Moms of 1st graders: when is bedtime?

[Mainebound]

Hi everyone,

My first grader (age 7) goes to sleep (lights out) at 8:00pm on school nights and wakes usually about 7:00am. He gets ot stay up late on weekends.

I just found out through an informal poll at our neighborhood park that a lot of other first graders stay up much later (they watch Americna Idol for example).

Am I a mean mommy? When do your little ones go to sleep?

thanks for sharing!

 

[linda0706]

My 1st grader's bedtime is 9pm. She gets up around 6:40.

 

[SSDonut]

Mom of kindergartener and first grader here:

Bedtime is 8, but it does sometimes get pushed back to 9-ish (they do enjoy American Idol. . .)

We do shoot for 8, and I think your 8-oclock bedimte makes you a GOOD mom!!

 

[disneyjunkie99]

My daughter (7 too) has to be in bed by 9 pm and usually falls asleep around 9:30. She has to get up at 6:30 am.

 

[PaulR]

We try to shoot for 7:30 but it usually ends up closer to 8. We get her up at 7. If she goes to bed later she is quite the grump mole when we wake her in the morn.

 

[Hannathy]

Mine was about 10, is in 2nd this yr and same time maybe 10:30 but he doesn't get up till 7:30. We are all late night people.

 

[christinadei]

My 1st grade Ds has a bedtime of 8:30, the same he's always had. He gets up at 6:30. Sometimes he doesn't get into bed until closer to 9 though, when he has TBall games, etc. We pushed it to 9:00 earlier this year, but he started misbehaving in school, so we changed it back to 8:30. Maybe next year we will change it to 9:00.

 

[christinadei]

Mine was about 10, is in 2nd this yr and same time maybe 10:30 but he doesn't get up till 7:30. We are all late night people.

Wow, my parents made me go to bed at 10:00 all the way until I graduated high school

 

[dijid]

I made my 1st grader go to bed at 7:30 or 7:45. IMO, a bedtime of 9:00 is too late for a child that age. A lot of research shows a correlation between sleep and school performance. There is research supporting that some (not all) ADHD behaviors are a result of poor or insufficient sleep.

A good read on sleep is Dr. Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" - although it focuses on much younger kids, it can help reassure you that you're not a mean mom - you're the good one!

 

[Queen of 3 princess]

I have a 1st grader. Her bedtime is 8:00 as well. she gets up at 7:00. She also gets to stay up late on weekends. I have a 3rd grader who has a bed time of 8:30. she usually falls asleep around 9:00 though.

 

[christinadei]

I made my 1st grader go to bed at 7:30 or 7:45. IMO, a bedtime of 9:00 is too late for a child that age. A lot of research shows a correlation between sleep and school performance. There is research supporting that some (not all) ADHD behaviors are a result of poor or insufficient sleep.

A good read on sleep is Dr. Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" - although it focuses on much younger kids, it can help reassure you that you're not a mean mom - you're the good one!

Well, it depends on what time the child wakes up. IMHO, 10 hours of sleep is plenty. DS won't sleep longer than that anyway, he wakes up on his own, which indicates that it's enough sleep.

 

[princesskimberella]

My children 4, 5 and 7 all go to bed around the same time which is about 9 or so during the school year, even on weekends unless we have a family function or something. They get up at 7:30 on school days and around 8 on the weekends.

There is research supporting that some (not all) ADHD behaviors are a result of poor or insufficient sleep.

Just wondering do you have a child with ADHD???

 

[december]

My kids go to bed at 9, and get up at 6:45. I don't think anyone can define a set routine that works for every child. This works for us, we have very well behaved kids, and they make straight As (1st and 3rd grade). No ADD problems in my house!

 

[pjb0216]

Mine goes to bed between 8:00 and 9:00. We shoot for 8 but during ball season it is normally 9:00. He does get to stay up later on weekends.

 

[beattyfamily]

I have a 7 and 10 year old. Their bedtime is 8:00p. Their alarm is set for 6:20a however the 7 year will not get up until I come and make her get up. She's always been a good sleeper; always had naps.

They get to go to bed later on weekends and in the Summer months or vacation week.

Lately my 10 year old has been giving me a hard time about her bedtime. She's always telling me how her friends go to bed at 9:00p or 9:30p. How they get to watch American Idol and Lost!

My DH also told me that when he discussed this with his co-workers (don't ask me how this subject came up at his work??) that they all thought 8:00p was pretty early too.

Then I went on a field trip wtih my 10 year old and I discussed this with one of the other moms. She said her kids go to bed at 9:00p and can read and then lights out at 9:30p but her kids are 10 and 13.

My girls sleep together so if I change it to a later time for my older DD, I'll also have to change it for my 7 year old, who needs more sleep than her big sister...at least 10 hours.

I was trying to hold off till my older DD gets her own room but it's tough!

Anyway, just thought I'd share our situation with you. Not sure what we're going to do.

 

[Twingle]

Our son goes to bed at 8:00 - but usually doesn't fall asleep until 8:30 or so. He wakes up on his own between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning.

He doesn't stay up late or sleep in on the weekends - although he would be allowed to if he wanted to!

I think you're doing fine - I wouldn't have any worries about bedtime as compared to the others in your neighboorhood.

 

[deedeetoo]

My kids are 8 and 6. Both go to bed in the 8:30 to 9:00 range and get up at 7:00 am. The later time frame tends to happen when there is something on TV that they like. Both kids like Amercian Idol and we were watching Amazing Race too. The younger one won't go to bed without the older one (he's afraid of being alone in the room by himself at night) so even though I would like to get him to bed earlier it isn't going to happen until he gets over this.

 

[Mainebound]

Thanks for tall the great replies! I didn't want to start a debate -- just a judgment free informal survey!

Now another question: what if you have two kids (I have a 7 and 5 year old). Do you let the older one stay up later? How many fights does this cause?

Thanks for any input!

 

[MiniGirl]

My girls are 7 and 5, and bedtime is at 8:30. My oldest is an early bird, and it is not unusual for me to hear her getting up at 6:00 (sometimes even earlier). She's very independent though and will get herself dressed and even pour herself some cereal. However, this means that she is often ready for bed around 8:00 instead of 8:30. (Every few months she also has a day or 2 where she will get up around 3 or 3:30 and not go back to bed. Thing is she is not grumpy or tired during the day. Strangest thing.) My youngest, OTOH, is my night owl. I have to struggle to get her bed by 8:30 and she will often stay up much later. I also have to wake her up or she would sleep until 7:30 or 8:00.

My best friend's dds are the same age as mine, and we take several "girls only" trips to WDW a year. We always stay at a value and get connecting rooms. The little girls stay in 1 room and we each get our own bed in the other room. Anyway, she still talks about our first trip. All the girls were asleep except my youngest. We had the hardest time getting her to settle down, and then my oldest comes in and wakes me up at 5:30 am and whispers loudly, "Mom, I am fully awake. Can I turn on the tv?" and I hear my friend mumble, "Oh no you can't be." Now, she tells everyone she understands why I'm always so tired. One kid keeps me up late and the other gets me up early.

 

[CampbellScot]

I made my 1st grader go to bed at 7:30 or 7:45. IMO, a bedtime of 9:00 is too late for a child that age. A lot of research shows a correlation between sleep and school performance. There is research supporting that some (not all) ADHD behaviors are a result of poor or insufficient sleep.

A good read on sleep is Dr. Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" - although it focuses on much younger kids, it can help reassure you that you're not a mean mom - you're the good one!

Yup totally agree!! My step kids are 5 and 8. We start bedtime routine at 7:00pm. they are in bed with lights out by 7:45. Both kids go right to sleep and they get up all by themselves at 7am every morning. They get to stay up 8:30 on weekends. Any later than that and they are CRANKYpots the next day.

I wasn't allowed to stay up until 10 until I was a freshman in highschool! Little brains need sleep. Kids may not want to go to bed early, but they are the kids and don't get to make that choice.