5 year old bedtime

[MamaGarl85]

After a particularly difficult bed time with DD (5yo), I am after a spot of perspective.

What time are your 5yos going to bed and what does your bedtime routine look like?

Perhaps her bedtime is too early? When mine were that age it was winding down/bath etc as 7pm in bed by 7.30 and asleep by 8. They would get a story and some music. They would then be up about 7am.
It doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with your routine.
Why don't you try moving it half and hour later?
It's hard in summer too when it's still light out and they can hear people outside. If you haven't already get blackout blinds.

It really seems to vary from night to night, sometimes she is asleep before the end of the second story, sometimes she will still be awake for a little while after.

Last night was unusual in the sense that she isn't normally that wound up.

My eldest (10) doesn't seem to need as much sleep as other children and generally doesn't go to sleep till 10pm and wakes up at 7am absolutely fine so maybe 5 yo doesn't need as much sleep either and we could go for a slightly later start of bed time...

She does seem to be struggling with the fact it is still light at bedtime!

Definitely not that early. Or quick

Ds is 4, we aim to go up at 8pm. Teeth, pjs, story. Lights dimmed by 8.20pm. We sit with him still as it’s chaos and he takes until gone midnight if we leave. He falls asleep any time between 8.45-9.30pm usually. On a bad day he’s awake until 10-10.30pm. Will still wake and join us in out bed at some point, then be up by 6am latest

11pm ish

Poor you,sounds tough.

At 5 you can speak to get during the day. Ask what she wants bedtime to look like. What would help her feel calm? What reward would she enjoyifshe is quiet by an agreed time?

How is she when she wakes in the morning? Well rested it still tired? Because she might genuinely need a different bed time. Is she getting enough physical activity to tire her out? No screen time in the 2h before bed if possible. Is bathtume more stimulating than relaxing? My 3yos don't find it at all relaxing, it makes them manic so we do it 2h before bed.

I think if I asked her she would want to sleep in our bed and stay up as late as her sister!

She is at school full time and we have fairly busy weekends so I would think she is doing enough to tire her out!

My 4.5 yo is not a bedtime fan. He has never ever slept well and I have tried and failed to get some kind of routine all these years. He was breastfed to sleep for 2+ years and we’ve always bed shared. Most of the time I’m ok with the fact that bed time is around 9pm. Lately my MIL is getting at me (in the most polite passive aggressive way possible) because he is behaving badly at nursery and she keeps going on about how he won’t cope with starting school in September cos he’ll be exhausted if I don’t implement an earlier bed time now. But he’s just not tired/ready for bed before 9pm. For example tonight he looked exhausted so I got him into bed at 7pm to start stories and wind down. We read 10+ stories and I got so frustrated in the end I said I’m going to the living room, il check on you but you must try and get to sleep now. He howled for 45 minutes. He said he couldn’t feel my love (we’re in a bungalow and I left the door open so he didn’t feel alone). I gave up at 8.45pm and went to lie with him. He talked for a while and I explained I just want him to go to sleep or he’ll be tired and grumpy at nursery. At 9pm I said I’m going to get a drink of water he said ok I left the room he was awake, came back 2 mins later and perfectly happy and fast asleep! Does his little mind just not switch off til then? Granny insists he must be getting a second wind and I am missing the earlier tired cues and should get him to bed sooner. Her heart is in the right place but she makes me feel like a shit mother.

Our bed times are hellish atm also. 5.5 year old.
Some nights can be a tad easier otherwise we have a meltdown.

We aim for him to be in bed by 7pm, he's up with the birds (tried to adjust to change this but doesn't work he's an early riser) so he is tired, his eyes are literally dropping and he'll say/do something to prolong it.

I aim for 7.30 but in real life it’s usually 8/8.30.
we have dinner about half 5/6.
Watch tv or play.
Upstairs at 7 ish. Half an hour of stories/teeth/bath if having one.
8ish she may go to sleep. Trying any earlier never works unless she is utterly exhausted. So I judge it by that. If I tried to get her in bed for 7 she’d just lie there awake and then get in an out of bed for an hour 🤣
Eldest is 10 and she usually goes to bed about 8.30 so they often end up going to sleep at the same time. Sometimes she’s asleep and the 5 year is still awake!
They both get up about 6.30

Wow, I am in awe. Do you work if you mind me asking? I am thinking of growing my family but have reservations due to full time job.

@Humptydumptydone yeah I do work. But I am very lucky with what I do, as it is mostly seasonal and I have been able to do a lot of it with a baby/toddler under one arm (although it's admittedly a lot easier since they have all been in school/nursery!)

However my husband is the main wage earner, and the kids have always been my main priority (my work being more of a side hustle for now). Pretty sure I would have stopped at 2 under different circumstances.

Start getting ready at 7.15. This includes change into PJs, put night time pull up on, clothes away and/or in dirty laundry basket in bedroom, teeth brushed with help from me, bedroom tidied up (i.e not loads of clothes and/or toys on the bed and/or floor). Bedtime story, or more if there was no tidying. Good night and lights off around 7.45/7.50 usually but always by 8pm.