Calling All Mothers - Question About Bed Time

[elizabethann]

What time do you think a 2 year old should go to bed? Do you think a 2 year old should have a set bed time?

I'm asking because I babysat my 2 year old Great Nephew last night. He is a cutie pie, but a handful. He didn't go to sleep (on the couch) until 10pm! Needless to say, I was exhausted. I had to pick him up and bring him to bed. He cried for about 10 minutes and then fell back asleep.

I just remember when I was younger, having to babysit, and having to put the baby to sleep at a regular time.

Am I just getting old?

[Sirrahsim]

I have a 1 year old and a three year old and bedtime is 7pm for both of them. Studies show that children who stay up later do not do as well in school and are not able to focus as well as children who go to bed earlier. My personal opinion is that putting a two year old to bed any later than 8ish is not in the best interests of the child.

That being said, some kids just require less sleep than others so if he is able to focus (as well as a two year old can, anyway) and is not overly crabby then more power to them. :)

[sasvermont]

Most children need lots of sleep. If I were a parent, and I am NOT, I would have my kiddies in bed, oh, as early as possible. Probably by 7, as Missy advised.

I have a friend who has a daycare and more than 1/2 of the kids there need more sleep than what they are getting. Since their parents both work, they keep them up later than what one would expect...thus they are tired the next day...and cranky! Sleep, naps, rests, quiet time is good for children. Not all folks would agree though.

I don't think you were being old fashioned, just practical. And being tired yourself is a great reason for a child to get into bed and go to sleep.

My niece is horrible with her children, but then she is dealing with the cranks the following day, not me!

:eek:

[caseysmom]

I liked my kids to go to bed early so I could have some down time I guess it depends what time you and them get up in the morning. I had one that was a great sleeper and one that wasn't they are still are like that, guess who achieves more?

[Daisy and Delilah]

I think it should be 8:00 for a two year old. :)

[critter crazy]

at that age between 7-8 pm.

[AllAmericanPUP]

I've actually got my 2(almost 3) yr old nephew and 1 yr old neice tonight and they don't go to bed til about 10 or so.
but they also sleep in til about 9 or 10 so they get plenty of sleep plus they nap during the day

but i agree kids should definately go to be earlier.

I imagine if I had kids they would be in bed around 8:30.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I'm going to be the odd one here and say that I don't think 10 pm is too late for a 2 year old. If he has to get up early to go to daycare then 10 pm is probably too late, but if he can sleep in as late as he needs then I don't see the harm in him going to bed at 10. Once he gets older and is going to school then an earlier bedtime will be more important.

Also he may not go to bed that late every night, but he had a special babysitter so he may have been too excited to go to bed any earlier.

My 16 month old goes to bed most nights between 8:30-9:00, but if he had a long nap that day he sometimes has too much energy at 8:30 and he'll go to bed a little later. He goes to bed easily without any crying or fussing though.

On the flip side my friend started giving her baby a 7 pm bedtime when she was 6 months old (I think). She was very strict about her baby being in bed every night at that time. She would put her in her bed and let her cry until she fell asleep. Her little girl cried and pitched a fit every night until she was over 3. I just never saw the point in making bedtime a negative thing. She didn't have to get up in the morning for daycare so I just couldn't see the reasoning behind forcing her to go to bed before she was ready.

Bottom line, I think it depends on the individual family and the individual child.

[elizabethann]

Thanks for the replies. My great nephew gets up at 6/6:30am. My niece says it's normal for him to go to bed around 10pm and wake up that early. She is a school teacher so I am hoping that starting next week, she will make him go to bed early. I would think she would have made him go to bed early before she started back to work. But my niece has a very hard time saying no to her boy, so we'll see what happens.

Thanks again.

[catnapper]

This is a big debate in my house too. Hubby and I think 7:30/8:00 is perfect for Cameron. If we're watching him, thats what time we typically get him down. Now.... if his mom is watching him, its typically 10:00 or later. Then the poor kid is exhausted and cranky the next day because he's still up at 7:30 in the morning like clockwork.

[shepgirl]

Seven would be the time for my kids even in today's changing world. I've seen kids that go to bed whenever and I don't like being around them, they are tired, cranky brats.

[sumbirdy]

Well I'm not a mother...but I do take care of my nephew most of the time. Nathan's bedtime used to be 8 every night, but then a few months before he turned 2 he would fight taking naps, and then he would fight going to sleep at night and I usually couldn't get him to sleep until 9:30-10. And he would wake up 3-4 times during the night. It was exhausting for both of us. Now things have evened out a bit. He takes 2 hour naps during the day (except for the rare days he refuses to take a nap at all, like today) And he's usually asleep by 9. Sleeps all night and doesn't get up until 8 or 8:30 the next morning. I agree with KBlaix. It should all depend on the situation. If they don't have to get up early (and preferably neither do you) then 10 is fine, on the other hand you said he gets up at 6-in that case 10 is way to late and he should be going to bed around 7:30. I read about a study that kids who don't get enough sleep in their first couple of years are more likely to be overweight by age 3. Plus they need that extra sleep to recharge their brains so they can be alert and be able to concetrate enough to learn things every day.

I'm a big fan of sleeping children. lol :p

[sparks19]

Hannah's bedtime is at 8 pm. She is almost a year old. she also sleeps late. She gets up about 7 am to have a bottle but then goes right back to sleep until 10:30 or 11. and then has another nap at 2 pm for 2 1/2 hours. At 2 years old she will have the same bedtime... as I fully expect that she won't be sleeping until 10:30 anymore LOL. And she falls asleep in her crib. sometimes she plays a little bit before nodding off.

and like someone else mentioned. it is NICE to have that little bit of time for just my husband and I. where we can just be husband and wife and not just mom and dad :) It's a nice break especially for me after spending all day chasing her around lol

[gini]

When my nieces were younger and lived in California, I used to have them spend the weekend or just an overnight. I loved to spoil them - so they got to stay up a bit later than normal.

My brother was not amused, because I would turn over two little girls, very cranky and tired the next day. They simply had not had enough sleep.

I changed my ways.

Bedtime, I have read, should be just one more fun thing to do in life.
Maybe you are reading them a favorite book - and if they settled down in bed, you got to tell them the next exciting adventure from the book. It should be a positive experience.

Some kids just hate going to sleep and it makes it difficult for Moms and Dads. But you will have a much more pleasant child on your hands if you keep a regular schedule and they know that you mean business!

[prechrswife]

We start the bedtime routine around 8. Our 2 year old is in bed around 8:30. I will also say that she thrives on routine, so the few times that someone else has been with her to put her to bed (when she stayed with grandparents when her baby sister was born, or when she spent the night with her other grandparents), the 8:30 thing didn't always happen. Her routine was off, and she just had to "run down," so to speak.

[Catty1]

I remember doing some babysitting when I was in my early teens, and I read one good tip about bedtimes.

Let's say there IS a set time for bed, 8:00 pm. The tip I read was to build up to it gradually. At 7:30, just say, "it's 7:30, so bedtime's in half an hour."

Same deal at 15 minutes, and maybe five. Then, "Okay, it's bedtime now."

It worked for me, but I didn't babysit much. Maybe someone here wants to try it and see how it works?

[molucass]

Brynn goes to bed every night around 9 and she gets up between 7:45-8:30 every morning. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 5 months old. When we have a busy day, she might go to bed around 8ish.
I am a night owl & usually can't go to bed until 2-3 am, so if she doesn't act like she is tired, I sometimes let her stay up with me as long as she wants.

Brynn usually doesn't put up any sort of a fuss when it is bed time.. We just tell her gradually that is such and such minutes til time for bed like someone else mentioned, and she has me rock her until that time.