This is interesting. Thankfully with one kid, it's easier (I suspect) than with two. Sam is 5.5 and goes to bed at 8:30, gets up at 7. He's his best self he is in bed (lights off) between 8-8:30 so i definitely see this as the ideal. Making it happen is tough. I think for us it will take some will to ensure his sleep is protected as is unwinding time. Frankly it will come at the cost of some extra curriculars, which I'm fine with.
DS went to bed at 8 until age 5-6. Then until 14, it was 9 PM. After that, we went to 10, but at 16, it was up to him. He said it was embarrassing to have his own car and still have a bedtime . I still don't think he gets enough sleep. Anyway, the bedtimes were for my benefit as much as his. Parents need kid-free downtime in the evenings. I know a 6 year old who goes to bed at 10/10:30 most nights and I don't understand why her parents are torturing themselves that way.
DS went to bed at 8 until age 5-6. Then until 14, it was 9 PM. After that, we went to 10, but at 16, it was up to him. He said it was embarrassing to have his own car and still have a bedtime . I still don't think he gets enough sleep. Anyway, the bedtimes were for my benefit as much as his. Parents need kid-free downtime in the evenings. I know a 6 year old who goes to bed at 10/10:30 most nights and I don't understand why her parents are torturing themselves that way.
I don't know about other people but our reason for late bedtime is that my kids will sleep 10 hours and I'd rather they be from 9-7 than from 7-5
I thought about this post this morning. DD has been going to bed at 8:15 or 8:30 for forever. But this week she has been waking up for the day at 5. Bright and happy. I know she's not getting enough sleep for a 3 year old but I can't get her to sleep more. I wouldn't care because she has tons of energy and doesn't seem to be sleep deprived but I WANT MORE SLEEP!
I thought about this post this morning. DD has been going to bed at 8:15 or 8:30 for forever. But this week she has been waking up for the day at 5. Bright and happy. I know she's not getting enough sleep for a 3 year old but I can't get her to sleep more. I wouldn't care because she has tons of energy and doesn't seem to be sleep deprived but I WANT MORE SLEEP!
It's counter intuitive but she may actually be OVER tired and not getting into a good sleep pattern so waking early.
Is she still napping? When DD did this we cut naps and backed up bedtime and she went back to sleeping 11-12 hrs.
I thought about this post this morning. DD has been going to bed at 8:15 or 8:30 for forever. But this week she has been waking up for the day at 5. Bright and happy. I know she's not getting enough sleep for a 3 year old but I can't get her to sleep more. I wouldn't care because she has tons of energy and doesn't seem to be sleep deprived but I WANT MORE SLEEP!
It's counter intuitive but she may actually be OVER tired and not getting into a good sleep pattern so waking early.
Is she still napping? When DD did this we cut naps and backed up bedtime and she went back to sleeping 11-12 hrs.
This is a good point, and one that should be brought up. Putting your kid to bed later does not necessarily equal a later wake up time, and kids that are overtired will actually sleep less. It usually takes their little bodies a week or (sometimes even two) to recognize that they can sleep more. If I put my kids to bed later they definitely wake up at the same time or earlier than they usually does for about a week or two, which is why DST is such a bitch. It's kind of counterintuitive but the more sleep they get, the longer they will sleep. Sleep begets sleep is what a lot of the silly baby books call it.
Is this three pages of people talking about their kid's bedtimes? Didn't we already do this last week? I'm not going to repeat my DDs sleep schedule a second time because frankly it was boring the first time.
Anyways!
I like what my wonderful glorious pediatrician says about sleep: kids will sleep when they are tired. You can't force a kid to sleep. They get the sleep they need and all humans are different.
Too bad he's no longer our pedi. He was just the doctor a nervous first time parent needed.
I thought about this post this morning. DD has been going to bed at 8:15 or 8:30 for forever. But this week she has been waking up for the day at 5. Bright and happy. I know she's not getting enough sleep for a 3 year old but I can't get her to sleep more. I wouldn't care because she has tons of energy and doesn't seem to be sleep deprived but I WANT MORE SLEEP!
It's counter intuitive but she may actually be OVER tired and not getting into a good sleep pattern so waking early.
Is she still napping? When DD did this we cut naps and backed up bedtime and she went back to sleeping 11-12 hrs.
That is the problem. She doesn't nap on the weekend but she does at daycare. She's been napping 2-3 hours there. We were having her nap with the older kids so she would be woken up after an hour but that wasn't possible during the summer. This week she will go back to that so I'm hoping for a return to normal sleep for all of us.
Is this three pages of people talking about their kid's bedtimes? Didn't we already do this last week? I'm not going out repeat my DDs sleep schedule a second time because frankly it was boring the first time.
Anyways!
I like what my wonderful glorious pediatrician says about sleep: kids will sleep when they are tired. You can't force a kid to sleep. They get the sleep they need and all humans are different.
Too bad he's no longer our pedi. He was just the doctor a nervous first time parent needed.
I propose a toast to laid back pediatricians! :drink:
And everyone who has an early bedtime with a compliant kid who sleeps the full 10-12 hours needed per day should uncork some champagne and perhaps start a blog on how to be the most best parent ever! Actually no. Good sleeping kids have nothing to do with their parents. It's all about their own personal internal sleep clock that's hard wired at birth.
(I actually say this as a parent with a generally good sleeping kid (not perfect; we have our sleep issues). It's after 7 am and she's still sound asleep and will probably be so until 8 today; and she went down around 9 last night; she was also born as a great sleeper. Slept through the night almost immediately, which my H and I stupidly and hilariously attributed to our awesome parenting skills. When in reality it was just her DNA.)
Yup. I used to say to people who gave all sorts of advice to me about LT to get him to STTN (he really didn't until 2.5). I would get "oh, mine did at 2 days" or some ish. I would just say "well, I guess my kid is broken?" I mean, how do you respond to that without snark? It is all about their clock. LT now sleeps 8-7. If he goes to sleep late, he will sleep later. It works for him.
Unless you are up with your kid everynight until 11 watching nightmare on elm street, you are probably not doing anything wrong if your kid is not precisely adhering to a chart on the Internet of recommended sleep times based on average kids.
There's plenty of people prioritizing an academic school with a longer commute or extracurriculars over sleep. Lack of sleep actually is a problem for most American kids. Only you know your family's schedule and routines and priorities, but this chart is information, not judgment.