What time do your kids go to bed?

[MamaMaiasaura]

Just wondered what other parents do.

DS aged 7 starts getting ready for bed around 7pm, bath/shower etc. He is usually in bed by or before 7.30pm and has story time, cuddle and song and goes to sleep. Usually all asleep by 8pm. At weekend I let him stay up a little later to watch Dr Who.

Lots of other parents seem to have later bedtimes for their kids. DS hasnt complained about bedtime being 7.30 and goes to bed when asked.

DD 8 months.

1830: Feed
1900: Bath
1915: Bed
1930: Sleep
0600: Wakes and plays
0630: Mummy capitulates and day 'begins'

Not because I'm routine obsessed (although I do think a structure helps, I just don't beat myself up if it goes awry) ... but because from 8 weeks old she naturally fell into this. She has never cried for more than a couple of minutes when trying to get to sleep ... and only woke for feeds when first born or if ill as she gets older.

I'm in a false sens of security ... if I have any more and they don't love their sleep like this poppet ... I'll be back for help!

Oh -- meant to say ... that schedule stays the same whatever her naps/activities in the day ...

I know ... I'm a lucky bugger.

ds4 and ds3 (who are 2.5 and 5) both go at 7 - 7.30pm.

dd1 and ds2 (8 and 7) both go at 8 - 8.30.

At least that's the plan.

Ds (15 months) goes to bed with some protest at around 8pm, awake by about 6am most mornings...

I wonder if it has anything to do with how 'you' (as in the parent) found bedtime as a kid ... I was always happy to go to bed and read for a while ... and was excited to stay up a little later in school holidays etc.

Think my mum worked hard at getting me to like my own space ... so going to bed never seemed like something I didn't want to do.

Certainly it looks like DD likes chilling down on her own and waking up and garbling happy.

Of course she's only 8mo ... ha ... it'll probably all change any day now ...

Donnylass - ds used to go out like a light until about 6 weeks ago and now kicks up a fuss. I think it's 'cos he's older and more able to keep himself awake and the lighter evenings...

DS 19 weeks in bed by 6.30pm

DD 21 months - 6.45pm
DS1 and DS2 - nearly 5 and nearly 4) - 7pm - story etc lights 'dim' 7.30pm

Weekends are a whole different story.

They all go at about 8pm but DS1 will sneak into our bedroom to watch cartoons until about 9pm. (The shame.....)

DD(2) goes in the bath at 6. Stories and lights out by about 6:45. Up at 6am. Happy to be up pretty early, as her early bedtime means DH and I have the whole evening to himself. Bedtime is not negotiable in our house. I dictate when it happens, not DD. As long as she has her books and a cup of milk to wind down with, she is happy to say goodnight.

DD (8) & DS (3) are both ready for bed at 7pm, then have stories. DS goes straight to sleep, DD has until 8pm to read on her own then lights out, 8.30pm at the weekend.

school nights

ds age 14 9.30pm
dd age 11 9pm
ds age 16 months 7pm, bf and (usally) asleep by 7.30pm

DS age 6 months in bed at 7. Although i do like reading bedtime books so i can see that getting later if i'm not careful!

ds (11 months) winddown 8pm, usually asleep by 8.30pm, wakes up between 7.45 and 8.30 am. I'm not a morning person so don't mind him being up a bit later than his compatriots if he's not getting me up at 6am!

Bed time routine starts at 7pm, DD (nearly 3yo) is usually in bed by 7.45 but she prevaricates as much as she can get away with. I'm usually downstairs again by 8pm.

She usually wakes at 7am but today woke at 5.30. She's now snoring gently next to me on the sofa.

ds 2.4 in bed by 7pm light out by 7.15pm

WOW! im a bit shocked at how different we are....dd1 and only is 3.5 at full time school ,sometimes conks out at 4pm for 2 hrs, and as a result goes to bed at 10!she is so lively and is ready for bed otherwise at about 8.30.well it works ok for us, and shes not got rings around her eyes..........

DS(3) and DD(1.7) both go to bed at 7.30pm, occaisionally 7pm if they've missed their daytime naps. usually both asleep within 10 mins of going up then they wake us like an alarm clock at 7.54am. (seriously, you can set your watch by them)

dd1 (nearly 9) is in bed by 9pm,
dd2 (7) is in bed by 8pm
ds (3) is in bed by 7.30pm
dd3 (12weeks) is ff at 8.30pm and in bed sleeping by 9pm. (but doesnt wake until 5am so i dont mind)

but all of them are early risers, if they are still in bed at 7am, i know there is something wrong,

saffymum - I'm with you all the way.
DD age nearly 5 - always used to be 9.30 - 10.30pm and awake 6am onwards, even at FT nursery, but starting school does now tend to go up at 7.30 and be asleep for 8.15ish (awake 6am onwards - does only need 9 - 10hours sleep).

DS age nearly 3 - take him up 7.30, on average takes till nearly 9pm, often mcuh later. Wakes at least once in night - give milk (yes, we've tried stopping that, to no avail) then up 5.50am. Nursery limit him to 30 mins sleep - if he does last a day without sleep, he sometimes then sleeps by 8.30pm. But flip side is if try to keep him awake, he ends up having late afternoon sleep which completely screws up bedtime till very very late!

We tried all sorts with DD as a baby and in the end it was almost a relief when health visitor simply said that some children just need less sleep than others - for every average child, you'll find ones at the far end of the scale. We are permanently sleep deprived, get very little time to ourselves, and can't face taking it in turns to put them to bed cos then it takes ages and they're even later.

PS - And neither will stay in bed or even upstairs if we leave them - none of this happily reading in bed by torchlight etc - they just come straight back downstairs like a yo-yo. Have tried repeatedly returning them to bed but doesn't work - less time and hassle for us to just stay with them till they fall asleep. You 7pm to 7am people just don't know how lucky you are - we have tried EVERYTHIN in every book and have only ended up m ore stressed!!!!!

dd 4.5 is asleep between 7.30-8pm and wakes around 7.30am give or take half an hour.

ds1 (7) has autism and doesn't need much sleep so usually in bed by 9.45pm and try to settle him for 10pm which means no evening for us as dh often goes to bed before him! dh gets up first for work so always tired by by 9ish. ds1 is last to get up in the morning and it seems that his biological clock is just skewy and have started giving him melatonin which at least gets him to sleep for 10pm whereas before he'd lie awake till 11pm and have a problem waking him for school.

dd (5) is about 8.30-9pm which may seem late but make it late as I don't want a huge time difference between the children, even then she'll maybe wake at 7pm which could be a whole hour earlier than ds1.

ds2 is only 21 months and has a daytime nap and usually goes to sleep last about 10.30pm and I often go straigt to bed after - which means about now!

You early to bed people are lucky! dh has to take a day off work so we can watch a 18-rated DVD together as we just don't have time left at the end of the day.

ds 4 is asleep about 7.15 to 7.30 and wakes between 6 and 7

Tom, 13 months, is usually in bed by 11pm and wakes up anytime between 7-11am. Ideally, I would like him in bed by 8pm but I work 3 nights a week and have to pick him up from the in-laws which means we don't get home till 10. The HV suggested putting him down at the in-laws in a travel cot, but I reckon he'll just wake up as soon as we get back home, like he does when he falls asleep in the car.