Sleep habits, born with them or taught?
I'm not talking middle of the night wakenings here...
Logan, when he was Miles age would go to be no later than 7:00pm. Many nights it was 6:45.
He continues have an early bedtime.
Even to this day he goes to bed at 7:30pm.
He sleeps soundly until about 7:00am.
Miles takes his last bottle at 6:45pm, and is in bed no later than 7:00pm.
It just works with them.
AND, it works for us!
We are childfree at 7:45-8:00ish EVERY night!
Sure, there are some things that aren't so great about that...Always having to be home early, coming inside when Logan is having a great time playing with the neighbors, eating dinner really early, Dave not being able to spend more quality time with them...
BUT, I truly believe that kids NEED early bedtimes. They are much happier because of it.
We have 3 different scenarios with our neighbors.
First, their is Logan and Miles' early bedtimes...
Second, 2 other houses have children from 2-5 and their bedtime ranges from 8:30-9:00.
Third, we have grandparents who have a little boy (age 3) who rarely sleeps. In fact, his parents usually go to bed with him still awake because he literally won't go to sleep! It becomes 10:30 and they just make sure everything is locked up. He goes to bed around 11:00pm or later and is up no later than 6:00.
NO naps either!
Tell me about your experiences with your children.
Did you let them lead the way with their bedtimes?
Did you 'help them' decide what time was best for sleeping?
Do you think they go to bed too early or too late?
We have another friend who has a little boy around 1 1/2. I asked what time he went to bed, and she said they do everything they can to keep him up until 8:30 so the dad can have some quality time with him. He gets home from work at 5:30.
I just imagined an overly tired little boy everynight???
I read in the 'healthy sleep habits, happy child' book that sleep brings on more sleep. Example, good naps during the day will bring on good overnight sleep.
I think I totally believe it!
Look at Logan, 3 1/2 still napping 2 1/2 hrs a day! AND sleeping 11-12 hrs at night!
What do you do with your kids?
What do you think of this matter?
posted by Jen at 8:54 AM
7 Comments:
Hi, just lurking around and found your blog. We are big Dr. Weissbluth fans at our house. Congrats on the 7;45 bedtime; we try for 7:30 to 7:45 with our 8 mos. old and the one who is almost three technically has an 8 p.m. bedtime but fairly often pushes it to closer to 8:30. They both wake up around 7 a.m.
I do think sleep varies by child; our older one naps much less and much less willingly than many of her friends, for instance, and neither of mine slept through the night early.
But I think a consistent routine and an early bedtime leads to the best results for any given child. I know what you mean about how hard that is to do, with evening activities and limited time with the kids. But sleep is a big health issue; I know our daughter is a different person when she's well-rested, and lack of sleep is linked to obesity, learning difficulties, and various chronic diseases. Plus, it sure is nice to have some quiet time after they are in bed!
We do stay up late one or two nights a week, depending on what's going on, but I have become a firm believer in early bedtimes, too.
5:14 PM
I always wanted a routine and a schedule, but it never really happened. At least not yet.
But our week isn't consistent. It really can't be, being that I work two days a week. Those two days I have to wake Alyssa up at 6:15 am in order to get her ready, fed and go to grandma's house.
On the days I don't work she sleeps until anywhere from 7:30 - 9:00 in the morning. It all depends on what time she went to bed the night before.
As for the bedtime, it depends on her last nap time. If she takes a nap until 7:00 at night, she obviously won't be ready to go to bed at 8:00. I really try not to give her that last nap at 4:30 or 5, but sometimes I have to if she is really crabby. If she doesn't get that last nap, she is in bed by 8:00.
Either way, she is a great sleeper. She gets two naps of two plus hours a day. She also sleeps about 11 hours a night.
I still want to try to get on a schedule, because I do believe that a routine is the best for children. I just haven't gotten there yet and have let Alyssa let us know when she is ready to sleep.
8:29 PM
We are 7:00 bedtimes. I am a firm believer in the idea that children thrive if kept on a schedule and parents with children on a schedule have more time with each other alone. Our children nap at the same time everyday and will until school. I have read that teenagers need alot more sleep as well. It has something to do with brain development. WE will have genius children.;) Oh, a side note...we started the twins on a bedtime schedule at 4 months. We did the "let them cry for five and then go in ..pat the pack to reassure them you have not run away" method. It only took a few nights.
9:53 PM
Reagan goes to bed usually at 7:30 and sleeps until about 6ish. There are nights that I don't get her in bed until 8:00 and I feel bad. :(
My older kids, almost 8 and 6 go to bed at 8:00. They wake up around 7:00.
The both napped until they were 3 1/2.
I love that book too.
10:11 PM
I'm struggling with this because this summer I'm going to work ten hour days with Fridays off. I'll barely see my boy when I get home 6:30ish. *sigh*
He's a GREAT sleeper, though and when he's moody and needs sleep he's easy to put down. So, I just try to take cues from him. I think if he were hard to get to sleep I'd rely way more on a schedule.
'course he's only four months old...so we'll see.
1:25 AM
Well I will definately be in the minority here. Hannah our 3 1/2 year old goes to bed around 9-9:30 and sleeps 12 hours. No naps during the day. She is well adjusted and has a schedule including school 2 days a week. We have never had any issues with her going to sleep either. She lays down, I read her a story and kiss her good night and off to dreamland she goes.
9:24 AM
I think that getting the kids to bed by 7:30 is a really great goal. My older son has always been a great sleeper and his bedtime has been 7-7:30 for all of his life. He generally sleeps until 6:30 and then gets a 3 hour nap in the afternoon (he's 27 months). My daughter, on the other hand, does not seem to need as much sleep. We do everything exactly the same for her, but she still naps for much longer, and often wakes up earlier. She still goes to bed at 7:30, but she can wake up for the day as early as 5:45 and nothing gets her back to sleep. As for naps, she'll usually nap for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, no more. She is 11 months.
I read the healthy sleep habit book, too, but it really didn't help me with my daughter. She was six months old and refusing naps, and because of that book I kept trying to force her. She would scream and scream and scream, for hours. turns out she just wasn't ready for long naps, by the time she was 8 months old she settled into them on her own.
So I think that you can encourage your kids to have good sleep habits, but that people all have an internal body clock you need to respect, too.
I like your blog!
9:45 AM
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