What time do you put a 6 yr old to bed?

[sahara]

Hi all, My ds1 is 6 (7 in July) and currently I put him to bed at 9pm in the week and 10pm on the weekend.

I'm really not happy with this arrangement, Dh's idea not mine . I feel like I get no time to myself at all because he is awake and demanding everything he can think of.

Then when I do send him to bed he comes back and forth, sometimes until 12 at night wanting to eat, or a drink etc.

I know how to stop the coming down part but what is a fair bedtime at his age?

Just wanted to know how others did it as I am at a loss.

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My ds (5 1/2) goes to bed around 9 pm on weekdays and at weekend - but doesn't actually fall asleep till around 10 p.m. I would love him to go earlier but we do not get home till around 6.30 p.m so by the time dinner is ready and eaten it is usually at least 7.30 - then bath etc. I manage to get my dd (nearly 3) in bed by 8.30 - but it's my dh who does bedtime for ds and basically they mess about till he eventually falls asleep at around 10 p.m.! He sleeps til 8 in the morning - we live 30 seconds from school so that's no problem.

DS3 is 6.5 years. Usually its PJ's on between 7:45-8:15 and bed at 8:45. Weekends bedtime is 9:15. This normally works OK for us. We used to put him to bed earlier, but he would get up early at 6:00 just about the time DH went to work. DH sometimes only gets home at gone 6:00 so by the time food has been cooked/eaten/washed up it can be 7:30-8:00. We don't like him going to bed on a full stomach so give him time to digest. Its also awkward as DS2 is 15 years and needs his time too. With the bedrooms next to each other its hard to get DS2 to respect that DS3 is asleep and needs peace & quiet.

Hi Sahara, I put a 6 year old to bed at 7.30-7.45, maybe 8 at weekends. My ds wakes up between 6-7am no matter when he goes to bed so the earlier the better!

BTW, I'm a SAHM and childmind p/t so I've got my kids and others ALL DAY! So I need peace in the evenings. If I worked and didn't get home till 6 or 6.30 then I'd keep the kids up later just to see them. I think bedtimes have to be flexible depending on your circumstances.

My dd 6, and ds 5, both go to bed at 7pm, through the holidays i relaz thia abit, but usually around 7.

well, I suppose we buck the mumsnet trend a bit. my nearly 6 year old goes to bed betweem 8.00 - 9.00 on school nights and between 8.45 - 9.45 at weekends. My 10 year old goes to bed later (half hour later on school nights, up to an hour later at weekends).

Both boys sleep well into the morning, though, hence my early morning postings on mumsnet! on school days, they get up between 7.45 - 8.15 am. On weekdays, 9.00 am or later - they just sleep about 10 - 11 hours whatever.

As we both work, and I don't get back from work till after 6.00 pm, a 7.00 bedtime is just not possible.

Also, they are great company - tbh, I rarely want to send them to bed - if dh and I want a private chat, we can go in another room. Once the children have done any homework, had supper and had a bath, there is really not much stress in having them around, though we have to be careful what we watch on TV. Since we watch a lot of classic films and historical documentaires, this is not a constant problem. The boys settle down well and are generally well behaved the hour or so before bedtime. When they do go to bed, they are usually asleep within 10 minutes.

Hope this doesn't sound smug - the early evenings, when we are doing all the practical stuff, is far more stressful.

I think everyone has their own routines that suit them, mine go early because ds always wakes up at the crack of dawn no matter what time i put him to bed. I only work part time and get home at 2pm, so only work when they are at school, so i am not missing them or anything iyswim.

tigermoth what a different life you have to me!

I suppose that's the good thing about MN you get to hear of experiences different than your own. Even if it makes you sigh!......