Kids and Bedtime

[panther]

my son goes to bed at about 9 ish, but he does mess about, probably because its light outside
in the winter hes in bed for about 8 ish!

its murder trying to get the kids up in the morning, but in the end ya cant make em sleep can ya?

[Yolanda25]

mine goes to bed at around half 8 or 9 everynite, he goes to sleep straight away, he is not interested on watching videos or playing with his toys, he sleeps in the afternoon as i got him to stick with the spanish siesta tradition lol, but he still goes to bed straight away, i hope it stays like that but i dont think it will

[churchman phil]

As there are seven in this house of varying school ages (1 pre-school) bedtimes are not contested as such otherwise it would be chaos! The teenagers are generally about 9.30-10.00pm, nine/ten year olds 8.30-9.00pm with the youngest at 7.30 with a story. Anyone caught playing MP3's or with phones have them confiscated for a week - the teenagers especially don't like that
Only complaints we sometimes get are during holidays when they whinge on about not having school the next day. Don't mind on occasion but it is considered a treat.

[Nell]

Its advised that children need a set number of hours sleep such as

5yr old = 11 hours
7yr old = 10.5
9 yr old = 10 hours
11yr old = 9.5 hours
14 yr old = 9 hours

This has been proven medically and i got the info from a doctor.
However, individuals work differently. My daughter is 14 and gets up without fail at 6.15, always has. (She likes to be prepared for school) But she doesn't go to bed till 10.00-10.30. She's never tired and i'm not worried about the amount of sleep she's getting.
Then there's the boy He's 11 now and ive sent him to bed at 8.30 for about 3 years. Recently he's been having trouble sleeping and was subsequently tired in the morning. So, ive changed his bedtime routine- Bed is now at 9.30 BUT, no t.v after 9, no P.S after 8.30 and he goes up at 9.15 to do whatever. He's since been great, never moans, falls asleep quickly and is in a better mood in the morning.

I think sleep is an important issue, as working with kids i know alot of them didnt get enough and like Flashy says some parents dont care what time the kids are in the house nevermind in bed.