How long does your bedtime routine take - from dinner to bed?

[lill72]

I have an 3.5 year old and a mate the other night said the bedtime routine should be fast - ie half an hour. I don't know how I can possibly do it that quickly, so was wondering how long it takes others?

Ds is 3. Dinner is between 5.30 and 6 depending on what we're having. I don't count dinner as part of our bedtime routine.
Then ds has a play for roughly half an hour. Bath is normally 6.30/6.45 and lights are out by 7.30 after bath, stories and hugs.

We eat about half 5 - 6. I wash up while little one plays with daddy once he's gone from work. Then we bath him together. Then he sits on the sofa with us and has his milk we read him a story and then bed at 7. So all in all takes about an hour to an hour 1/2.

I have a 21mth old. Dinner at 5pm, beaker of milk at 5.20ish, books and topsy and tim. Quick bath at 5.45 (hates baths), bed 6pm, usually chatters in cot and falls asleep 6.30. Wakes 6- 6.30am.

Do people think this is all too early?

1.5 to 2hr nap midday.

Milky - for me it's too early but depends on your family really. We don't get home until 6.30-7pm so 6.30pm bed impossible. Also do you mind waking at 6am daily if you wouldn't have to? Personally I would move bed hour later to 7.30pm in the hope they wake 7-7.30am ( mine sleep 9pm-8/9am, with 2hr nap after lunch)

There's no such thing as too early or too late, just what works for your family. Most people I know go for a 7ish bedtime as it gives the working parent/s time to see their child before bedtime, but it 6 works for you then there is no reason to change it.

Maybe like others have said, the issue is thinking of dinner as the start of bedtime? Here it's 5.30 dinner, quiet(ish) play while I tidy up, bath/shower at 6.15 - though that might change as they move towards bathing separately - then pyjamas and clean nappies, books, a feed for ds2 while we read another book, goodnight cuddles and in bed lights out by 7.30.

We go up for bath at 6 usually out by 620/630. Dried and pj' s on. 3 stories. 1 from me. 2 from daddy who usually arrives home as we are getting out of bath. I go down stairs after my story. So ds can have 20mins of 1-1 story/ chat with daddy. Usually asleep between 7/730.

Ds is 3.7. Have done this same routine since about 13 mths

I'd quite like to move our bedtime routine. At the moment it's dinner a 5pm, bath between 5.30-6pm, little one asleep with bottle around 6.30pm and 4 year old asleep by 7.30pm at the latest. Both up at 6.30am (garrgghh)

When I'm at home with them all day though I'm guilty of having had enough of them by 5pm - hence the early dinner and bathtime

The days when I work it all moves forward a bit but not much.

Mine are quite grumpy by 5 (I assume hungry?) but I am interested to hear about this after tea potter around before bed. I might start doing that to spin it out a bit.

Oh and to the OP - when DD was 2 and I was pregnant, our bedtime routine took hours, I had a thread on here about it...I had to get very strict and stop the faffing around!!

Rose - try moving everything by starting 30 mins later with dinner ie 5.30pm, then adding 30 mins quiet play before bath. So bedtime is more like 7.15pm youngest, 7.45/8pm eldest. You can adapt if it suits.