What time does your 4-5 year old go to bed?

[Tohru]

Actually to bed...not counting baths, brush teeth or storytime. My daughter has always had a fairly early bed time and we start the routine at about 6:30. Depending on how long of a day she had, she gets a longer bath and more stories or a dunk to get clean and one story. She's usually in bed at 7 or 7:30, on some very extreme rare occasion 8. I'm wondering if this is weird or unusual since I've received comments about how early we put our girls to bed.

 

So....what time does your preschooler (4-5yo) go to bed?

[Mama_Rana]

I try to get my 3yo in bed by 8:30. Sometimes it's later though. :( And either way, he's usually up by 6, 6:30. :(

[Pamela H in Texas]

If it were JUST my 5yr old, he'd go to bed at 8. Because he has a sibling a year older and another a year younger who need more sleep, they all go between 7 and 7:30. We MAY, this summer, push to 7:30 to 8:00 this (not tonight).

 

I put black-out drapes in the boys' room just last week.

 

BTW, my boys both are awake by 6:30 regardless of what time they go to bed so early is definitely better.

 

ETA: Even my oldest daughter who required so incredibly little sleep until puberty went to bed early (7ish) as a preschooler. She spent many nights making up stories and imaginary friends and all sorts of things. She was awesomely creative and I absolutely believe it was so many hours of quiet in-her-head play.

Edited June 2, 2012 by 2J5M9K

[Ellie]

Not weird to me. I've always thought it strange for people to allow their little ones to stay up until 9 or later. :001_huh:

[Chris in VA]

Mine had an 8pm bed time.

We'd eat by 6, then they needed some time to play with Dad and hang out. We started baths around 7:15 or so, then jams, teeth, and bedtime routine so 8 was about right.

[tabrizia]

I hit 8:30 to 9, but I meant to hit other. If my 5 year goes to bed by 9 it is a shock. We do try to have him in his bedroom by then, but have given up on him seeping then. He normally goes to sleep around 10.

 

Well at least before the whole hospital thing. Being in the hospital right now his schedule is beyond out the window.

[EKS]

We used to try to get our boys into bed by 7:30-8:00 and we always got lots of comments about being weird and inflexible.

[violingirl]

My 4yo is in bed by 7:30 every night but Wednesdays (due to church). He gets up between 5 and 6 a.m. no matter when he goes to bed the night before so if he goes to bed much after 7:30 he is a total grump the next day. On Thursdays we have to have a pretty chill afternoon for him, and even then I've been known to throw him into bed at 6 p.m. if he's being crazy crabby.

[PentecostalMom]

My 2.5yo and her 6yo sister go to bed around 8:30. I say "around: because sometimes it is earlier and sometimes later. Mostly, it's right around 8:30.

[bluechicken]

Gosh, my preschoolers go to bed at 10 most nights and even later if they have napped. I am not sure what is weird about that?

 

My almost 2 year old goes to bed between 8:30 and 9.

Edited June 2, 2012 by bluechicken

[Bluegoat]

Both my girls, four and seven, used to be in bed by eight. Since the time change its creeped up significantly and I've just got them back to about 8:30. It will probably stay there for the summer as I find we like to spend more time out in the evening once it gets warm, so we can go to bed in the cool.

 

THey don't wake up until eight usually.

 

I don't think 7:30 is excessive - if kids are getting up at 6:30 or so like a lot do I would think that is about right.

[kalanamak]

Kiddo's bedtime was always 10 pm. That way, I get time with him. Then, he and Papa sleep in as needed while I rise early and go to work. Kiddo and I hit the hay at the same time.

[Mandamom]

We wait for all parents to be home before kids go to bed. When my dh was working he wouldn't get home before 8 and now that I'm working I frequently don't get home until after 8 or 9pm.

 

My current, now 6 year old, gets in bed after 9 and is usually asleep by 9:40 or so. Sometimes later sometimes earlier. He gets up very easy around 7am.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Sarah, Wow...I would think bedtime and sleep would be the least of what you've been thinking about and worrying about for the last few weeks. I hope D feels good as new soon!

[AndyJoy]

Not weird to me. I've always thought it strange for people to allow their little ones to stay up until 9 or later. :001_huh:

I don't have a 4-year-old, but I know my best friend's 4 year old goes to bed at 8:00 and is always asleep by 8:30.

 

My 2.5 year old is in bed at 9:30 and asleep by 10:00 or 10:30. Believe me, I'd like for him to be in bed earlier, but he's just not wired that way. He just will not fall asleep before 10:00 (unless he's had an insanely tiring day). For a brief 2 month stretch during a growth spurt he was sleeping 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. All attempts at getting him to sleep earlier have been frustrating and unsuccessful.

[Bluegoat]

Gosh, my preschoolers go to bed at 10 most nights and even later if they have napped. I am not sure what is weird about that?

 

My almost 2 year old goes to bed between 8:30 and 9.

 

I think napping kids are really different. My two-year old naps about 3/4 of the time and then he doesn't go to bed until 9 or so. If he doesn't nap he is in bed by 7:30. My other kids didn't start to have a regular early bed time until they dropped the afternoon nap.

 

I am really looking forward to ds dropping his nap so I can have them all in bed at a reasonable time. But for now he just flops over by four if I don't put him down earlier, and if he naps at four he wakes up at 5:30 and isn't in bed till 11.

[amy g.]

We say her bed time is 9:00, but it is 9:20 now, and she is right next to me in the den, so we don't really enforce it.

[JennyD]

My 4yo goes to sleep at 8:30 BUT he still takes an afternoon nap. After that nap goes (and it is on the way out, sigh) I doubt he'll make it past 7pm.

 

My 21mo (who is a monster napper) goes in at 7:30 and my 7yo at 8. The 7yo should really go in earlier but it doesn't really work when it's still bright light out then.

[Dobela]

10 pm is bed time here. That began when ds was in preK and dh worked until 8 most nights. Dh wanted to spend some time with ds each evening so we moved bedtime to 10. If the kids fall asleep earlier, we let them stay in bed. Tonight dd fell asleep at 8 and will likely sleep all night.

[beaners]

I said 8:00 to 8:30 because that's probably the average during the summer. 7:30 is the earliest I bother to lay everyone down lately, because it just feeds the "getting out of bed" cycle if I try to start too early. Tonight was quite late at 9:00 because the girls requested french braids after bathtime and I had promised to read a fairy tale before bed. We might also hit 9:00 on nights my husband is home, because everyone wants to spend time with him.

 

We do quiet time every afternoon, and my 4 year old still sleeps for an hour a few days a week. My 3 year old sleeps closer to 2 hours almost every day. They get up between 6 and 8 most mornings, although they might fall back asleep until 9 if they crawl into bed with me then.

[wapiti]

Actually to bed...not counting baths, brush teeth or storytime. My daughter has always had a fairly early bed time and we start the routine at about 6:30. Depending on how long of a day she had, she gets a longer bath and more stories or a dunk to get clean and one story. She's usually in bed at 7 or 7:30, on some very extreme rare occasion 8. I'm wondering if this is weird or unusual since I've received comments about how early we put our girls to bed.

 

Sounds perfect to me. I don't have my old Weissbluth book anymore, but there was a chart with average bedtimes by age, and that sounds pretty much in line with the chart (my newly 4 y.o. is in bed with lights out between 7 and 7:15, occasionally later but not on purpose).

 

I would not survive the daily aftermath if I didn't get my kids to bed early on a regular basis.

 

Not weird to me. I've always thought it strange for people to allow their little ones to stay up until 9 or later. :001_huh:

:iagree:

[nova147]

We've pretty much always done 8. I think when my oldest was a toddler, we aimed for 7:30. That didn't last. :lol:

[momtoamiracle]

I don't have a 4-year-old, but I know my best friend's 4 year old goes to bed at 8:00 and is always asleep by 8:30.

 

My 2.5 year old is in bed at 9:30 and asleep by 10:00 or 10:30. Believe me, I'd like for him to be in bed earlier, but he's just not wired that way. He just will not fall asleep before 10:00 (unless he's had an insanely tiring day). For a brief 2 month stretch during a growth spurt he was sleeping 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. All attempts at getting him to sleep earlier have been frustrating and unsuccessful.

 

 

same exact thing with my son. He's fighting going to sleep right now. Last night it was 12:30am before he went to sleep. He's been that way since oh, about one year old.

 

it's very frustrating. He does sleep late if he goes to bed really late, but if he goes to sleep between 9:30 and 10 he wakes up around 7 - 7:30.

 

We took a 24 hour road trip when he was two. He slept all of four hours the whole way...

 

he's just not a sleeper. I envy those whose kids are!

[mom2denj]

We have never really had a schedule over here. My 5 yr old is usually in bed at about 10-10:30. She usually sleeps until about 9. It works for us.

[SKL]

I voted "other" because although my 5yos' theoretical bedtime is 8:30, they are rarely in bed for the night by 9pm. 9:30 is probably a realistic average, with many nights extending past 10pm.

 

I pick them up at afterschool care around 6:30 most days, after which we have dinner, some physical recreation, and various lessons/practice in addition to the actual bedtime routine. They usually get up around 7am, and they still have a midday nap.

[I.Dup.]

We put our boys down (all except the youngest) between 6:30 and 7:00, although now that it's summer they're staying up more until between 7:00 - 7:30.

 

They seem to get a second wind around 6pm and we just started putting them down to bed instead of dealing with them running around the house screaming, falling, getting hurt, wanting to wrestle, etc.

[*Jen*]

My 4 year old goes to bed between 8 and 8:30 most nights.

 

When my older son was that age he was in bed by 7-7:15 and slept 12 hours. DD(4) would be in bed at that time but she likes to stay up with DS(7) and play games with us before bedtime. She doesn't require nearly as much sleep as DS did at that age so she gets to stay up the extra hour. Plus we have the two little boys that go to bed at 7 so trying to get 2 to sleep at that time is hard enough, making it 3 going to bed at that time is nearly impossible.

[acurtis75]

9 is the scheduled bedtime for our dd7 and has been for several years. We work late a lot so she has a lot of nights where she is up later than that. She has never been an early riser and I'm not naturally an early morning person either. I have to wake her up if I want her out of bed before 9. We are self-employed and often go in later in the day and work late seeing clients so our schedule is a little different than it would be if dh or I had to be up for work at 6am.

[acablue]

All of mine go to bed at 8:30ish. They shower in the morning, so the bedtime routine starts at 8:15. My youngest sleeps until at least 8 though.

[joyfulhomeschooler]

Actually to bed...not counting baths, brush teeth or storytime. My daughter has always had a fairly early bed time and we start the routine at about 6:30. Depending on how long of a day she had, she gets a longer bath and more stories or a dunk to get clean and one story. She's usually in bed at 7 or 7:30, on some very extreme rare occasion 8. I'm wondering if this is weird or unusual since I've received comments about how early we put our girls to bed.

 

So....what time does your preschooler (4-5yo) go to bed?

 

This was and still is our routine.... except for those summer nights where we all get caught up outside. We have just started at age 8 letting our son read for 30 min after getting in bed at 7:30. So for him it's lights out at 8pm. I don't think your weird for doing it. I know my kids need that much sleep, especially since they are early risers. Plus it creates good habbits in my opinion.

[chepyl]

Not weird to me. I've always thought it strange for people to allow their little ones to stay up until 9 or later. :001_huh:

 

It Is just after midnight and my four year old is singing in the hallway :D

 

Both kids are flexible. Last night I out them in bed at 9:30, the night before we were up until 1:30 because we were painting the dance studio.

 

DD sleeps for 12 hours no matter what time she goes to bed. I can wake her after 8-9 hours amd she will be fine, but take an afternoon nap. She slept 12 hairs last night amd then napped while we were driving for1.5 hours today, so she is wide awake.

 

She goes to bed with me a lot. We will watch a cartoon together and dh will put her in bed when he comes to bed. She is a snuggler ;)

[Celia]

My 3 year old is usually in bed around 7, the 5yr old by 7:30, and my 8 yr old is in bed at 8, lights out at 8:30. They all wake up around 7am, give or take half an hour.

[Marie131]

Typically it is in bed and lights out at 7pm unless there is something extraordinary going on like an after dinner trip to the spray park or dinner at Nanas or something :)

[Grover]

Miss 3 is in bed between 6 and 7, Mr 5 between 630 and 7. DD can cope with later and will sleep in if she's up late, but DS is a zombie by 7pm and wakes between 430 and 6 regardless of bed time.

[Rosie_0801]

My kids get put to bed when they are asleep, whatever time that is. The later the better, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Rosie

[Homemaker]

Wow, I am shocked at all the late bedtimes for the little ones. Mine go to bed at 7. I believe it is healthy for them to get a good nights rest and to stick to the same bed time when possible. My kids very rarely get sick and I attribute part of that to them getting adequate rest.

[chepyl]

Wow, I am shocked at all the late bedtimes for the little ones. Mine go to bed at 7. I believe it is healthy for them to get a good nights rest and to stick to the same bed time when possible. My kids very rarely get sick and I attribute part of that to them getting adequate rest.

 

My kids have been really sick once in their lives, they caught the flu ay a family birthday party. They get more than afequaye sleep because I let them sleep until they wake up most days. DS actually stayed putting himself to bed earloer this year. Our family just does not keep a "normal" schedule. The actual bedtime makes no difference, it is the amount of sleep. My kids get more sleep than any of theory ps friends who go to bed at 8. We do typixally aim for 11 pm, but we are not strict. A strict bedtime makes.sense when you have to be up everyday, but not when you can sleep in. I want my kids to sleep until 8 or 9 everyday so that I can get enough sleep too.

 

I always felt bad for the kids who had to got to her before the sun went down in the summer. Right now, of gets dark at 9. If we play outside until dark amd then eat dinner, we cant get in bed until 11 anyway.

[Carrie12345]

9-9:30ish most nights. He's usually up around 7, give or take.

[Carrie12345]

My kids get put to bed when they are asleep, whatever time that is. The later the better, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Rosie

 

That's my philosophy, for the most part! I like having early mornings to myself. :)

My daughters have been starting to get pretty sluggish in the morning, so I'm working on getting them into more of a routine, but my 5yo pops up refreshed and raring to go, so I leave him alone!

[tabrizia]

Wow, I am shocked at all the late bedtimes for the little ones. Mine go to bed at 7. I believe it is healthy for them to get a good nights rest and to stick to the same bed time when possible. My kids very rarely get sick and I attribute part of that to them getting adequate rest.

 

Honestly my 5 year old is the healthiest of the three. Not that any of my kids normally get sick, but he is the one least likely to get sick.

 

I did forget to mention in my earlier post that my non-napping 3 year old goes to bed around 7:30, because that is the time she needs to be in bed to have a good day, so we really base bedtimes on each child's individual need. The 1 year old goes down around 8/8:30. Each of them has slightly different sleep needs, it would be nice to have them all down by 8 or so, but it doesn't work here, DD needs to be down earlier and DS1 has a much better day and happier evening when he goes down later.

 

They also all get adequate rest, because in general they sleep until they wake up on their own. Well when they are all at home, with DS in the hospital for at least another week or two, everything is currently in flux.

[Butter]

Other: Generally some time between 9 and 10. We do not eat dinner until 7 pm since that's when my dad (and often my husband, too) gets home from work. We read scriptures and family read-aloud at 8. So that puts them getting ready for bed about 9.

[Butter]

I think my 10 year old was sick 2x in 10 years. He has never been much of a sleeper. Even as an infant.

 

My insomniac 12 year old (she's been diagnosed with insomnia so I'm not just saying that) has been sick only a couple times in her life, too. Some people just are healthier than others no matter how much sleep they get. (And while we send her to bed between 9:30 and 10, she's usually not asleep until 1ish in the morning and then she gets up at 6am.) FWIW, my 5 year old has always slept a whole lot. Even though he doesn't go to sleep until 9:30ish (I'd rather my kids go to sleep late than have no time with their father on weekdays), he has always slept 10-12 hours a night. He's the one who is sick a lot (just like me as a kid... I never had a bedtime because I put myself to bed about 8 every night even as an older kid and I was sick all the time).

 

A friend of mine was complaining that her kids get up at 4:30-5am every morning. Well, they go to sleep between 5:30 and 6pm so they are getting all the sleep they need. That schedule works for them. Later schedules work for others. Just because a kid goes to sleep at 9 or 10 doesn't mean they are getting up at 5am. Most of those kids don't get up until 8 or 9 which gives them the same amount of sleep as a kid who goes to sleep early and wakes up early. My insomniac daughter is just weird (and, well, has insomnia so sleep is *always* an issue for her).

Edited June 2, 2012 by Butter

[GSOchristie]

My one year old is in bed at 7:00 and my two and a half and five year old by 7:30. The little ones still take a nap, but Asher is worn out by 7:30. He, like pp said, is up at 6:00 if he goes to bed at 7:30 or 10:30. My kids have always been early risers. My one year old takes two naps and still sleeps until 7:30.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Wow, I am shocked at all the late bedtimes for the little ones. Mine go to bed at 7. I believe it is healthy for them to get a good nights rest and to stick to the same bed time when possible. My kids very rarely get sick and I attribute part of that to them getting adequate rest.

 

Having a sleep disorder myself, i am huge on the importance of sleep.

 

However, my sick child is the one who sleeps the best. My ds has gone to bed between 6-7 his entire life. He has asthma and used to get sick from every little germ. He was constantly in the ER for more meds until we started advair and his pulmo gave me a very aggressive plan to avoid the ER. he also gets random rashes, and decides to stop eating on occassion.

 

Dd does not sleep "normal" and never has. Until her recent allergic reaction, she was extremely healthy.

 

Just saying that there is a lot more to a child's health than bedtime. As long as a child is getting enough hours of sleep, and is happy, it's probably fine.

[Tap]

dd5 is in bed around 8pm.

[Greenmama2]

 

A friend of mine was complaining that her kids get up at 4:30-5am every morning. Well, they go to sleep between 5:30 and 6pm so they are getting all the sleep they need. That schedule works for them. Later schedules work for others. Just because a kid goes to sleep at 9 or 10 doesn't mean they are getting up at 5am. Most of those kids don't get up until 8 or 9 which gives them the same amount of sleep as a kid who goes to sleep early and wakes up early. My insomniac daughter is just weird (and, well, has insomnia so sleep is *always* an issue for her).

 

:iagree: Other here. My eldest is naturally a night owl. As a baby she woke least when she went down for the night at 10pm and slept till 10am. She's just turned 6 but 9:30pm would have been the average time she went to sleep at age 4-5. She wakes when she's ready which is usually between 8 & 9. Interestingly she's a lot healthier than my 3 year old who has always gone to sleep between 7 & 8pm and also wakes when he's ready.

[nono]

Suggesting that time to bed = health is :confused:. Now, I will agree that there are health benefits to getting adequate sleep. And if a certain child can't sleep past well, 5 a.m., then OK, that child needs a fixed, earlier bedtime.

 

My vote was Other. This time of year? My 5 yr. old goes to bed around 9:30 - 10 pm. (In the winter, it's closer to 8:45 - 9 pm.) He's had 9+ hours so far, and is going strong in getting some more here this morning. :D He also is the type to nap as needed, usually about 4x a week. So in his case, I don't worry about an exact bedtime, but I do like a general range to provide a framework of consistency.

 

Additional thought: In the summer, his later bed time means he gets the benefit of stress-free walks on the beach in the twilight/night! I think would outweigh the stress that would be induced by trying to put him to bed artificially early in the summer.

[ByGrace3]

My kids nap ( oldest has rest time/reading) and they are all in bed by 8, usually between 7:30- 8:00

[Carrie12345]

Suggesting that time to bed = health is :confused:. Now, I will agree that there are health benefits to getting adequate sleep. And if a certain child can't sleep past well, 5 a.m., then OK, that child needs a fixed, earlier bedtime.

 

 

Yeah, sleep is important, but inner clocks don't always work the way man-made clocks do.

One of the things I like best about homeschooling is being able to let my kids' bodies do whatever they need to do. My 5yo and 1.5yo sleep when they're tired, and wake when they're not. My older kids are prone to goofing off at night, so that's a completely different story. Though they do grab the occasional nap. Because they can! :)

[historically accurate]

My kids are all in their rooms by 7:30; 8 at the latest. My 5 year old is always asleep by 8 pm; my 6 year old usually is. They do not play or read in there. My 10 year old is asleep by 9; she gets to read for a while. DH gets up at 4:30 am, so he wants to be in bed by 9; so the children go to sleep early. The 5 & 6 year old often nap for an hour in the afternoon. They are usually up at 6:30 am. The 10 year old is up by 8.