Sleep for reception age children

[evolucy7]

I just wondered what time other reception year children went to bed and woke up.

My 3 and 4 year old seem to be in a pattern of going to sleep between 7.30 and 8pm, and waking around 7.30am, although I often have to wake the eldest. I find it harder to get them to bed any earlier as there just doesn't seem enough time to eat, read, bath and very importantly for them to play after school. But this makes the morning seem a mad rush, but actually no matter how much time we have it seems to end up like that! And at the weekends we all like a lie in, they have never been early risers.

Interested in what patterns other children seem to have.

Thanks

Since starting school, dd (5.4), has needed to go to bed earlier and needs to be in bed, stories read, going to sleep at seven. Really notice the difference otherwise. Up seven ish. Mornings seem fairly okay, have to keep hawk like eye on clock otherwise we end up squeezing things into last minute.

ds (5.1) On school nights ds is in bed for 730, and he usually gets himself and us up around 6-630. Even at weekends when we let him go to bed later he still gets up the same time.

Mine are asleep at 7 - or recently 6.45. They wake up at 6 or 6.30. I would love them to sleep til 7 but dd1 is a really early riser and wakes up dd2. They do now play for half an hour or so before waking me up, thank goodness.

I do tea at 5, and put the bath on any time after 5.45. Only just started doing it this early but they like it because they get to spend ages in there and love gettng into pjs. And you are right that there isn't time to do much else.

My DD (was 5 in Dec) goes to bed at 6:30 and wakes at 7pm. usually we make sure she has 2 nights in the week where she is in bed for 6pm. Friday and saturdays she does go to bed a little later but no later than 8pm!

My 10 year old still goes to bed at 8pm weeknights and usually has one night at 7:30 too but Fridays and Saturdays it is usually between 9-10pm

DS(4) goes to bed at 7. It does mean there isn't a lot of time between finishing work at 5 and picking him up, but we're used to it. He doesn't get a bath every night, and he has a hot lunch at school, so just a snack in the evening

ds1 goes to bed between 6 and 6.30 and gets up between 6.30 and 7. he often wakes at 4 or 5 to go to the loo then goes back to bed.

Asleep by 7. Up by 8.

DS (4.10) is in bed between 7 and 7.30, we aim to be turning out the light at 7.30 but it is sometimes more like 7.45 as he tries everything to get more awake time.

He's up again at between 5.45 and 6.30.

He is tired out, but nothing on earth will persuade him to stay in bed any longer. His first reaction to consciousness is to get up, and come to find company. It's an absolute pain as he is wildly overtired. But that is how it has been all his life.

I think he needs 7pm to 6am as an ideal.

R and year 1 dc

Both in bed before 7 (sometimes 6.30) and awake at about 6.30.

Another R and year 1 dc

They tend to go to bed around 7:30ish and wake up about 7ish. Some mornings we have to wake them up at around 7:30ish - although sadly never at the weekends, they seem to KNOW it's the weekend and get up earlier!!! grrr

DD (4.11 yrs) is in bed 7.30 and up at 7. Weekends she is up till she falls asleep on the couch which is usually about 9.

Bed at 7, up by 6.30 usually. Any later to bed and we pay for it!

Bed at 7:30-8 and wake at 6:30-7.

7.30pm-7.30am or whenever his younger sister decides to wake us all up.

I'd have thought there's plenty of time to play between 3.30pm (when we get home for example) and bedtime, you've 4 hours for play, tea and bedtime?

Depends on the child, mine are very different in terms of how much sleep they need and always have been.

DD is 4 and in Reception and needs 11-12 hours. She's in bed by 6.30pm and normally asleep by 7. She comes into our room around 7 normally, after a snuggle in her own bed when she wakes up.

DS ( now 7 ) at the same age needed 10 hours. He'd be put to bed at 7, sleeping from 7.30-8, but normally awake 5.30-6 am.

Now he's 7, he goes to bed at 7.30-8, falls asleep around 9.30 and wakes around 7 -7.30.

So she's always seemed to need 11-12 hours, whereas he's always needed around 9-10.

We have plenty of time if there are no after school activities or friends over to play. We only do baths/showers 3 x per week, unless they are esp dirty, and I normally cook tea in advance where possible.

No matter how early you get up, or how organised you are, its ALWAYS mad in the morning.....

Unfortunately at the moment we are having some late nights.

I've got three kids. 6,5 and 21months. I and they really value some family time each day which I do feel we are going to have to cut back on. I was all for 7pm to 7am before they were school age. Things like reading have become higher on the agenda. Other things I have to consider are having some play, bath (I really don't like the thought them using toilets out and about and then hoping in bed - i should get over this), we don't have the option of a cooked dinner for lunch so they eat hot meals every night, hubby not always home, the two boys share so we do staggered bedtimes with DS(5) going after DS(20months is settled). I sometimes don't get home from after school clubs until 5pm. That's enough to push things back.

We are going to start batch cooking again at the weekend, shortening 21 month olds nap, quicker meals and some basics that require less clearing up. Less play time with each other. Push the routine through even if we can see that are having a nice play. I'm also going to start bathing less often.

Rizzo, that's if you are in the lucky position to collect yourself. I work full-time and cannot get to my DS earlier than 5.30pm, so the time in the evening is really squeezed, getting home by 5.45pm.

Recently moved his bedtime from 7.00pm to 7.30pm-8.00pm, depending on how tired he seems to be. DS sleeps through until 6.30am.

p.s I'm sure there are parents out there with more than 1 or 2 children that have early bedtimes but I feel for our family that the reason we get later is because it sometimes takes that little bit longer to meet all their needs / the ones we thing we want to meet between pick up and shut eye .

Sure Snowie but I was responding to OPs situation who has not said this to be the case?

DD is in reception and was 5 in September. She is in bed by 7:30 and generally asleep by 8. She wakes between 7 and 7:30 in the morning and does generally sleep a bit later at weekends.

The problem with fitting things in is when there activities get thrown into the mix. DD has dance on Mondays where we go straight from school and get back about 5:15 and Rainbows on Tuesdays from 5pm until 6pm. Can't work out whether to eat before or after Rainbows. DS (7) has Beavers on Wednesdays from 5:45 until 6:45 and so DD needs to come with me to pick him up.

DS1 in reception is almost always up by 6 and usually awake earlier (530 is normal, but he's not allowed to get up till 6). Bed is as soon as I can get him there, which is realistically 630to7 on days i work and nearer 630 on days i don't. He's knackered all the time but seems to be totally unable to sleep in. Has been waking at 530 since, well, he was born really.

My dd is 4.6 and in reception. She's in bed by 7pm and asleep within minutes. She wakes sometime between 6am and 7am (not sure exactly when as she knows to stay in her bedroom until 7am).

She is fiercely tired though and still sleeps for up to two hours in the daytime most Saturdays and Sundays.

thalia - with an activity from 5-6pm, we would eat before. I'd then maybe do some bread and butter at bedtime if they are hungry again. I just found they don't participate fully in the activity if they are hungry, and end up having a mahoosive snack before, so you may as well feed them a balanced meal.

weary - my DS started sleeping in in Y1. All is not lost!