How late do you let your kids stay up?

[Joy at Home]

Just curious what an average bedtime is, particularly for an 11-12 year old? Also, how often do you allow them to stay up later, for instance, to watch a special show? Thanks in advance!!! Lisa

[MamaT]

My daughter, who has always been a night owl, goes to bed at 10:00. I know that sounds late, but if she goes to bed before then, she simply cannot go to sleep.

 

I can't remember making an exception to stay up and watch a show, as there's usually nothing on that time that she would be allowed to watch.

[Tammy]

My kids stay up until at least midnight....usually. They are 16 and 14....but I stay up later than that usually. They sleep until around 1pm.

[dragons in the flower bed]

When he stays here, stepkid, an 11 year old boy, is restricted to bed, no snacks, no talking, no action figures, after 9 p.m. It's lights out at 11 on weekends, 10 on school nights. My 8yo and 6yo are in bed with books at 7, lights out at 10. The 6yo always falls asleep before 8, though.

[Ria]

My 11 (well, he'll be 12 next week) and 13-yr old stay up until 10 pm, and they get up at 6:45 am.

 

Ria

[newbie]

It was 10:30, until the other day, I just cant stay up that late anymore. So now its 9:30, unless good show.

[sleepy]

My 10 and 12 year olds are in bed by 9:30 on school nights. Sometimes they read quietly in bed until 10 or so.

[Quad Shot Academy]

Mine are typically in bed between 8 and 9, but allowed to read, draw or play with a toy w/o making noise. The girls usually fall asleep by 9, but the boys rarely go to bed before 10:30. Seriously! My two year old stays in his bed for 2-3 HOURS before falling asleep! It has to be a biological clock thing. My hubby stays up until 1-3 am, while I got to bed at 10!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Both my kids (7 and 11) go to bed between 9:30 and 10 pm partly based on church events at night. They sleep in until around 8 am. so I feel that they are getting enough sleep.

[Tutor]

My dd12 goes to bed at 9pm (same as her 10yo sister). They usually chat or read until 10pm then we turn the lights out. If they are particularly enthralled with their reading, we will let them stay up later, but they have to get up with their alarms at 8am. On weekends, we will push the time back if we have a special activity going on, but it is generally set during the week.

[joannqn]

We head up to the bedroom to do our read aloud at 9pm. We usually read until 9:30-9:45pm, the longest my 7 year old can listen to a book before falling asleep. Some times we let the kids stay up until 10pm but there usually is no bedtime reading those nights.

 

My 7 year old is a morning person and is usually awake between 6-8am depending on the day and the season.

 

My 9 year old is a night owl and would happily stay up later. She usually wakes up between 8-9am.

[Deece in MN]

My dc have always been allowed to sleep and wake-up at whatever time they needed/wanted.

My ds has always been a night owl and my dh worked swing shift for many years. Because of this ds would stay up late (until 1-2am) and sleep late (noon-1pm). He also has always been one to need about 10 hours of sleep. He has adjusted to going to bed earlier (usually around 10-11pm) and getting up earlier (8-9am).

My dd has always been to bed around 9-10pm and up around 7am. She can't handle late nights too often so we try to watch family movies earlier in the evening so she is not up too late.

So, anyway, no set times here. :)

[Gini]

This probably sounds bad, but I haven't really had a bed time for my kids in ages. My boys, 7 and 10 go to bed around 9-9:30 usually, sometimes later, but normally all by themselves. My girls 12 & 14 go to bed between 10-11. With no bedtime, they've never viewed it as something "special" to stay up late, like I did when I was their age and had a strict bedtime.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

So I let my 10 & 12 yo stay up. They put themselves to sleep between 10-11. My oldest is up by 8 and my youngest is up by 9.

 

I get up between 6-7, depending on my dh's schedule. I like to have coffee with him and see him off in the morning.

 

K

[Tracey in TX]

I ask them to head to their rooms between 8:30-9:30, depending how tired I am. They can play or read quietly as late as they wish, or until they gather together and begin to make noise. I've found that the more freedom they have regarding bedtime, the more sleep they actually get. It helps that they're cognizant of growth spurts and decide they need additional sleep.

[Anita in NC]

It varies. Sometimes during the week they go to bed at 9PM. Tonight we are watching a show till 10 PM. Last night they all stayed up till 11PM since we went out looking for the comet.

 

My 12 year old is allowed to stay up and read in bed at late as he likes. Sometimes he stays up till 2 AM but he is pretty sensible. If he is tired the next day he won't stay up and read but will go straight to sleep.

 

So, no easy answer here. :001_smile:

[Scarlett]

My ds...almost 9....goes to bed around 10 and gets up around 8:00. I'd LOVE for him to go to asleep at 9:00....but I can never seem to make it happen. He gets his 10 hours though and he is happy.

[Cheryl in NM]

Ds, 12, goes to his room at 9 and reads until 9:30 Sun-Thurs. Fri & Sat. it's lights out between 10 & 10:30. We have no early morning commitments, though or his bedtime would be earlier. If he asks to stay up later and we have a light day the next day I usually say yes. Sometimes he wants to try to finish a book that night and has stayed up as late as 11. When we first got the Wii, ds and dh played until almost midnight one night. We are fairly flexible on bedtime because our schedule generally allows it and ds can physically and mentally handle it.

[Veritaserum]

Our oldest is a night owl (she stays up until 10/11 sometimes). She is almost 9. Official bedtime is 8, but she will usually come back out after her sisters are asleep. Usually she stays up reading. Sometimes she watches a show with us. She mostly just likes to hang out in the same room as me and dh when her sisters aren't around vying for attention.

 

Because of late nights, she's usually the last to wake up, which works out ok. I do school with the younger ones first and then work with her when she gets up.

[mafi39]

We tend to make ours go to bed around 8 or 8:30. Mine are 5 and 6. I like my one-on-one time with hubby! The kids are always up before 7 except on the rare occasion they don't get in bed before 10 and then they sleep till 8 or so but they are so hateful. That's why we are pretty strict during the week. We relax more on the weekends and it ranges from 8-9:30.

[cjzimmer1]

Well all of them except baby have official bedtimes of 8, however the 2 and 5 year old are almost always in bed by 8 whereas the 8 and 11 year olds are frequently still thinking about getting ready for bed. The oldest are in bed by 9 though. Frequently we send the 11 year old to bed first since he needs more sleep than the 8 year old who also likes to talk and prevent his older brother from getting to sleep. The boys don't get up till between 7:30 and 8 in the morning. So the 11 year old averages about 10-11 hours of sleep a night.

 

We have NEVER let our kids stay up late to watch a show, but then we don't have a TV so there is nothing to stay up late to watch :001_smile:

[EKS]

Both my 12yo and my 7yo start reading in their rooms around 8:00. They usually go to sleep between 9-9:30 and get up around 7:15 on school days.

[Mommyof4ks]

My DD9 stays up as late as she wants, and that is usually between 10 and 11.

[Aggie]

We are, apparently, the oddballs.

 

Our almost 12 and 13yo go to bed at 8, read til 8:30.

 

7yods goes to bed at 7, has the freedom to read until 7:30, but often opts to go right to sleep because he's exhausted by then.

 

We make no exceptions for weekends as we usually have school most Saturdays and Sundays.

[elegantlion]

Our ds11 has a 10pm bedtime. On the weekend he can stay up as late as he wants, I think 11:30 is the latest he's made it. I'm usually in bed by 10:30.

 

My dh works long hours and sometimes doesn't get home until 7pm. It's important to us that he gets to spend more time with his dad.

 

We don't start school until 10am but he still gets up no later than 7:30 on most mornings. We just aren't morning people

[plimsoll]

My 9yo goes to bed around 10:30 and gets up around 8:30-9:00.

[Pretty in Pink]

Our children go to their rooms at eight p.m. but our ds10 is allowed to stay up reading, sketching, etc. until about 9:30 or so.

[Ellie]

Just curious what an average bedtime is, particularly for an 11-12 year old? Also, how often do you allow them to stay up later, for instance, to watch a special show? Thanks in advance!!! Lisa

At that age, my dc were in bed no later than 9. I don't ever remember letting them stay up later, unless we had all been out for a special event.

[elise1mds]

We are, apparently, the oddballs.

 

Our almost 12 and 13yo go to bed at 8, read til 8:30.

 

7yods goes to bed at 7, has the freedom to read until 7:30, but often opts to go right to sleep because he's exhausted by then.

 

We make no exceptions for weekends as we usually have school most Saturdays and Sundays.

 

 

I'll be an oddball with you. My dc go to bed at 7 and are usually asleep by 8. They do have the option of reading (for the 6yo) or playing quietly (for the 4yo) to wind down. They get up at 6:45. They do not take naps, and I have discovered that putting them to bed later only causes fits during the following day because they still take an hour to wind down and then they don't get enough sleep. We usually let the kids stay up on weekends but by Sunday afternoon, they desperately need naps and DO have to have them.

[Tap]

ds 14 preferably 10 but absolutely by 11

 

dd 10 going towards bed to read at 8, lights out preferably at 9, but absolutely by 10.

 

dd2 9

[Pamela H in Texas]

As a pre-teen, my kids went to bed about 9pm. Teens here make their own choices.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin is in bed with the light out by nine on week nights; at weekends he makes his own decisions about bed time. We tend to record any show that's going to go on later than about 8:30 on a week night.

 

Laura

[TCoppock]

DS is 9 and his bedtime is 8:30. Although that just means he is in his room for the the night not asleep. He is allowed to watch 1 movie or read a book until he falls asleep. He generally doesn't fall asleep until closer to 10 and sometimes later.

[Erica in PA]

I'm not sure how it works, but somehow it's always worked for my oldest (now 12yo) to go to bed at the same time as the other two children (8 and 6yos). Right now it's usually between 8:30 and 9:00pm, and they all wake up around 7:30am. If we're out with friends or family, or there is something on tv, or something like that, I'm fine with them staying up as late as needed. That only happens a couple times per month, I'd say, when they're up past 10:00.

 

I kept expecting him to stay up later than the others as he gets older, but as long as he's going to sleep right away, which he does, and sleeping until a decent time, then I guess it's not too much sleep for him!

[KJB]

The older kids always read. Sometimes they stay up really really late finishing a book and sometimes they go right to sleep. Either is fine with me as long as they get up without complaint the next day.

[sleepy]

This probably sounds bad, but I haven't really had a bed time for my kids in ages. My boys, 7 and 10 go to bed around 9-9:30 usually, sometimes later, but normally all by themselves. My girls 12 & 14 go to bed between 10-11. With no bedtime, they've never viewed it as something "special" to stay up late, like I did when I was their age and had a strict bedtime.

 

No, that doesn't sound bad. You are doing what works for you family. Nothing wrong with that. :001_smile:

[jamnkats]

My kids stay up until at least midnight....usually. They are 16 and 14....but I stay up later than that usually. They sleep until around 1pm.

 

Mine are 14 and 12 and do the same. Sometimes up til 4am; sometimes 1am. I have no idea as I'm in bed. :)

[ereks mom]

Just curious what an average bedtime is, particularly for an 11-12 year old? Also, how often do you allow them to stay up later, for instance, to watch a special show? Thanks in advance!!! Lisa

 

Once they became teens, bedtime moved to 9:45-10:00. On weekends, we let them stay up an hour later than on weeknights.

Edited February 27, 2009 by ereks mom

[TravelingChris]

My 12 yo is usually in bed and asleep by 11pm. Her 15 year old sister varies and often stays up to 12 or 12:30. I try to have everyone start school by 9:30 am and the older one often starts earlier.

[sweetTN]

My 9 yo dd is in bed by 8:30 and allowed to read as long as she wants, but is usually asleep by 9:30.

[mazakaal]

My 5yo & 6yo go to bed at 8pm. We were letting the 10yo and 12yo stay up until 10pm and then read, talk until they wanted to sleep. The 10pm time kept getting pushed, and I wanted to start school earlier so we weren't still working at 5pm. So now they're supposed to go to their room at 9:30 (except on weekends) and read until they want to sleep. The 12yo usually gets up about 7:30 and we start school at 8am-ish. The 10yo stays up later reading and gets up around 8-8:30. I start his school work at about 9:30. The littles are always up by 8am, but I don't start working with them until later - usually around 11am.

[Frontier Mom]

No set time here. That is the beauty of home educating, one can allow flexibility necessary to accomodate the family.

 

My dh and I are definitely night owls. My youngest dc has never even napped or she would be up all night, even as a 2 year old. We have many events in the evenings and it is just hard to come in and go straight to sleep. However, as others have stated, mine don't stay up later on weekends because there is no point.

 

I have one that goes to bed pretty early each night and, because of that, we allow him to have a separate bedroom. My older two ds's share a room because their internal clock is similar.

 

I enjoy allowing them to set their own times and it actually works well for us. We had to go on a field trip the other day and were out when the ps children were going to school. My ds's commented on how hard it would be to start school that early. It was a great chance to point out some of the benefits of home education but there is also the responsibility of finishing your assignments. Great teaching moment here.

 

I think you have to choose what works well for you. If you tend to go to bed earlier, then get your dc's in bed earlier. If not, don't try to fit someone else's schedule. Remember, ps only operate on their time schedule because of convenience. There are actually studies that say high schoolers would do better academically if they started later in the morning. Wow, is it possible home educators have already figured this out?

 

As mine get older, I choose a later starting time over a grumpy teenager. Just find what works and claim it as your own. Everyone is different!! I used to beat myself up for not being up at 6 each morning but, now, I am happy to start later. As soon as 6 am comes later I will be what I envision the perfect home educating mom will look like. Until then, I am happy being just me!!

[Katiebug_1976]

Bed time at our house is 8:30 (except for summer time), unless evening events prevent it (church, gym/dance class etc.). But we try to have them in bed by 9:00 at the latest.

[Tami]

We start winding down for a 9pm bedtime at about 8:00 or so. We start with family devotions and then my dh reads aloud. This routine really helps settle my 12 year old down.

 

At 9pm, she is in her room, and she can either turn lights out or read as late as she wants. The kicker is that she still has to get up at 7:30am, so she has learned that it is best to turn in earlier than later. However, if she is in the middle of an engrossing book, she might make the sacrifice and be a bit tired the next day.

 

When she has occasional bout of insomnia, sometimes whe will get some of her table work done for the next day. That way, the next day will be lighter.

 

: )

Tami