What time do you put your little ones to bed?

[howah]

I've always put DS who is 18 months old down at 7pm. This is because he will sleep through to 7.30am no matter what time we put him down, so want to give him as many hours as poss. Plus he sleeps through if he isn't over tired. But most importantly so that I can have some semblance of an evening!

SIL thinks this is too early and moans loudly about it to DP and MIL because it prevents us going out for meals and nights out with the kids. We do let him go later for holidays/special nights out/parties but certainly not every week as SIL would like. We aren't slaves to the routine, just like to eat and be home with Ds tucked up at a reasonable time.

Her children don't have a set bedtime and fall asleep in the car, peoples sofa's, pushchair etc most nights. They woke up from their naps today at 6pm. Our approaches are so different and she cannot see our side at all.

DP agrees with me and we have suggested sunday lunch of around 2pm instead of a late sunday dinner at 8 if she really wants us all to eat together (but no! too early for her!) Sigh!

It did make me wonder what time other people put their kids down. Is 7pm really early? Any input would be helpful :)

My dd4 goes to bed at 7pm with a couple of stories. I am a firm believer in a set bedtime, and it helps when you are trying to establish a routine to stick to a certain time. The child knows what is happening, and I like to be organised.
She usually falls sleep a few minutes after lights out, and sleeps till 6am.

My 2 DSs go to bed at 8 and have always done so from tiny babies. DS1 is nearly 8.

Our two go down between 7.30 & 8 but we start winding down with bath, milk, story before then. They're 1,5 and 3,5.

We haven't really done evening meals out at restaurants with them. Lunches yes but for evening things we are either at family's houses or at home so that we can get them into pjs and asleep and then we can join in with the others once they're settled.

Once in a blue moon my ILs will step up and babysit so that we can go out for a meal.

Both of mine are usually asleep by 7pm. They 21m and 5yo. At weekends they stay up a bit later til 8 for 5yo but I really need my evenings just now. They both get up at 6am regardless of when they went to bed.

For parties and weddings etc they stay up til they start to drop tbh.

Sounds like you have an ideal set up and 7pm obviously works for your LO, so why change?! To suit SIL??? Your child, your decisions, your life...none of her business!

My SIL is similar insomuch as she has 2 dc's and did everything different to me. I bf my DD, she ff both her DS's. She's a GF (spit on floor!) fan and did CIO, I am not a CIO fan. She tells me I am too soft if I pop up to DD if she's crying in the evening. I do a mix if spoon and BLW, she just pureed and spoon fed and she goes on and on about how BLW makes no difference to fussy eating. My DD eats everything, her DS's eat sausages, potato and cheese sandwiches and that's it! DD meets all development milestones dead on time, or earlier and I always have some snippy comment from SIL. She gave me lots of 'advice' when I was pregnant and i think she's narked off that I've done my own thing and more importantly...coped!!! Am sure she was secretly hoping I'd go into meltdown!

You stick with what you are doing honey. It's about what's best for you, DH and your boy, not her bloody social life!!!

On this topic I've just moved ds's bedtimefrom 8pm to 8.30 as he was simply playing in his room from 8 onwards. He feels very grown up! He is six. Weekends and holidays I'm more lax.