Bedtime for 5yo and 7yo?

[kimthebride]

I am asking this for a family member....her kids are almost 5 & 7 yet don't fall asleep until very late. Just trying to get an idea of bedtimes so she knows what to shoot for, especially with school starting for them both. Trying to help a very sleepy mom!

TIA! :)

[karlatta]

My 9yo starts her bedtime routine at 7:00 and is in bed, lights out by 8:00. She wakes up at 6:40 to get ready for school.

We have a really long bedtime routine. 15 minutes of cleaning the house, brush teeth, take bath, read a bedtime story, say nighttime prayers. We like to take our time and be relaxed about it, so it takes about an hour. That being said, it's not an hour of my time with her. The only things DH or I are involved in are taking down her hair after her bath and saying a prayer with her.

On weekends, the routine starts at 8 and she's in bed by 9.

[Asha]

my neices go to bed around 8 p.m. on school nights, and 9 p.m. is the latest they are ever able to stay up.

do her kids take naps during the day? do they eat a lot of sugar or drink caffeine? do they wake up too late? do they get enough physical activity during the day? those are all things that could be contributing to their lack of sleepiness at night.

[IrishMeg]

Kids that age need a lot of sleep. I'd say it depends on what time they have to be up (or choose to wake up) for school.

I'd just make sure they are getting 11-12 hours per night.

[kimthebride]

do her kids take naps during the day? do they eat a lot of sugar or drink caffeine? do they wake up too late? do they get enough physical activity during the day? those are all things that could be contributing to their lack of sleepiness at night.

Ummm...let's just say they have some bad habits she is preparing to break :o . But they are very active, so I'd think they'd just collapse at the end of the day, yet its not unusual for them to be up at 11pm. But then they sleep in late, which now has to change because of school.

I was thinking about 7-8pm was normal (I'd swear that was my bedtime when I was about that age). We were talking about this recently, and no one seemed to think (other than me) that kids go to bed that early.

[Asha]

well, if they are very active, its a good idea to have them wind down an hour or so before bed time. perhaps, they could get in their pj's and brush teeth an hour before bed, and they can either read or watch some quiet tv before going to bed.

kimthebride - yeah, i had a very early bedtime at that age. i think around 7 p.m. though, my friends had much later bedtimes. also, for some cultures it is not unusual for children to not have bedtimes at all. they just go to bed when they are sleepy.

[twinnyme]

I was thinking about 7-8pm was normal (I'd swear that was my bedtime when I was about that age). We were talking about this recently, and no one seemed to think (other than me) that kids go to bed that early.

My coworker (who has 3 kids, ages 6, 7, and 11) said that up until last year ALL her kids went to bed at 7:30. The older one is trying to stay up later now, though.... I also ALWAYS went to bed at that time - and hated it, but now that I'm a mother, I plan to (try to) do the same thing: kids need their sleep and *I* need some me/DH time. (My DD always is in bed before 8, unless we're out, but she's only 19 months.)

But one of my nephews (he'll be 4 in December) goes to bed around 10, I think, and another one (who'll be 3 in September) goes around 9. All our other nephews - up to age 5 - go to bed at 7:30.

That's the extent of my experience, though! :) I do think the routine is important, though. We have about a 1/2 hour of winding down time - books and drink - before bed. Your friend *may* have a tough transition, though, if her kids are used to a later bedtime. Maybe start now to push back bedtime by 15-20 minutes every day until they're at a more reasonable bedtime for her (whatever she ends up thinking that is) - I think I read recently that's one way to transition kids back to a school-time bedtime.

[Chelsea524]

During the summer my 6yr old (almost 7) went to bed around 9 but was able to sleep in until 9 am, now I am slowly making it earlier, about 10 mins each night or every other night to get it down to 8 pm, I think it would be really hard for them to be used to going to bed at 10 or 11 to all of a sudden go to bed at 8, she needs to do it kind of slowly so its not as big of a shock.

[Neen]

My 8 & 9 year old go to bed at 9. If they want to lay in their bed and watch a movie or something, it has to be before this time. I'm thinking of switching thier bed time to 8:30 as lights off because by 8 year old has been a bear to get up in the mornings!!

At 7 & 5 they were going to bed between 7 & 8.

[Goodies]

My 8 year old DD starts getting ready for bed around 8:30pm, putting pj's on, brush teeth, and drink of water by then it's 9pm and lights out. She has to wake up 7am year round since both me and my husband work.

[firefly]

7:30- 8:30 depending upon when they need to wake up kids that age need at least 10 hours of sleep. if wakeup time is difficult they are not getting enough rest. move bedtime back by 15 minutes at a time.

[MizLarner]

SS2 goes to bed at 9 but stays awake in bed until he knows Dad has left for work. Then, he freaks out if I don't stay up until he's asleep. Some nights I'm still waiting at 1030 because he wants to keep calling out to see if I'm still there. I don't respond, but he continues unless I threaten to close his door - which he HATES. He's done well lately with actually falling asleep before DH goes to work (9:30).

I have never managed to get him actually in bed much earlier than 9, for any extended period of time. He wakes up easily around 7.

[snowzilla]

When my now-11 and 9 year olds were 7 and 5 respectively, their bedtime routine started promptly at 8, with lights out at 8:30. Now that they're older, it's closer to 9.

I think anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 is reasonable.

[emschwar]

I'd say most kids that late go to bed much later, but most kids are horribly sleep deprived. I think a 7:30 or 8:00 bedtime is fine, depending on what time they have to get up.

[Jessie]

For my 7 year old, she goes up to her room at 7 and then she reads or plays quietly until 7:30 and then it's lights out. She's asleep by 8 and gets up at 8 in the morning.