5 year olds bedtime quandary

liney

If he is struggling to drop off, have you tried having a gentle prod to see if anything might be bothering him? It could be something really tiny, but playing on his mind.

go_cat

liney wrote: »

If he is struggling to drop off, have you tried having a gentle prod to see if anything might be bothering him? It could be something really tiny, but playing on his mind.

I did ask him tonight why he didn't go straight to sleep and he said it was because he hadnt played long enough with his best friend :rotfl:

pinkclouds

go_cat wrote: »

Should I see this as a sign he needs a slightly later bedtime or stick to what we currently do?

What time do other similar aged children go to bed ?

Bedtime depends on the family and the child; we don't all need the same amount of sleep. If he's happy staying in his bedroom for a while before he goes to sleep then you don't need to change anything. In my experience, my kids go to sleep later during summer (and I do use a blackout blind) simply because the nights are lighter. My elder child's classmates (4-5 year olds) seem to vary between 7 to 11 pm, although that's "falling asleep" time rather than "going to bed[room]" time.

morocha

My 5 yo DD is hyper, so putting her to bed to 7pm like my SIL does with her children, who btw are double the age of my child is ridiculous. She does not need much sleep at all, and even putting her in bed by 8.30, she wont go to sleep till around 9.45-10 and given the chance much later.
She gets up at 8 without a problem and some days will get up much earlier and make breakfast for herself and play in her room.

rosalie-lavender

morocha wrote: »

My 5 yo DD is hyper, so putting her to bed to 7pm like my SIL does with her children, who btw are double the age of my child is ridiculous. She does not need much sleep at all, and even putting her in bed by 8.30, she wont go to sleep till around 9.45-10 and given the chance much later.
She gets up at 8 without a problem and some days will get up much earlier and make breakfast for herself and play in her room.

I had one like that. School made her worse and instead of tiring her out fired her up with energy. When she was 5 she was rarely in bed before 8.30/9pm but still up and full of energy at 6am the next morning. When she was 2ish the only way to get a full nights sleep was to put her to bed no earlier than 8. Any earlier and she got up for a couple of hours in the night.

It was very tiring when she was little, although luckily I am an early bird as well. We had no problems over bedtime when she hit the teenage years though. I never have to tell her to go to bed, if she is tired she takes her self off to bed.

Teenie_D

This sounds exactly like my daughter, she has always gone to bed at 7pm or there abouts but lately she has been still awake at 8.30pm sometimes even 9pm but she is in bed so I'm not overly worried as she never seems tired the next day and she is a relatively early riser. We have made her bedtime later about 7.30pm and she sits and looks at her books or plays with some toys in bed. She is due to start primary after the holidays so i expect she will be back to sleeping earlier.

freda

my4 yo and 5 yo both go to bed between 6.30-7pm, and get up when their timed light goes on at 7.30am. (No idea what time they actually wake up though!). If they don't get enough sleep, they are grouchy and struggle to behave the next day. I would imagine they could get used to less sleep, but I think it would have a subtle negative impact on their concentration and behaviour. In the op's case, I'd be suggesting bed at 7, quiet reading or looking at book till 7.20 then lights out and no chat after that. If child still doesn't sleep till 8.30, thats fine but at least they are resting.

morocha

rosalie-lavender wrote: »

I had one like that. School made her worse and instead of tiring her out fired her up with energy. When she was 5 she was rarely in bed before 8.30/9pm but still up and full of energy at 6am the next morning. When she was 2ish the only way to get a full nights sleep was to put her to bed no earlier than 8. Any earlier and she got up for a couple of hours in the night.

It was very tiring when she was little, although luckily I am an early bird as well. We had no problems over bedtime when she hit the teenage years though. I never have to tell her to go to bed, if she is tired she takes her self off to bed.

I actually thought the same about school, DD is so full of energy after it that asks me to stay in the after school club, i feel mean to have her away most of the day and really don't want her to stay.

adoreachild

This is his actual growth period. So, Let him involve in some physical activities like playing with other kids and he might have started reading. So, teach him for half an hour after that tell him to sleep. He will definitely sleep earlier.

adoreachild

This is his actual growth period. So, Let him involve in some physical activities like playing with other kids and he might have started reading. So, teach him for half an hour after that tell him to sleep. He will definitely sleep earlier.