What time does your reception/Y1 child go to bed, actually fall asleep and wake up?

[december2020]

DC is starting reception this year.
School opens at 8am (for context for when we need to be there). DC has been at nursery so he is used to some longer days but there has never been a ”set time” for drop-off like school will have,

Some nights he’ll sleep 11+ hours, others just under 10, so hours per night fluctuate and he’ll still be on form for the day. If I put him to bed too early he just fidgets and stalls and ends up falling asleep later than usual.

Typically we start bedtime around 8pm (on nursery days he comes home at 6pm) and he generally falls asleep between 8.30-9pm. Later on an ”off - night” - holiday/weekend shenanigans/not sleepy and stalling.

The reason I ask is because I’m hoping to get him into a bit of a routine before school starts so it doesn’t come as such a shock and I’m hoping the general 8pm bedtime would still work.

What time does (or did) your reception/Y1 kid go to bed, actually fall asleep and then wake in the morning for school?

Lights out at 7 usually asleep before 7:30pm. Gets up between 7 and 7:30am he's year one , sometimes I have to go in and wake him at 7:30 especially at the end of term. He needs his sleep or he becomes a ratbag. However I know from talking to other parents he's on the high end of sleep, lots seem to go to bed later and get up earlier.

Yr 1 child. Goes to bed 7.30/7.45. Reads a book usually until 8.30. Up about 6.15. (He wakes then, doesn't need to be up until 7).

My DD at the same age went to bed at the same time but usually went straight to sleep, so got a bit more sleep.

I found he needed more sleep when he started school not less, all the learning is tiring!

7pm in bed, asleep by 7.30, naturally wakes up about 6.30am give or take 15 mins. Doesn't have to leave the house til 8.30 so it's quite a leisurely morning but that's just the routine they have landed on. School is really tiring!

does he still have a nap at nursery? Seems a bit late

we do nighttime routine from 6 or 6.60pm, in bed with lights out by 7. Some days she is still awake but happy at 8, others she goes to sleep straight away
later on a Friday night as she has swimming
she is in year 1, has to leave the house for childcare by 7.30am and school starts at quarter to nine

Varies depending on how tired he is and how early he wakes up but between 7-8. Very rare he will be awake at 8pm.

Similar to above. DD is 5 and goes to bed at 7/7:30 and takes about half an hour for stories, teeth, PJs and sleep. She wakes up by herself at 7:30 usually. School starts at 8:45 though and is only 5 mins away.

I thought we'd be pushing bedtime back now she's a little older but she definitely still needs her sleep.

Mine is in Y2, but I’d say things generally haven’t changed since last year/reception. Usually in bed by 8:30-9pm, asleep 9:30pm ish, sometimes a bit later, and wakes 6:30-7:30am. We have to be to school for 8:45.

We’ve always had a later evening than most though as we eat a family dinner every night which isn’t until usually 7:30. We’ve also have a 12 year old, so she can be out at activities until 9pm a few nights a week, so it just pushes things later with all the running around.

Y1 child normally goes up at 7.30 and stories read until 7.45 then her Yoto player goes on and lights out. She usually sleeps until about 7-7.30 however we don't leave for school until 8.30 I also have the extreme of a child about to start reception that has lights out at 6.30 as he can't cope past then and he wakes just before 7am.

I generally work backwards. How many hours does your child need per night and then set bedtime from that. I know my eldest needs 11 hours a night. So along as she is in bed by 8.15 at the latest then we don't have to wake her up.

My son is in Year 1 and in the same routine as he was in reception.

We start bedtime at 8pm by having a story in bed and a bit of a chat. He's generally asleep between 8:30-9pm.

Wakes any time between 06:30-07:30 usually. Sometimes a bit earlier, sometimes a bit later! We don't need to leave until half 8 in the mornings so these timings work fine for us.

You'll fall into a routine that works for you. 🙂

In bed by around 8:15, usually asleep by 9.

Up at 7:30, sometimes earlier.

Doing well at school and thriving.

In bed by 9 and usually asleep within 15 mins. Wakes around 7.30 by themselves, but if really tired then on occasion may sleep in until 8am.

Bedtime around 8:30pm, asleep by 9:30ish, up at 7:30.

My son starts reception this September too. He is up to bed at 7pm, asleep by 7.30, wakes around 6.30/6.45am.

His days at pre school are school hours and he only does a couple of days. I think he'll be tired from September and we might bring bedtime forward but who knows! He'd be tired if he regularly went to sleep at 8.30/9pm but each child is different.

DD goes to bed at 8.30, falls asleep at 9pm, wakes at 7am. She napped at nursery until she started reception but she was fine dropping her nap once she started school. She was never one of those children who get exhausted when starting school, she did after school enrichment classes most days from reception age.