Bedtimes?

I am a bit of a bedtime nazi :redface:
My kids both, are always in bed at 7.30pm no later, maybe once a month DD1 may stay up til 8pm but thats about it.
So when DH gets home, if I need to go to shops etc I will pop out and do it then etc.

I really enjoy my "child-free" time, but everyone says I am mean??:shakehead: Am I? I mean, I work really hard to get girls in bed by then, so DH and I can spend time together? Is this wrong?

I am wondering if anyone else puts their kids to bed early or by a set time???
Or am I just a freak:lol:

Here here on the 'child-free' time. I desperatly need it so I can wind down for the day.

I have a routine at bedtime that has started when my first DD was 4 monhts and I do try to make it at the same time each day. However, at the moment she is sometimes having a day sleep, so on those days she goes to bed 1 hour later. So no sleep days she is in bed by 7:00pm absolutly no later, sleep days up to 8:00. My DS who is 4 months is in bed 7pm every night.

I'm fairly flexible. I like DS asleep before 8pm: gives me some wind-down time. But last night, he was up until 9.30 (and almost begging for bed!) because I needed to drop him off with his grandparents for the evening and pick him up when I'd finished at uni. DH usually is around Tuesday nights so it isn't usually an out-of-routine night.

Bedtime starts at 7pm here. That way we start the day around 7am. That's good for getting us to Nursery/work. This morning we didn't get out of bed until gone 8. I'm normally dashing to work at that point! Even if I didn't work, DS would still go to bed before 8pm just so I can sit down for a bit in the evening. He's so full-on that I need a rest!

My kids are in bed on school nights by 7:30, 8:30 pm at the latest. But during school holidays and if we have people over they've been known to go to bed after midnight. I love having my kids around me, even at night. Yes it's good to have me time but we all have so much fun together most of the time. But I'm also lucky that both my kids will nap the next day if they have a late one and their mood doesn't deteriorate as it gets later. It's not a regular occurrence so they tend to enjoy it as much as we do. And on weekends we sometimes have TV in bed with me for a few hours and they'll fall asleep in my bed and we'll put them back in their bed when DH comes to bed (he might be playing PS3 or something). But if bedtime was a nightmare I think I'd want my kids in bed earlier so my whole night wasn't about trying to get them to sleep iykwim? I just have very flexible kids. If they weren't it might be a different story.

DD is usually in bed by 6.30 at the moment as she is trying to cut back to 2 day sleeps. Sometimes she wakes an hour after that so she might not end up going back to bed until 8.30. It might be 'mean' but I love it when she is in bed and stays asleep...that's really the only time of the day I have to myself and I don't want to be spending half my night trying to get kids to bed! The earlier she is in bed, the earlier dinner is over with and the kitchen can be cleaned up, then the rest of the night is for me. As she gets older and we sort out day sleeps then I'll move her bedtime back to 7/7.30 but at the moment she goes to bed when she is tired.

My kids are in bed by no later than 8pm. DS is usually asleep by 7pm and DD is 7.30pm. I love the time I have of an evening to tidy the house, fluff about on my own or spend time with DH on our own. We so need it! Plus my kids are just horrible if they're up late. They don't handle being up past about 8.30ish very well, they're soo grumpy!

Bedtime for my DD is 7.30pm, at the latest, but usually never before 7pm unless she's ill. I've fairly recently gone through issues with trying to put her to bed around 7.30pm before she was ready to go to sleep, so instead of solving the bedtime issues by having her stay up later, we worked gently to adjust her daytime routine so that she is ready to sleep at 7.30pm at the latest. This often involves less sleep in the day, and potentially waking her up at a certain time in the afternoon (she has one nap a day).

This works for us. I need time in the evening to either unwind, and/or get things done (housework, time to pursue things that interest me etc.) and spend time with DH. DD is very full on - she won't play or do anything more than 2 feet away from me at any time that she's awake and is often hanging off me (and it's not a phase, it's just who she is :)), so it's important that I get my space to keep on top of housework etc. and in order to feel refreshed and ready for the next day, particularly as I'm also dealing with mental illness as well.

We do have the odd time where she will stay up a bit later (not that she can manage that much later at her age - it all goes downhill very quickly!), but it's not usual and is a novelty that is enjoyable at the odd time.

If you're mean, then so am I.

All three of my children are in bed by 7pm most nights. DD is the last to go to bed so sometimes it ends up being 7.30pm by the time we've got both the boys down.

DD is 5 and in the last few months we've been thinking maybe 7pm is a bit early for her because she takes a while to go to sleep. But we've decided to leave it be and are happy for her to lay in bed and read a book etc till she falls asleep. She starts school next week and I think she'll be tired and need her sleep then.

Jack is in bed at 9pm any earlier he is up down up down, if we are away he may stay up later but I am starting to be strict with the 9pm time, he does usually sleep till after 8am as well, Luke goes down around 7pm his choice not mine :lol: I think it doesn't matter what works for you is fine...

my girls are both in bed by around 6.30p, it can be as early as 6.15pm for DD1, she actually sleeps much better the earlier she goes down, she went down after 7pm one night last week and she woke a few times and also took longer to fall asleep

DS2 is in bed and asleep between 6.30pm -7.00pm. He really can't cope with much later and tells us he wants to go bed most nights.

DS3 is still a newborn so his bedtime varies. Usually about 8pm is is last feed before going down but I'm hoping get it closer to 7pm as he grows.

So that makes me a big meanie :lol:

Wow, Queen- I could have written your post myself!

I was on a structured sleeping routine as a child (well up until I was 12) and it was something that worked well for my parents and for me. I always vowed that I would do the same for my family oneday. Back then it seemed like the norm whereas now I find parents a lot more flexible with when their children go to bed and I have also questioned whether or not I am being unreasonable or too strict. Granted, our Monster is still tiny, but he has been taught that bedtime is bedtime since he popped out into the world!

For the first four months he went to bed between 5 and 6pm (how mean am I?!!). the reason was that he would just not settle for an afternoon nap and would get totally unplayable by the time 5pm came around. This suited us well as he was asleep by the time DH came home so he and I would spend some alone time together and have a peaceful dinner and early night. Monster would then rise at about 4:30 am. That would be when we would enjoy a coffee and have some family time together when Monster was in a much better mood!

Now that he is a bit older, he is managing to have an afternoon/early evening nap and so now he goes to bed between 6:30 and 7pm. He is also a bit more pleasant in the evenings - so we spend a bit of family time with him then and then again from about 5:30 / 6pm in the morning.

I guess it is all about what works for you as a family unit. Because DH works really long hours most of the time and it is just Monster and I all day, everyday and many many evenings, I totally agree on the need for some alone time - it keeps me sane! I also think that I am a better mum if I have a little time to myself each evening :) I think you are doing a great job x

During the week I am pretty strict on bedtimes - 8pm at the latest for DD1. DD2 is asleep by 7.30 at the latest so DD1 gets some 1 on 1 time before bed and then she's off.

On weekends we might be out and they go to bed a bit later but not by much. They get cranky if they go to bed too late - and so do I!!

I'm another stricty here too! DD is in bed by 6:45 for a 7pm sleep everynight!

My mum always had me & my sisters in bed by 7:30pm when we were younger; made it a bit difficult around daylight savings time tho lol. I dont think there's anything wrong with it? To each their own right?

bedtime for DD is 7pm here.. latest 7:30pm

DS2 is in bed by 8pm any night, regardless.
Now we're back into the school routine. DS1 is back to 8pm too. No later then 8:30pm.
When it's not a school night it's usually later for DS1. Depends really.

Nope too hard here if it gets too late - so DD2 in bed by 6.45/7 and DD1 7/7.15. They get way to messy if any later and they do not seem to sleep any later so I often follow shortly after!!! Exciting life here - thanks as I had been wondering the same thing!

Well I must be in the mean camp too!

DD is in bed asleep by 645, 7pm most nights and DS is ready for bed at 7pm and usually asleep by 730pm.

I was having all kinds of dramas with him before DD came along, including him not being able to put himself to sleep, and some nights he wouldn't get to sleep until almost 9pm. This wasn;t working for any of us and when I was pg w dd I vowed that I would "get it right". We now have a fairly strict routine to our days for sleeps for both of them and has my life, and our family life, so much more pleasant. As long as DS day sleep doesn't go past 330 /4pm he is asleep by 730.

Oh I totally agree with the ME time.. I need it. Otherwise I would go mental.. I love my kids dearly but I need that time before I go to bed to recharge for the next day..

All of my kids are in their beds by 7-7:30pm. Occassionally on weekends and holidays they can stay up a bit later. Sometimes if we are out they might be up till 9 or 10 but thats rare as my kids don't cope well with late nights..

So to answer your question no you are not mean! It is a personal choice as to what time our kids go to bed. and you do what suits you and your family kwim?

I am in the 'mean' camp too. Yes I love my kids dearly, I just love having the nights with myself and DH or myself and my computer time :lol:

DD is in a good bath, boob and bed routine, alseep anytime between 6-7pm. DS2 in bed by 7:30pm and DS1 by 8pm.

Kids love routine and thrive on it, well that's been my experience anyway.
The boys are morning kids which is the downside to going to bed early, that doesn't phase me as I am a morning person too. I put myself to bed around 9ish :lol: Sometimes just to read, most of the time to sleep!

we are trialing a new routine so DD is going down at 7 for books etc lights off at 7:30
DS is in bed at 8 lights off at 8:30 and baby is whenever we still working on routine with her

we are turning all tvs and everything stimulating off at 6:30 and bath then bed.

l;ets see how it works