What time should a 7yo be in bed?!

[Chockypot]

My 7yo dd has normally been great about going to bed but literally since the day after her 7th birthday has been a nightmare trying to get to go to sleep. We had been putting her down at 7.30pm but now we have constant battle of wills until about 9pm. She's getting fractious about apparently not being sleepy and I am getting stroppy about having the evening spent running up and down stairs trying to get to her go to sleep. I do my best to wear her out during the day, she's in the fresh air loads, eating well etc but I am now worried she's not sleeping enough due to her new bedtime. (paranoid mother). Generally, what time do 7yos go to bed?! Sounds stupid reading this back but if you could help that would be great.

Thanks!

"putting her down" at 7?

My dd is nearly seven and her lights go off at about 8.30, she gets up at 7 and seems fine with that.

I think it's not unusual for a 7 year old to need no more than 10 hours. How about you allow her to read in bed, as long as she leaves you alone?

my 6 year old (7 in August ) goes to bed at 8..

okay so between 8-8.30pm. I must have been pushing my luck with 7.30pm but it was worth a try! I'll change her routine. Thanks.

My DD is 7 (8 Sept) in bed every night by 710 - usually sleeps thought till 7-730 next morning. I know I'm truely blessed!!

Her school friend is also always in bed by 715 x

School night - 8pm for DS7 and DS5.

Weekend - whenever really (but usually off to bed by 9:30pm.)

8-8.30 for ds (7) and dd(11)- experience having shown that she needs as much sleep as him, despite being older.

I don't know that I'd particularly call myself blessed if they went to bed earlier- as long as they're not getting overtired I quite enjoy their company. It's not like when they were babies and had to be looked after.

7.30 is quite early - and 'putting her down" sounds a bit as if you're still thinking of her as a baby (sorry). Can she read in bed, or listen to a story tape? If she's getting up bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning after falling asleep at 9, then you may have to change your routines!

'Putting her down' does sound babyish, but I have a much younger child and the same phrasiology tends to get used for them both. She's gut huge bags under her eyes this morning after eventually giving in at 9.45pm but I will alter her routine to around 8.15pm.

Thanks for your advice. C

9o/c for our 8yodd, same as when she was 7.

josstick - just to make you aware that if you are talking about your fith ds as in ds5 and your seventh ds ds7 - you write it as you/I have there. If you are talking about your second ds who is 5 years it is ds2(5) and your first ds who is 7 it is ds1(7). Hope I haven't offended, but thought maybe you were talking to alot of people with 1 or 2 year old children when in fact it is their first or second son or daughter who could be any age

I would suggest to her that she can have a later bedtime on the understanding that when she does go up she stays up there.

I think at 7 she is old enough to understand that parents need their time too.

My dd is almost 7 and goes to bed in the week at 7.30ish with her brother who is almost 5. He falls asleep straight away where as she will happily read in bed for a while (sometimes as long as an hour) and fall asleep when she's ready.
She wakes up at 7am. she is a child who needs a lot of unwinding before she sleeps so this routine seems to work well.
Could somethnig like this work for your dd?

At weekends she gets to stay up till later, usually 8.30ish.

I have 5 and 7yo boys who go to bed at 8/8.30pm all nights bar fridays and then they stay up intil 9pm.

I have had 'arguement's' with friends on times for bedtimes, but I am happy with my kiddies and they sleep well enough and are happy (most of of the time) and not tired so clearly they are getting enough!

They also both go to Beavers on a monday night, and that finishes and 7.45pm....meaning in reality that bedtime is 8.30ish (by the time they get home, get ready for bed, have supper etc....).

Now, my personal feeling is, if a church organisation can set a bedtime like that for 5-7yo children (rainbows are the same time on a different night) then it is clearly 'ok'...

I know that many out there are not religious or in any way favour things like the scouts/guide movement, and would therefore maybe argue with that, but I take it as an ok thing, and it suits US as a family.

what the mani thing tho that you need to realise......your child is the one you know, and the one you shuld be taking cue's from.....if he/she is tired and needs and earlier bedtime then so be it, equally if he/she can survive well on little sleep then go with that too.

asking others for a rough guide is fine, as you would not want your LO to feel 'out of it' amongst his/her peer's in the playground over bed times, but still....I say go with how you knwo you child is and then adapt bedtimes to suit.

have waffled a bit there, so sorry, but each child and each family is different so different needs suit IYGWIM

my 8 yr old goes to bed at 7pm with her 3 yr old sister but she reads for a god while
I would say she is normally asleep by 7.45

she alwasy gets up between 6.30 and 7am and needs to have that much sleep

My 7yr old ds is usually asleep by 9.15pm.
I don,t really find it ideal though tbh.

He is actually in bed by 8.00pm but we spend an hour reading, talking, etc.
The thing is he is at school all day and I think you should enjoy their young years so I don,t want to rush him off to bed.

Unfortunately I never really get that much of a evening to myself as I myself am usually worn out by the time he is asleep and fall asleep myself.

My 6yo goes to bed around 7:30-8pm. She gets up around 7am. That is sufficient sleep for her. At weekends/holidays she goes to bed later and gets up later.

I wasn't sure if my 7.30pm bedtime was being unreasonable at her age so was looking for a guide as to what others did. I've told her she can go to bed at 8.15pm instead of the 7.30pm so we'll see what happens tonight. She's very excited about going to bed at a 'grown up time' - bless her heart!

My dd1 7 goes to bed at 7pm, reads for half an hour and then goes to sleep.

We aim for bed by 7.30, and then read/chat/cuddle until around 8.

dd1 is just 8years old. exp0erience shows she needs a minimum of 11hours sleep a night, preferably 12, as she is a grumpy guts otherwise. so seeing as we get up at 7am, she tends to be in bed between 7-7.30 and is usually asleep within 15mins of that.

dd2 however has never needed much sleep. but she also goes at 7pm. i can often hear her humming away in her room or reading to herself upto 9pm. as long as she doesnt wake dd3 i am happy.

mondays is always later, due to rainbows/brownies which means tuesdya is grumpy day for dd1.

My DTDs (seven in acouple of weeks) start the bedtime routine at about 7:20ish.

Teeth reading bed.

Normally lights down about 7:45ish. Uusally asleep by 8:30 - often earlier.

I have no plans to change it on their 7th birthday.

My dd has just turned 7.

Like Earlybird I aim for 7.30 but it's usually 8 pm before she's in bed and often 15-30 mins later that she is asleep (school days that is).

I have to wake her up most mornings at 7.30.

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We start "bedtime" at about 8ish (teeth story cuddle chat etc) then I leave her sometimes straight to sleep sometimes she reads/draws or shock horror even DS's - I will pop up before 9pm to make sure she is asleep and she almost always is - Fri and Sat usually bit later though not by much...and school hols it all goes to pot especially in the summer when the kids all play outside (nice quiet suburban close)...oh she is 7 in sept (year 1)....

My 7yr old ds goes to bed between 7.00-7.30.If he does´nt he is so bad tempered the next morning.We have to get up at 6.15a.m