I try and do tidying etc. when kids are chilling after dinner/before bath. Quick bursts of tidying as and when I see mess during the day/evening seems to make it so much easier than doing a big slog of cleaning once their in bed.

I have a three year old and and four day old so currently at about 8.30 😂 Once the baby is in a bit of a routine, it’ll probably go back to 9.30ish - I need a lot of sleep anyway so like to be asleep (not just in bed) by 10pm.

I hate to say it but using your precious free time scrolling on your phones is a waste…

My seven-year-old daughter goes to bed around 7pm gets to read for half an hour and then lights out. Me and my husband go to bed at 10pm

That is far too late for the 5 and 7 year old, 7.00pm bed, story, lights out