Bedtime for a 2 year old? Later to see DH or earlier and not?

[Bradsmum]

My ds tends not to go to bed until 8.30 in order to be able to see dh when he gets home from work. Is this too late for a 2 yr old? Would love him to be in bed by 7.00 but then he wouldn't see dh until weekends - maybe 20 minutes in the morning. What does everyone else do?

As another comparison my 2yo DD has approx 11-12 hours in total. She very rarely has an afternoon nap now.

However my younger sister needed very little sleep at all when young - she still doesn't! My parents struggled to get her to have 9-10 hours a day!

As we've seen, there are no hard-and-fast rules - we each find the right balance for our children and our lives. But nonetheless, children do need enough sleep for their mental development and to help them not get tantrumy. You know your own child - if he's a ratbag when he doesn't get enough sleep, then he must get more sleep, and if that means the parent has to make a sacrifice for the child, then so be it.