Let's Discuss: What Time Do Your Kids Go to Bed?
What are doctors and psychologists advising, and what's actually happening?
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As a mom of kids under 6, this graphic caught my eye on Instagram. My boys share a room, and though we try to get them to sleep by 8 pm, this usually doesn't happen. They're in bed between 7:30 and 8, but the actual falling asleep often doesn'thappen until 8:30. I've debated trying to push this earlier in the evening (I'd certainly relish the opportunity for a little more time to myself at night!), but my husband doesn't usually get home from work until 7 or 7:30, and they would risk not seeing him at all. Plus, as a decidedly not-morning person, the thought of them potentially waking up earlier than 6 or 6:30 fills me with a cold and sinister dread.
Once again, I'm reminded that best practices are just that—an ideal, created in a vacuum, that may or may not be accessible to the average family.
What do you think? Do your kids follow the bedtime guidelines outlined here? How have you made that happen—and if not, why not?
—Amy
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I'm sorry, "asleep by 7:00"?? 🤯 That's when we're having dinner usually! Bedtime for my kids (6 and 4) is 8:00 so after the bedtime putdown rituals it's between 8:30 and 8:45.
Studies like this are bonkers. Don’t specify awake times, whether these kids are napping and for how long, or what the cultural norms around sleep are. Then Instagram ‘experts’ and sleep trainers take it upon themselves to make a quick buck off parental anxiety. No good. Go to bed when it works for your family.