To ask you what time a 5 yr old should go to bed

[VisaGeezer]

I've heard 7.30; is that normal?

We never manage it that early but I'm worried it's affecting her in school (esp towards home time).

What time do/did you have for your 5 yr olds?

Thank you

It depends on wake up time but you need to be aiming for 12 hours sleep. Anything less is not fair to them, I’ve had to bring my 5yo’s nee time forward to 6.30, 7 at the latest. It’s a PITA but I just get it done because they need that sleep. I’m very relaxed with it in the holidays but as soon as back to school we’re back in to it

Holidays I don't worry about, but during school terms by 5 year old needs to be asleep around 7.30 and jumps out of bed ready to start the day around 7am.

It depends so much on the kid.

My daughter has always been on the lower end of sleep needs (she dropped all naps by 19 months). If we aimed for 7:30, she simply wouldn't be able to get to sleep so it's usually 8:30 and she gets up at 6:45.

8, 8.15, 8.30 surely depends your child and how they're performing at school

It's very varied, and please remember that recommendations are usually based on averages.

DD (5 rising 6) goes down between 8 and 10 and wakes between 6 and 8; it's not unusual for her to go down at 10 and wake at 6 and be perfectly happy. This is an advance on where she turned 5, when she'd be down between 10 and 12 and awake at 6 or 7, and it's also an improvement on when she was 3-4, when she liked to go down around 11 or midnight, wake every hour on the hour, and get up for the day at 6 or 7.

I spent ages worrying we were failing her by not getting her to sleep more, and we did everything we could think of to get her to sleep for longer, or earlier, or in a more regular pattern, or whatever. And it just didn't work very well. She never showed any signs of needing more sleep, didn't nap, didn't seem exhausted or cross, etc. We've come to the conclusion she's just geared not to sleep a lot. I'm posting because, while MN was a wonderful resource, I would have found it really useful to hear someone saying that, sometimes, they just don't sleep and it's how it is.

DD 4yrs goes to sleep at 9:30pm maybe on average and then wakes at 8:00am ish. If I somehow managed to get her to bed at 7pm she'd be up at 5:30am, no thanks.

“you need to be aiming for 12 hours sleep. Anything less is not fair to them”

or some of us know our individual children well enough to know that getting them to bed at 6pm would have them up at 4am, which also isn’t fair to them. You know your child’s needs, trust us to know ours.

Hours of sleep needed vary between children. DS needed 10 hours not 12. He woke up naturally after 10. He needed 11 hours at 2 years old. You can't make a person sleep longer than their body needs.

Most of DD friends go 7-8.30. DD goes at 8. It works for her. She wakes 7-8 am. If she goes before 8 she plays up till 9 or 10 as not tried. I have one friend though who's DD is asleep by 6.30 pm....

Bed time by 7 and lights out by 7:30. Usually go up around 6:45 and out by 7:15. She gets up anytime from 7 (has a gro clock)

7pm

7-7.30 depending how tired. Wakes at 6.30am. Putting him to bed later doesn't result in him sleeping longer, it just leaves him gradually more tired. It becomes obvious as is behaviour is worse.

Friend lets her dc bedtime creep later and later and as a result they are constantly late for school as slow to rise in the morning.

Some children need far less sleep.
My 2.5 year old has never slept 12 hrs, ever.

Yesterday he had a 15 min nap in the car at 2pm, that kept him wide awake until 9.30pm ( despite us starting bedtime at 8pm). He was wide awake at 6am this morning. He generally runs on 9-10 hrs max sleep in 24hrs.

He fell asleep at 7pm a month or so back in the car, we put straight to bed and he was wide awake by 4am ready to start the day

Threads like these with loads of 5 yo only waking at 8am make me realise why so many parents are late to school every day and say they don't have time to do reading before school (but also that DC are too tired to do it in eve....)

That extra hour before school is when we get everything done!

7pm, he wakes up anytime between 5 and 6. He is 7 now and bedtime is still around 7/7.30

Any time Between 7 and 9 depending on the day we’ve had. He has ASD and is on melatonin to help him drop off to sleep otherwise it’d be 12/1am

Mine were upstairs for bath and story at 6 so in bed by 6-30pm

My 6 year old is in bed for 7/7:30. He stays up for dinner with us once a week and half the time yawns his head off at 7:30 and demands to go to bed!

He gets up around 6:30/7. Yes that's early but we both work so 8am would not suit as at all as we need him in breakfast club by then

My 5yo stepchild goes to bed at 9 and can easily wake at 5.30. With no naps through the day. My own dc were in bed 7.30/8 at that age and would sleep til 6.30/7.

7pm for my dd (5) and ds (7) and even then it's a little late for my dd, she gets so tired now that she is at school.

I take them up by 7pm and they are usually asleep by 7.30pm ( aged 5 and 6) . I stick to the same routine at the weekends and in the holidays unless we are visiting family (my dad doesn't get in till 7pm and they want to spend time with him). My 5 year old is prone to crying and being ratty if he is overtired.

9pm for my daughter at 5 years old. My son is 5 now and barely makes it to 7pm. I think it varies child to child.

What do you mean you never manage it? You’re dragging them out of bed at 8, it’s obvious you need to start putting them first. Bath at 6.30, story 6.45 then bed 7.15. It needs to be a priority.

All these posters saying their child needs no sleep are missing the point, OP is concerned their child isn’t waking and isn’t thriving at school!

Depends what you mean. Outside of the mad Christmas season we are in (all bets are off!) mine goes to bed at 7.30 (actually into bed, bath and story before hand) but often reads or plays in bed until 8.30. I figure I’m giving them the chance to go to sleep if they’re tired but I don’t worry if they’re still awake for a while.

19:30