What time are your preschoolers in bed?

[kidscanwatchcbeebies]

Mine (4 and 2) just went down. Jeez.

its the heat, right? <sob>

We are still trying to get my 3 year old down. DH is taking a turn now. To be fair she’s not always much easier on cooler nights but tonight seems particularly difficult.

Dd was in bed at 7 every school night between the ages of 2 and 5 and half. She needed to be as I had to wake her every morning at 7 to get to school/nursery. She's just pushed back to 7:30 and my God it makes the evenings feel so much more relaxed!

I think the moment you hear from other parents that their kids aren't going to bed at the normal sensible times either during this season of hot, bright nights, it takes a lot of pressure off you. Aim for a slightly later bedtime, focus on getting them cooled down before bed and it does pass. My kids are older teens now and they often tuck ME into bed. I get my quiet time in the morning.

8-9pm for my 2.5yo as he's ready to drop his nap but nursery can't seem to stop him falling asleep and this is the result lol. It's the heat/sun too

Mine are 3 (almost 4) and 7 and are just this minute asleep (I’m mumsneting from the youngest’s bed. Actually my eldest is still awake and she’s just managed to tease out her wobbly tooth so there’s the tooth fairy to sort.

The heat and light evenings are just impossible for earlier bedtimes. I make sure that I used the time they were playing to potter around and get my things done - prep for tomorrow, laundry etc so that all that remains is to chill. if of course I don’t fall asleep in their beds and miss my whole evening.

My 3 yo has not been falling asleep until 10pm for several months now which is driving me crazy. He’s always been wired as a night owl though

@Shouldbedoing unfortunately they wake at the same time regardless, generally between 6 and 7 which to be fair I’m fine with; I’m just worried they aren’t getting anything like enough sleep, the little one especially!

My DD (3.5) likes her sleep (even if I have to sleep with her). She goes down 7.30pm lately and awake 7amish
My DS was completely different at that age. He would barely be asleep before 9pm, awake alot in the night and up at 6am latest. He was and always has been a low sleep needs child.

Some children need more or less sleep than others so I think as long as they are not a nightmare between 5-7pm then maybe they dont need earlier.

Almost 3yo has just gone to sleep after fighting sleep for two hours despite being exhausted 😴 i am demented...ready for it to be cooler!!

DD is 3 and goes to sleep around 10pm, wakes at 7am with no prompting. It works for us as we get more play time and evening walks out of her, which we enjoy as a family.

8.30 for my 4YO but that’s tactical as he’s now on summer holidays (school nursery) so I’d rather not have him up before 7.30 when we don’t have anywhere to be!

My DS who is 4 sleeps from 7.30pm - 6.30am pretty much without fail every night and has done so for about 2 years now since he stopped afternoon naps. He never wakes up during the night.

On the odd occasion he stays up later he still maintains his 11 hours sleep.

Bedtime at 6:30, asleep by 7pm for my 3.5 year old.
His light alarm goes on at 7am and we're out the door for nursery at 7:30 so we need him on an early to bed schedule.

3 year old goes to bed at 7 on the dot every night. I fear I’d throw him in the bin otherwise, I like my evenings to myself. On hotter nights I can hear him shuffling about sometimes until closer to 8 but he’s not allowed out of his room and he listens to a card on his Yoto player.

If Nursery can't stop him falling asleep, he clearly still needs a nap

That seems like so little sleep for her age. My 3 year old would be crippled by so little sleep. He sleeps 7-7, sometimes 6:30 to 7 if he’s really knackered.

It’s a cycle @Millie90 . My DS used to wake at 5 every morning so needed a nap at midday (or before.) Eventually when I phased the nap out he got a more civilised wake up time in, but it did take a period of adjustment. I feel like DD is actually sleeping better overnight with a much later bed time so I’m loath to change it but equally 9 o clock is far too late!

We start getting the bedtime routine together between 6:30-6:45pm. Bath, story, sing song and then lights out usually by 7:15pm at the latest. Dd is 3 and falls asleep well by herself. Does tend to wake early, usually around 6am. No daytime nap anymore unless she nods off in the car.

4yo (preschool) is about 8pm and 7yo more like 9pm on these hot days. They wake up at 7am so I feel it’s not enough sleep but can’t do much about it!

3 year old asleep anywhere between 7.30 and 8.30 atm. But bedtime routine always begins around 6.30 after dinner. So bath, pjs, teeth, books. We try to leave her in bed listening to stories on her Yoto by 7.45 latest. She drops off quickly if she's doing that, less so if she gets up and starts pottering. There are no engaging toys in her room to speak of but she can make her own fun with stuffed animals.

No daytime nap when at home, but still does one at nursery 3 days pw (she might nod off in the car, or somewhere else if she's totally battered but we don't try and force one on her now bc it's pointless). Always awake by 7am.

Thanks to the heat we've had a couple of 4am wakes too, which have been a bit disconcerting, but she typically goes back to bed fine.

It's more that he sees the others sleeping and insists on his nap too haha, rather than him dropping down exhausted. I think he's ready to drop it in terms of how it is impacting his nights, but also very much still needs it some days as he can't cope without. So for now we are in a phase of late bedtimes whilst he gets more comfortable without a nap, which is fine for us.

@Unsure4589 @Thegalluspigeon what yoto cards to your DC listen to that help them settle down to sleep?

I’ve just got a yoto player to try and help out very long bedtime routine but I don’t want to hype up DS before bed.

OP - my DSs bedtime is shifting later and later (8:30-9) even though we start bath etc from 7 onwards. He’s always up between 6:30/7 so I think he’s in the awkward phase when he could probably drop his nap but would be a rat bag in the afternoons for while yet.

Ladybird sleepy stories and Paddington are favourites for bedtime. There are lots of bedtime style story cards that are quieter and slower paced.

Both of my boys have always gone to bed late. 9:30 ish.

Eldest is 9 and the youngest is 3.