Jane's Posts

July 31 1998

Is there any consensus on the best bed times by age? I may be crazy, but I seem to remember going to bed when it was light outside when I was a kid. My 6-year-old stepson occasionally actually goes to bed at 10:00, but that's an early night.

It depends so much on the circumstances. My 11 yo needs 10 hrs/night. One night with less, and she's a mess. Since her bus leaves at 7 a.m., this means bed time is 8 p.m. Currently, we have no bed time while school is out. She stayed up much later at 6 yo, because we had a looser morning schedule, and she still had the option of a nap.

OTOH, her cousin, who is now 13 yo, can stay up too late for days, then sleep all weekend. So his parents let him self regulate. But they have a huge house.

We resolve the parent time issue by imposing a bed time whether the kids are tired or not. They can go to their rooms and read, listen to music (with headphones), write letters, etc. Six is probably too young for that, but again, it depends on your kid.

Once, when my work schedule changed, my daughter's had to adjust with it. I did this by waking her up 5 minutes earlier every few days and gradually moving up her bed time.

Also, your wife may really enjoy her evening ritual with her son.

jane