What time does your 8 and 10 year old go to bed...

[RevolvingPivot]

If they have to be up at 7am...

10 yr old night owl DD was awake until 11pm last night. Tired after first day back at school today so probably 10pm-ish tonight?

Don’t let them have screens after 6pm books and toys only

I find that often these threads are started by people who have children who go to bed later than others of a similar age but are answered by the majority who have children that go to bed early. I have battled this since my child was a baby...never sleeping for long or napping. We tried so hard to get her to go to sleep at a certain time, with many different sleep routines. After many nights/years of battling to get her to sleep early and being unsuccessful, we have had to come to the conclusion that she just does not need lots of sleep...like many adults too. My 7 year old goes to bed at 9 and is asleep by 10. She sleeps through until 7am. As frustrating as this is for us adults, I cannot force her to sleep. I know that she has friends that go to bed early and that there are others who do not sleep until much later, with parents pulling their hair out! Go with what is best for your child and family!

10 year old is in bed early but rarely asleep before 10.30/11pm @ElphabaTheGreen our routine went out the window as they just weren’t tired, although fully timetabled online it doesn’t compare to physical activity, and even walks/garden or trampoline didn’t touch the sides with my kids. I really struggled settling them at night.

Dont be ashamed.
If the kids bounce out of bed at 7am, then the current times are right fir them, even if you'd like them in bed earlier.
If they need dragging out of bed in the morning, you have a reason to move bedtime earlier. Shift the time forward 15 mins for a week. If they start getting up easily, leave the time at that point. If you still need to drag them out of bed, they go upstairs 15 mins earlier for the next week.

DD is 10, in bed by 8:15 but she reads etc and is normally asleep just after 9pm.

DS is in bed at 8pm and asleep by 8:30. He normally wakes up before 7

@Baubles2020

DD is 10, in bed by 8:15 but she reads etc and is normally asleep just after 9pm.

DS is in bed at 8pm and asleep by 8:30. He normally wakes up before 7

Forgot to say DS is nearly 8yrs

@RevolvingPivot

Mine are usually awake at 10 even if I take their phones off them at 9.

I set DD's phone so that it locks at half 6 so that she gets a good gap between screen time and bedtime. Don't really notice much help for her with it but it's what everyone recommends so it must help the majority

DD is 8 and she has never needed much sleep, she is regularly still awake at gone 10 and bounces out of bed at 6.30. She’s never tired during the day, so I assume she’s getting enough sleep
Friend’s daughter, same age, needs to be asleep by 7.30, or she gets very tired

9 yo DTs go up at 8 in the week to read. Asleep by nine. If they didn't dick around so much getting ready for bed they could go up later.

They get up at 630.

They're not allowed any screens after dinner.

During the weekend it's more like ten and they still get up at 645.

Again no screens after dinner. Quite frankly it turns them into little shites.

My 8yo has lights out at 8pm and my just-turned 11yo has LO at 9pm. They take ages to settle after that though and will burble, sing, wriggle, go to the loo, pop downstairs for a cuddle/drink forever for about an hour before they actually go to sleep. I'm keeping the early-ish bedtimes because otherwise they'll go to sleep even later and be grumpy in the morning.

My 9 year old (yr 4) is in bed between 7:30-8 and usually reads until 8:15-8:30.
My 11 year old (yr 6) goes to bed between 8-8:30, lights out at 8:45-9:00.

We've kept the same routine throughout lockdown for our own sanity - 7 & 10yo go to bed by 8pm (I'm done with parenting by then) and can read/draw/listen to audiobook/ play a little (they do this last one too much). No gaming after 6.30pm max and family tv time until 7.30pm-ish. They don't have any screens in their rooms.

This lockdown they have been going to sleep much much later (10-11pm for the 10yo) but they still mostly wake up at 7am. I think this is because of the cold dark days they haven't been outside as much - hopefully we'll see an improvement now they are back in school and we will generally be outdoors more with the nicer weather.

I think (well know) if my husband was home during lockdown they would be in bed earlier.

I have a few issues and I let them have their phones for some peace.

They will be 9/11 this summer.

Mine have always fallen asleep at about 10 or 10.30 - or later -and are up at 7.15am no matter what i do. I have tried no screens, plenty of exercise, a a quiet dark bedroom etc - but nothinG makes them fall asleep earlier.

I used to worry about it but they are not tired during the day, doing well in school and mostly in a good mood so I think they don’t need as much sleep as some other children.

I like that chart as a guide , but it depends on the child. One of mine goes to bed earlier than it recommends and one much later. If anything I want to send the early one to bed even earlier.

I would take screens away much much earlier than you are doing, if you're trying to bring bedtime forward. Reading is a good activity but it's not (usually) enticing enough to keep them bouncing around all night.

DD8 gets in bed at 8. Reads until 8:30.

Wakes up between 6:30-7am.

DD10 goes to bed about 8pm. I had started letting her go to bed later during lockdown but she was sleeping until after 9am most mornings. So now we're back to 8pm - after changing, teeth, some iPad, and some reading, it's usually between 8.30 and 9 that the lights go off. She wakes herself up naturally between 7 and 7.30 am most mornings now.

My nine year old falls asleep about 10pm and wakes at 7.30am. No screens after 7.30pm - although she is still currently playing and has YouTube on as background noise as a bit of a treat. So it’ll probably be about 10.15-10.30 tonight. She rarely has screens this late, but she’ll have no problem falling asleep.

My 2 are the same age as yours.
They both go to bed around 8:30.
I have caught them both reading after lights out!
Bedtime has crept later over this year due to lockdown.
We have noticed the youngest’s behaviour is more challenging when she has less sleep so we’re currently on a crack down to get her to sleep earlier.
They don’t have phones and the tv stops about 7:00.
Can you slowly edge their bedtime back? Five minutes at a time?
I would have a go at replacing the phone with something a bit more sleep inducing.

Just curiosity but for families where siblings with a 2 or 3 year age gap go to bed at the same time, doesn’t the older one object?

As a child I’d have been furious at the thought of going up at the same time as my 3 years younger sister but maybe that was just me.

Mine have just over a 2 year age gap (7 and 10) and go up at the same time. The older one has never mentioned it and to be honest it’d be the younger one kicking off if they had to go to bed earlier than the other one!

Both upstairs about 7.30 for bath, then reading so usually about 8.30 for lights out. Later at the weekends because we let them share a room and they chat and giggle for ages.

@SuperSleepyBaby

Mine have always fallen asleep at about 10 or 10.30 - or later -and are up at 7.15am no matter what i do. I have tried no screens, plenty of exercise, a a quiet dark bedroom etc - but nothinG makes them fall asleep earlier.

I used to worry about it but they are not tired during the day, doing well in school and mostly in a good mood so I think they don’t need as much sleep as some other children.

Mine are like this. Always have been night owls. One has ASD. On a bad night we can end up taking him out "stargazing" or just a late night walk as he often just doesn't switch off. Many children need an average amount of sleep. Some need more. Statistically some need less too. No child-free time in lockdown gets wearing, but you just can't make a child who isn't sleepy sleep.

DM always went on about the importance of bedtime and ignored that I was regularly awake for at least 2 hours past that arbitary time, reading secretly by streetlight or the crack at the door listening the theme tunes of programmes coming and going through the night. If I was caught reading, I'd be moaned at for ruining my eyes, but wasn't allowed the lamp on

Just curiosity but for families where siblings with a 2 or 3 year age gap go to bed at the same time, doesn’t the older one object?

My older one understands that 8pm isn’t just bed time for him, it’s end of mum-shift for me. It’s why we don’t have ‘lights out’ but rather ‘in bed’ at 8pm. He reads for ages, sometimes does crosswords, if he’s not tired. Younger DS2 is gone in 30 seconds at that time. Sometimes I’m asleep before DS1...

Just curiosity but for families where siblings with a 2 or 3 year age gap go to bed at the same time, doesn’t the older one object?

DS has always gone at the same time as his younger sibling. He has never made a comment or thought it unfair. I don't know why!