Your 3-6 yr olds: what time is bedtime and what time do they wake up

[OnlyFoolsnMothers]

My husband thinks I put our kids to bed too early, or rather they wake up too early. I personally don’t think it’s abnormal, to have young kids wake up early, and I prefer it to having them invade my evening.

So my soon to be 1 yr old and 4yr old go to bed between 7-7.30pm and are up usually between 6-6.30am (seldom 7am). It’s not unusual is it?

I was correcting a post that “all young children” wake early. It’s not the case.

A lot of my friends who aren’t British born keep their kids up late- often causes issues when they start school, though I’m sick with jealousy at the weekend

3 year old, bed at 6:30pm, awake 12 hours later.

5 year old bed at 7:30pm, awake around 7am ish.

Both of mine went to bed between 6-6:30 when they were little and slept 12 hours. They're just early birds (but I don't mind because all am I). Nothing wrong with an early bedtime, means you get your evenings to yourself!

@OnlyFoolsnMothers we will cross that bridge when we come to it, it'll just mean a little bit of an earlier bedtime.

@Handsoffstrikesagain but not all children wake up early. Some would have us believe that whatever time you put them to bed they wake at 6/6.30.

Some choose to have a different routine than others and that's fine. I don't get home til 5pm and then I like to spend some time with the kids, I cook us all a dinner and so often we will eat at 7.30. That means a 7.30 bedtime is off the cards. My two went to bed at 9 the other night. I woke one up for nursery at 7.30 and the other stayed in bed til 10.30. Even if they are asleep for 8.30 they don't wake up til 8.30. When they were tiny I treated 6/6.30 as a night waking and they learnt to go back to sleep. Each family do what works for them and that's okay. But it's true...all children do not naturally wake at 6

@Opalfeet - you must see that yours are good sleepers though? Mine goes to bed at 9pm most days and is still bouncing around wide awake most mornings by 6.30am.
He had never got to bed at 9/9.30pm and woke at 10.30am!
So even if both our children go to sleep at 9am, mine only sleeps 9-10hrs maximum and yours 12-13hrs at once.

Therefor so get no evenings to myself or lie ins.

My point is just reiterating a point previously...not all children wake up at 6/6.30.

4 and 2yo go to sleep around 2100, up sometime between 7.30 and 8.30, usually closer to 8.30 if let you them. I couldn’t be doing with 6.00 starts or being organised for 7pm bedtimes ( how do you have family dinners?) so works for us

@Opalfeet

My point is just reiterating a point previously...not all children wake up at 6/6.30.

Who said they did?

@Hoowhoowho

4 and 2yo go to sleep around 2100, up sometime between 7.30 and 8.30, usually closer to 8.30 if let you them. I couldn’t be doing with 6.00 starts or being organised for 7pm bedtimes ( how do you have family dinners?) so works for us

I eat with the kids at 5pm a few times a wk (weekends and when working from home), other nights I feed them and eat later. My eldest just started school - to be fair I’ve always preferred to have my evenings- but now she has to be having breakfast at 7.30 otherwise it would be chaos. My neighbours insist on eating every meal with their child , probably more so because he’s an only child - and eat late, but they have to wake him for school and he always looks shattered, (I struggle to see the benefit in that scenario).

@Hoowhoowho

4 and 2yo go to sleep around 2100, up sometime between 7.30 and 8.30, usually closer to 8.30 if let you them. I couldn’t be doing with 6.00 starts or being organised for 7pm bedtimes ( how do you have family dinners?) so works for us

Question back, actually want to know- my 4 year old doesn’t leave me alone, when do you tidy and organise your house, your life in general is they are awake until 9pm?

3 year old DS sleeps 7.30pm till around 7am, usually a bit later. He's knackered by then usually

Question back, actually want to know- my 4 year old doesn’t leave me alone, when do you tidy and organise your house, your life in general is they are awake until 9pm?

In the morning before she woke or at night after she had gone to bed. (I don’t usually go to bed until well gone midnight). And weekends when DH was home.

And I’d get her involved in whatever I was doing. Never too young!

@OnlyFoolsnMothers you can get them to join in. I clean up with a 1.5 year old and a 3.5 year old. I give my 3.5 year old little tasks as I tidy. Normally the other is wandering around

Yeh I do that a little in the day get her to “help” but I do enjoy my evening peace to proper clean and then shower and fall asleep by 10- kids are exhausting

Time after bed us certainly not for cleaning, it's for chilling. I'd rather have a messy house...I do have a messy house. 🤦‍♀️

At 3, bed at 7pm , awake 6.30am (same as yours)
Now at 6, bed at 7.15, lights out 7.30 and awake at 7.15.

They do grow out of early mornings.

DS 4, just started school, he's tired! So bath, books bed by 6:30/6:45 he's usually asleep by 7pm, sleeps through to 6:30-7am.
Before he started school he was very much awake for the day at 5am no matter what time he went to bed!

My 3 (nearly 4) year old goes anytime between 7:30-8:30 at the minute, she’s got into the habit of falling asleep around 4:30pm while I make tea so bedtime is adjusted to reflect the 15/20 minute danger nap. Wake time is always between 6-7am regardless of bedtime.

My 4 year old...

If he has no nap during the day : 7:30 bedtime, awake at about 7:30.

If he has a nap during the day(most days) : nap from 11:30 - 1:30, Bedtime at 8:30 and up at about 7:30.

My 8 year old....

Bedtime same as 4 year old, extra half hour of 'reading time' if they are in bed by 8 then gets up round 7:30.

4 year old goes to bed at 7 and waked at 7 or slightly before, but stays in bed until 7

2 year old goes to bed at about 6.45 and wakes up at about 6.30

On the weekend I sometimes let the older one stay up until 7.15 or 7.30 😂

@Opalfeet

Time after bed us certainly not for cleaning, it's for chilling. I'd rather have a messy house...I do have a messy house. 🤦‍♀️

Haha same! I might do a quick toy clear up or stick the dishwasher on but I need to have down time in the evening.