If bedtime is at X:XX, what "window of time" do you use and still call it X:XX??

[lizajane]

In other words, if bedtime is at 8pm, are lights out AT 8pm, between 7:55 and 8:05, between 7:30 and 8:30, etc.

[lizajane]

In other words, if bedtime is at 8pm, are lights out AT 8pm, between 7:55 and 8:05, between 7:30 and 8:30, etc.

[schums]

I didn't vote because I don't really fit in the options. Bedtime is 8:30 here, which means we head up at 8:15-8:30. They're in bed shortly thereafter, but I don't care if they "read" for a bit. So we don't really have "lights out" here. They just fall asleep when they're ready, but have to be in bed.

Hope that makes sense.
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[schums]

I didn't vote because I don't really fit in the options. Bedtime is 8:30 here, which means we head up at 8:15-8:30. They're in bed shortly thereafter, but I don't care if they "read" for a bit. So we don't really have "lights out" here. They just fall asleep when they're ready, but have to be in bed.

Hope that makes sense.
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[Marisa6826]

It really depends on how fast I give them dinner and what time Jonathan gets home. He normally walks in the door around 7:30. One of the things he likes to do most is read to the girls before bed. So if I'm holding dinner for him, by the time we have them changed and ready for books, it can be close to 8.30pm. Granted 8pm is the goal, I'd rather have Jonathan be able to spend some time with the girls.

We're pretty flexible. Gotta say that the Tifaux has made that a much easier thing to do. :P

-m

[Marisa6826]

It really depends on how fast I give them dinner and what time Jonathan gets home. He normally walks in the door around 7:30. One of the things he likes to do most is read to the girls before bed. So if I'm holding dinner for him, by the time we have them changed and ready for books, it can be close to 8.30pm. Granted 8pm is the goal, I'd rather have Jonathan be able to spend some time with the girls.

We're pretty flexible. Gotta say that the Tifaux has made that a much easier thing to do. :P

-m

[maestramommy]

I always say Dora's bedtime is 7ish, with emphasis on the ish. Most nights she's in by 7:15 at the latest, sometimes 7 on the button. It really depends on when Dh gets her sequence started and how quickly he moves.

[Wife_and_mommy]

I said 15-20 but that's for DS. He's pretty easy to read and have down quickly. Tonight it was 6:15 due to an early wake from nap.

DD is much more variable these days. We institued a 6:45-7:15 bedtime for her when she doesn't nap and it's been working well. She napped today and was still up at 9.

One thing that is key is starting the routine about 30 min. before "bedtime". We got into a spell of not doing so and it caused major overtiredness due to our laziness.



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I love them most when they are sleeping.--Me
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[mudder17]

I voted within an hour. But really I would say Kaya's bedtime is 7ish and Mika's is 6ish. What that really means is that we try to put Mika down between 6 and 7 and Kaya is usually in bed by 7, give or take 10 minutes. Generally speaking, we try to get both girls in bed by 7, but Mika really needs to be in bed earlier. If things aren't too chaotic, I can often get Mika in her room by around 6:15 or 6:30.

But they're both pretty flexible--since they both usually get enough sleep, if we have a special event, we can often keep them up well past their bedtime, especially if we plan ahead and get Mika a let nap and try to convince Kaya to get some downtime even if it's not a nap.


Eileen

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[randomkid]

I voted within 15-20 minutes of bedtime because that's usually the way it goes. I'm not opposed to getting DD to bed earlier, but with our routine the way it is, that is a rare occurence. Some nights, if she is being particularly difficult or say, my stepdaughters are here, it will be maybe 30 minutes later than established bedtime. Then, however, I no longer call it "on time". I would then say she got to bed late.

[denna]

I am the only one that voted for bedtime? so far but I did this because DS at age 15mos has decided that 830pm is not a reasonable hour for his sleep but prefers to pass out between 10-11pm. CIO is not our thing so we are doing the best we can to get his schedule back on course for the sake of all of us.
If bedtime were an ideal routine I think a 30min window sounds like a fair amount of time.

[eb1]

Around here, the term "bedtime" refers to the time that DS goes into his room for the night (after having had teeth brushed, getting into pajamas, etc.). Usually this is 7:15-ish.

"Lights out" occurs sometime after that...anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes depending on whether DS had a nap that day, or a few other factors.

When he's in his room, before lights are out, he generally reads or listens to music. Sometimes he conks out before we turn lights off.

[thomma]

Bedtime is at 6:30 on non-nap days/non daycare days but at 7:30 on nap days/daycare days. This means we start a few minutes before that time to brush teeth etc. I put one kid to bed and dh the other and we read a book, chat etc. Then we switch and repeat. It usually takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Kim
ds&dd - 4

[daisymommy]

Hannah is tired at 7PM. so I bring her upstairs then, put on jammies, nurse her, and she's asleep by 7:15.

Joshua's bedtime is 7:30PM, so I bring him upstairs then, change into jammies, brush teeth, read a book, and tuck him in about 7:50? Gosh, that's later than I realized. But, there isn't much we can do it about it with the way our family schedule falls.

[Bethann31]

I admit, I suck big time at bedtimes. Four kids and none of them have ever had an absolute "you must be in bed" time. When school is in, and they were smaller, they had a "you must be in your room by...." time, but how long they stayed awake I never freaked out about. I still make Jeffrey head to the bedroom about 10:00, he'll be in 7th grade this year. I would absolutely accomplish nothing in my life, if I had tried to put any of them down by 6 or so. Often we don't even eat dinner until 8 or so, and in my house, unless you're dying, you eat with us at the table. Then we often have to run some errand, or have some band thing or the theatre that we have to go to, so I count my blessings if we start on a bedtime routine by 9 or so.

I have never criticized another mama for their routine, and sometimes I wish I could make something like a really early bedtime work, but it just never has for our family. I guess I can thank my lucky stars none of my four has required it, as I know many children do. Mine all slept in the car, picked up naps when they could and went to bed when we are home and settling in.

Beth
mom to:

Josh 3/90
Mollie 4/92
Jeffrey 12/94
Katherine 6/03

[MelissaTC]

Matthew's bedtime is 8pm and I try really hard to have him in bed by 8pm most days. He needs his sleep.