Are your kids bedtimes different in the summer?

[g-mama]

I was very surprised to read on the other thread about 5yo bedtimes how many kids go to bed as early as 6:something or 7:something.

It got me wondering, do your kids go to bed at this time even when it's light outside in the spring and summer?

We (I think) are lucky to live in a neighborhood where there are tons of kids and after dinner, our kids go outside to play in our yard and neighbors' yards. We usually go outside, too, and ride bikes with them, throw the ball around, and talk with other neighbors. I can't imagine telling them to come inside when all the fun is going on - for my sake, as well as theirs. In the summer, we usually come inside around 8:30 and the kids are in bed around 9:15. I don't have babies anymore, but even when I did, since the time my oldest was around 4, this is how it has always been. I'd go inside to put the baby down for the night and we'd come back outside with the monitor with the older kids.

[egoldber]

No. My kids go to bed at (approximately) the same time all year round. Sarah is 7.5 and is upstairs in bed by 8:30. She sleeps until 6:30/7 no matter what time of year and if she is not in bed by around 8:30 then she does not get enough sleep.

In fact, in the summer she sometimes goes to bed even earlier! She will wake up even earlier because there are birds that nest right outside her bedroom window and as soon as they start chirping at the first light of day, she is awake. And then she has camp and swimming and the sun....and she is wiped.out. by 7/7:30.

I do feel bad because kids from the neighborhood are out running around until well after 8. But she just can't do it. She needs more sleep than that.

[KrisM]

My DS1 was only 4 last summer. We also have a lot of kids around. The neighbors are just a bit younger than our kids and they're up until 9 or 10. My kids still went to bed about 7:30. We tried moving it later, as it's light until 9 or later, but they still get up at 6am and it just made them tired and cranky, even after giving it a week for them to adjust. So, we just do the same bedtime all year. It's easier.

I do feel bad bringing them in when the other kids are outside playing still. If they could adjust their wake-up time, I'd give them another 30 or 60 minutes at night.

[hellokitty]

Even though we don't plan on it, our kids' bedtimes are inevitably pushed back in the summer time. Combo of taking advantage of the daylight and nice weather (we live in OH, so half of the yr, the weather sucks outside) and also my kids don't want to go to bed when they notice that it's still daylight outside. They still wake up the same time regardless of when they go to bed, BUT in the summer, they are so much more worn out that they konk out almost as soon as they are tucked in. So, during the regular part of the school yr, bedtime is btwn 7:30-8pm (depending on if it's bath night). During the summer, it's not unusual for it to be closer to 9pm.

[caleymama]

Even though we don't plan on it, our kids' bedtimes are inevitably pushed back in the summer time. Combo of taking advantage of the daylight and nice weather (we live in OH, so half of the yr, the weather sucks outside) and also my kids don't want to go to bed when they notice that it's still daylight outside.

:yeahthat: Same for us, except we're not in Ohio - bedtime is around 7 or 7:30 during the school year because that's when they are tired. During the summer it could be that early but is usually later because it's lighter later and there's more to do in the evening.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Weekends during the school year and vacations have a 9pm bedtime vs 8 during the school year. I don't think I would have any luck putting ds to sleep while it was still sunny out and kids were still playing out in the neighborhood! We want to eek out as much fun in the sun as possible in the summer. :)

Beth

[alexsmommy]

Yes and no. I work part time, and on the days I work, the kids need to be up no later than 6:30am. Like many PP's, my kids wake up at 6-6:30am regardless of what time I put them to bed on their own, and I feel it's unfair to work to change that when I need them up 3x week on my schedule. School year bedtime is 7:30. Summer tends to be more like 8:15ish taking advantage of light and warm weather Having said that, on weekends when I am home to deal with any residual crankiness, we will let DS1 stay up later if we are participating in a bbq or something on the block. The latest he has ever really stayed up has been 10p when we have block parties. He practically falls asleep before I can get his pj's on him (something he normally handles but he crashes after a full day of playing in the street). In summer needs the sleep with the increased outdoor physical activity of summer and honestly, DH and I prefer to have at least and hour or two to ourselves to reconnect/clean/open mail/pay bills etc.
In our neighborhood, by 8pm most of the younger kids are in anyway and it's just the 10+ crowd playing tag/kick the can etc.

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

Heck yeah they're different. In the summer both my dc wake up later in the morning and go to bed later but that's their natural tendency anyway. In the summer they're not in bed until after the sun goes down and sometimes we go outside to play even after dark.

But you have to understand that we're not in a suburban area either. There are a lot of people on our block outside after dark having a beer and even some(our neighbor)who do their gardening and occasionally their lawn mowing after dark. The children will usually sleep until around 9-9:30 in the summer and sometimes stay up as late as 10 pm.

We'll see what happens with the baby this summer and and we're finally moving to the burbs this summer too.

[Momof3Labs]

The boys go to bed at 8pm in the summer and 7:30 during the school year since DS1 has to be up by 6:30 to catch his 7:15 bus. There are kids in the neighborhood who are out later than that, but if we let them stay up too late, they are grumpy. Letting them stay up later doesn't seem to make them sleep in later in the morning.

[Tondi G]

My kids are on a late schedule. They go to bed late... closer to 10pm and during the school year .... DS (7.5) wakes up at the last possible minute around 7:45... so he gets about 10 hours of sleep. My little guy (3.5) has the luxury of sleeping in late... usually comes wandering out of his room around 8:30 or 9:00 .... sometimes later! He isn't in preschool yet but I have a feeling that once he HAS to get up they will both be going to bed earlier! I have some serious night owl kids! This last summer there were nights they didn't get to bed till 11pm and they didn't get up till almost 10am! I am hoping not to get into a really LATE cycle with them this summer though!

My BIL and SIL had strict bedtimes for their girls when they were younger.... they have a slightly later bedtime now.... I think 9pm. When they were little BIL used to complain about their neighbor who's pre teen kids would be swimming and playing (noisily) at 8:30 or 9:00pm. Made it hard for them to force their kids to bed at 7-7:30 when there was still sun light and other kids in the neighborhood still out playing!

It all depends on the child I guess.... and the family. I prefer having kids who go to bed a little later and wake up a little later on the weekends! Sure we don't have a whole lot of "couple" time in the evenings and I don't watch any tv series' etc cause my kids are still up and interrupt constantly but we get to have leisurely mornings on the weekend! :)

[Cam&Clay]

Heck yeah! I don't work in the summer, so I want them to go to bed later and get up earlier! When DS1 was younger, I'd try to get him in bed by 9:30 or so and he'd sleep until 9:00. Not sure how this summer will go with DS2, though.

Normal bedtimes are 8:00 for DS2 and 8:30 for DS1. We have to get up early during the school year.

[hillview]

Yes different. During summer we are closer to 9. During school we've been trying to be before 8. In the summer there is no school and the neighborhood kids are out til dark (similar ages to DS #1). I am fine with this for now.
/hillary

[belovedgandp]

Yes and no.

Last year, we had pre-school in the morning, so older DS had to be up by 7:45. Summer bedtime had been 8:30 or 9:00 and it moved to 7:30/8:00.

Now, my DS does not have a set time he gets up each day. At 3 he basically slept 12 hours from when he went down. Naps were long gone. So if he stayed up late he slept in later.

This year we have afternoon pre-school. It's 5 days a week. Great for me because younger son sleeps when older son is in school, but it means we miss out on doing some of the activities that a 5 year old can do but an 18 month old cannot. I had every intention of moving bedtime back up to 8:00 so DH and I could have more of our evenings, but it has stayed late for older son. 18 month old is 7:30/8:00 for bed and 5 year old is 9:00. We use that time to play board games, Legos, crafts, etc that we can't do with little brother.

[infomama]

Yes for DD1 (but only when we are on vacation). No for DD2

[jenmcadams]

I feel like I'm always the crazy one with the 6 yr old who still needs to go to bed at 7 (she sleeps 7-7) :)

My DD is now in 1st grade and prior to K had gone to a year-round preschool/daycare program, so we didn't really have the typical "summers." Also, we live in an area with a lot of empty-nesters, so we don't have the whole kids riding bikes by in the evening thing going on. This past summer was our first true summer break and we did see her bedtime shift slightly...we might start bedtime at 7:30 instead of 6:45 or 7:00 occasionally. But, just as often, we'd bring our jammies to the pool we belong to, grill dinner there, shower, change into jammies and come home and roll right into bed

[g-mama]

Interesting replies - thanks!

My 8 year old goes to bed at 9 and wakes up at 7, like clockwork. It's enough sleep for him and has been since he stopped napping at 3.5.

My 5 year old also sleeps from 9-7, but about half the time, he still takes a nap. He definitely needs more sleep than his big brother, but because they share a room, he doesn't get it at night.

My 3 year old goes to bed at 9, too, but wakes up around 8 and naps from about 2-5 each afternoon.

I bet that if my dh got home from work earlier, we might put the kids to bed earlier, but I feel like two hours a day (7-9pm) is so little time that I can't imagine cutting it back further. It's important to us that our boys spend time with their dad and because he takes over much of the nighttime routine when he gets home, I kinda have to take it on his terms.

[maestramommy]

Nope. My kids go down at 7ish year round. Maybe because they're still young, but the light doesn't seem to affect their internal clocks.

[Corie]

I bet that if my dh got home from work earlier, we might put the kids to bed earlier, but I feel like two hours a day (7-9pm) is so little time that I can't imagine cutting it back further. It's important to us that our boys spend time with their dad and because he takes over much of the nighttime routine when he gets home, I kinda have to take it on his terms.


Kristen,

I totally agree with this! I feel bad for my DH when he gets home at
6:30pm and the kids are going to bed at 8pm. It's not alot of time to
spend with your kids. And the kids crave him.

In fact, tonight both of the kids are sleeping in our bed with him and I will
be sleeping in my daughter's bed. (I hate a crowded bed.)
Maybe I'll get to sleep in tomorrow...

[Asianmommy]

The kids go to bed at 8-8:30 year-round. They get up at 7-7:30 year-round, as well.

[MommyAllison]

I feel like I'm always the crazy one with the 6 yr old who still needs to go to bed at 7 (she sleeps 7-7) :)



You aren't - my good friend puts all of her kids to bed at 7 (also sleep 7-7) and they are 3.5, 7 & 8. :)

To answer the question, ours go to bed the same time all year, but it is later (9pm).

[jayali]

DS does go to bed later during the summer, but he also naps consistently every day during the summer. We live at the beach from June through August and DS is usually on the beach every day so most days he will nap from 2-4 while we are there. He is going to be 5 in May and HATES to nap, but in the summer he is usually wiped out by 2 and will lay down on the blanket and before I know it will be sound asleep. He will go to bed between 9 and 10 and wake between 6-6:30. During the school year in bed and asleep by 8:15 the latest and up at the same time. If he doesn't nap during the summer he usually falls asleep by 7:30.

We don't intentionally plan the change in bedtime it just sort of happens with the change in our routine. We don't fight it - learned that a year or so ago - but have learned to live with it. I must say that I miss having some quiet time with DH before we go to bed, which is usually 10 minutes after DS! I don't get to nap on the beach so I can just about keep my eyes open while I am reading the bedtime story!

[lmwbasye]

So far, the answer is no...they go to bed at the same time, which is 6:00 for DS2 and 7:00 for DS1. That being said, I am a SAHM now and DH will be returning from a 15 month deployment in April, so I can definitely see us trying to push things back to give them time with him after work since he already normally works long, crazy hours. That being said, if we do try this and they are still getting up early (6:00 at the latest for DS1 and 7:00 - 8:00 for DS2) then we will keep their bedtimes the same as they do need the sleep that they get.