To think a 12yr old

[Aprillygirl]

should be in bed by 10.30 on a school night. Mine used to go up about 9 with lights out by 10 at that age,but I've just been told on here that no way would their child normally be in bed by 10.30! I thought plenty of sleep was important for growing kids or am I abnormally strict?

In an ideal world yes. My dd has never needed much sleep She goes up at 10pm and is normally asleep by 11pm. Up for 7, so still a good 8 hours of sleep.

I aim to have my 12yo in bed for 9.30pm. Older brother often goes in and sits and chats with him for a bit but I do like him to be asleep by 10pm. Otherwise he gets so tired.
There is no ‘one rule for all’ though. Some kids don’t need as much sleep, others couldn’t cope if not asleep by 9. I wouldn’t over think it.

I don’t think 10.30 is worthy of an exclamation mark . It’s not that late.

ELeanorLavish it was the poster who said that no way would their child be in bed at that time who added the exclamation mark.

Ideally yes, but I remember going through a phase between about 12-15 or so when I just wasn't tired until about midnight!

Ideally yes but my youngest is and always has been a night owl. He would routinely still be use awake at that time when he was 12.

My 10 year old ds will sleep for 5 hours a night with medication but only 2 without I was similar myself and still have sleep issues everyone is different its what works for you

My 12 year old goes to bed 8.30 on a school night

Mine is, but I know plenty that aren't. It doesn't bother me what they're doing though.

Up for 7, so still a good 8 hours of sleep.
That’s not enough for a 12 year old.

My 15 year old goes up for bed at 9.30 and usually showers and lights off for 10.

She’s a monster without adequate sleep.

Mine would be in bed, with a book if they can't sleep. I agree it's too late.

Mind you, the same 12 years old who could not possibly be in bed at that time could not be left alone in a room either and still need supervision, so I would take that thread with a massive pinch of salt

Recommended hours of sleep for a 12 year old doesn’t work for all you know.

I think it’s late too but then I don’t have 12 year olds yet.

Up for 7, so still a good 8 hours of sleep.
That’s not enough for a 12 year old.

It's low, but you cannot definitively say it's not enough, everyone has different sleep needs, natural waking is likely a more valuable measure of sufficient sleep than any prescriptive view on number of hours.

I aim to have mine in bed with lights out at 9.15pm. He's allowed to read or play with his figures (he likes having a few action type figures to mess about with still) but no looking at his iPad. He generally falls asleep quite quickly

At weekends I relax this. Works for us

Maybe I've been lucky because mine have always been ready to go to bed and fall asleep by that time. In fact they were in bed by 10 and fast akip by 11 even when they were 16/17! Not a night owl like their mum thank goodness.

Haha Babuchuck

That’s not enough for a 12 year old.

Enough for mine. Her older sister also only needed about the same amount.

I only need 6 hours.

At 12 years old, bedtime was 8:30, lights out by 9:00. It's really not unreasonable and I would do the same for my own children because they are still children!

My 13 and 14 year olds are up to bed at 9.30 , lights off by 10. Eldest sometimes goes earlier as is a big fan of sleep. DH and I are in bed, lights off by 10.30. We all have early starts in the morning - up by 6 (adults) 6.45 (children), so we simply wouldn't get enough sleep if we went up much later.

My bed time was 10 until I turned 15 then it got upped to 10:30. By college it was up to me what time I went to bed, if I stayed up late I dealt with the consequences.

Agree past 10:30 is quite late for a 12 year old.

My 12 year old goes to bed 8.30pm on a school night. He has to be up 6.30 so gets 9-10 hours sleep. I think 10.30pm is very late for that age group but if they were surprised at that then when do their kids go to bed??

I'm in bed for 10, 10.30 at the latest , I'm surprised at all of the comments that suggest it's early, especially for a 12 year old.

I didn't have a set bedtime at 12. Usually I'd be asleep by 10 to get up at 6. Sometimes I'd stay up later. I never had a problem with getting up on time regardless of how late I was up, but I tended to follow a very late night with an early one to catch up on sleep. Learning to self-regulate is important.

I don't think anything can be said definitively about all 12-year-olds. If they're struggling to get up at the right time for school in the morning, they need to go to bed a bit earlier than they currently. 10.30 isn't inherently unreasonable. It depends on the person and when they need to wake up.