6 YO bed time??

My kids are generally in bed by 8pm most nights (weekends a little later if there's a good family movie on). Wilhelm is extremely hard to get to sleep but he stays in bed most of the time and im fighting him tonight about the bedside lamp being turned off

But i'd like to know what y ou consider a good time for a 6YO to bed snug in bed so they can be bright eye'd and bushy tailed for school the next morning.

I have a madness in my theory...I have a hmmm :rolleyes: sl....y neighbour who thinks it nioce to wlak around at 11pm at night with her son in tow. I know the son's father would NOT be very happy about the situation but he lives in the next town and their's not a lot he can do...hmmm

it's 7pm in our house... one's almost 6yo and the other's 7.

Ideally I would love them to all be in bed by 7.30, but they don't get home from school till 4.30, so once they have a bit of a play, do homework and then bathed and fed, it takes us up to 8pm some nights - even 8.30 at times. Then they are up at 6.45 on weekdays for school. They seem to cope with it *OK*, but I make them catch up on sleep over the weekend if they need to. I think it's really unfair on the little boy next door to be regularly up so late though - I bet his teacher would really appreciate it if he got a decent nights sleep from time to time as much as he would.

7-8 pm depending on whats going on. But I do think every child is different.

Our school principal once told a fellow mother who has 2 girls (twins) who find it difficult to sleep (sometimes not asleep before 10pm), that everyone is different. Some don't sleep easily others fall asleep the second their head hits the pillow. DD has always been a fairly quick sleeper whereas DS is not like that. And I'm not like that either I worry, and fuss for a good hour at least and I need to be feeling my eyes drooping before I can take myself to bed (insomniac). So she said whilst it is important for children to get lots of sleep for school sometimes its more important to have a good amount of wind down time, or even quiet time, a massage (yep she suggested that... she's awesome!) or warm milk. She said its all about finding what is right for that child, what comfort that they need to get to sleep. Whether thats reading a book, doing some drawing, writing in a diary or whatever it may be that works for him. Also try to limit stimulations such as television, computers, or high physical activities that may get the blood pumping.

I know you weren't really looking for advice LOL sounds like you're just after opinions ;) But I thought I'd put this out there as I thought it was very sound advice for anyone with children who don't go to sleep as easily as others.

Do I think its good to purposefully keep a child up. Definitely not.

I would say wake-up time would be aimed at 7am, so how long does the child need to sleep? Most need about 11-12 hours at this age (I am told) so a bedtime of 7-8pm would be about right. Some need more; I know one 5-year-old who needs a 6pm at the latest bedtime to be up for 7.30 the next morning. Some need less; I fear DS is going to be a "less" one. If he needs 10 hours sleep and is fine and healthy and happy on this, I'll do his bedtime routine starting around 8pm and suggest he reads to himself until I come in to say night-night and turn off the light, around 9pm-ish. He can read in the morning if he wakes up early.

Can you let the teacher know this child is up so late? That way the teacher can comment the child seems really tired, could he maybe go to bed a half-hour or so earlier? I know it's hard to get them in bed for 7pm some nights but I think he does need it... that way the mum is aware that his schoolwork and education is suffering but without "come on woman, a decent bedtime would be nice!" said to her face.

My 6 year old and 3 year old son's both go to bed at 7.30pm school night and sunday nights, friday and saturday i let them stay up until 8.30pm.

I agree each child is different some children need more sleep then others but i know with my 6yr old if he goes to bed past 7.30pm i'm having to wake him for school (that if his brother hasn't beaten me too it)

Between 7 -8pm for ours who is nearly 6yrs.
On the weekends (Fri or Sat nites) it will be the same unless there is something different happening or good movie on or we have promised as treat to stay up later.

Recently we have made some bedtime changes cause DS wasnt going to sleep till at least 9.30 even if was in bed by 7pm.
We tell him he has 10 mins light on time for reading after we have said g`nite and then we turn it off. We are shutting his door a bit more than the open we use to do and tell him that if he talks we will have to shut the door properly. So far (past 3 weeks) this has worked well and he is mostly asleep by 8.30pm. He either doesnt want his door shut, so goes off to sleep, or if we we shut it he goes to sleep quick too. He also has a little night light, but if he is really talking etc then we tell him we will take that off him - which we havent had to do yet. We also stopped playing a night time cd at bedtime, as much as it used to help him get to sleep when he was younger, we have found it was now preventing him.
Oh, and we have also told him that if he needs to pee or water, then to get up quickly and quietly and go do that, then get back in bed. We leave a cup in the bathroom for him, so he doesnt have to come and get us to help in the kitchen.

thanks girls...thought I was being a 'mean' mum by putting my kids to bed at 8. I to have a little bugger who wouldnt sleep before 10.20pm..but he was in his bed reading (joys of an autisc child) so now he HAS to have the light turned of at 8.30...so far so good.

As for the little boy across the road...:( I drove past him this morning on his way to school...pale as a ghost with cirlces under his eyes.....my children go to different school to him so chatting the his teacher is out of the question...but I dont know the child's name and an anonamous phone call might be in order I think.

thanks chickies

7pm in this house for DS who is 6 on sunday and DSS who just turned 7 :)

When my older 2 were that age bedtime was 7.30. My youngest is 6 and goes to bed at 8.30 with the other 2.

7-7:30 in our house for all the kids.. our 9 yr old simply cannot cope with little sleep. emotional little bugger he is :P

sometimes they stay up till 8 or 9 on weekend or holidays but I really pay for it the next day with tired whiny kids..

Bedtime since we (my brother and I) were in prep, or 5years old or therabouts, was 8-8:30pm.
It had been 7-7:30 but mum had trouble getting us to go to bed or stay in there, and found that by putting it back a little was much more conducive for us to get to sleep.

A lot really depends on the child though, a friends kids go to bed at 7-7:30 and 90% of the time they will still be awake at 10or 11 at night :(