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My kids go to bed early. Like really early. 7pm…sometimes 6:30pm. This gets some criticism from friends and family. We hear a lot of:
- If you put them to bed later they won’t get up so early (they are up by 7am…and no, if we put them to bed later, they simply get less sleep)
- You don’t get to do anything fun since you always have to be home before dark (we do make exceptions, but for the most part yes…we have kids and they are our priority. That includes them being well rested)
- You always have to leave family functions early because the kids are tired. We do not ask anyone to work their schedules around ours. So yes, sometimes we have to leave early because the party started at 6:30 and by 7:30 our kids are DONE
There is a reason for their early bedtimes though. Our kids NEED 12 hours of sleep. They don’t function well without it, and they’ve never been the best nappers. At night though, we can put them to bed, walk out and shut the door and we don’t hear a peep from them for the next 12 hours.
This works for us. It gives the Mr and I time alone together, and time to unwind from the day. It refreshes ALL of us so that we’ll be ready for an early start the next morning.
Early bedtimes work for us! I know eventually they’ll go to bed a bit later, but we’ll make those decisions as the kids get older and need less sleep.
So if you know someone who puts their kids to bed early and you think they’re crazy…think again. It works for me!
I don't think it's crazy at all! My daughter used to go to bed by 7:30. However, she apparently doesn't need as much sleep, because now, I'm lucky to have her into bed by 9 and on my early weeks, we are up around 6ish and out the door by 7. She seems to do well with that. However, all kids are different. Only you know your kids and if they need their 12 hours? Then they should get 12 hours. Good for you sticking to that.
I agree, every kid is different! I have a girlfriend who's husband works shift work so her daughter kind of has a crazy sleeping schedule, but it works for them and it lets her have more time with daddy!
Not crazy at all! My kiddos are in bed by 8:00, and we often leave places early for that reason. I'm sure some people aren't thrilled with that, but my kids come first. So good for you for putting your kids needs first!:)
I am so with you! Our son, 19 months, goes to bed at 7pm. I honestly don't understand how parents do 9 pm bedtimes! And I'm lucky too because he still sleeps in till 8 am in the mornings! And YES, he is TIRED by 7, so it's when he WANTS to go to bed!
Works for me too. 🙂
We're the only ones in our neighborhood who enforce early bedtimes too, but on the occassions we don't — we wish we had! It SO works for us!
My son is 13, his bedtime is 9 pm. He has one of the earliest bedtimes of his friends, but he needs the sleep. Even with the early bedtime, he still needs his alarm to wake up.
When our children were little, the early bedtime allowed us some time to ourselves in the evening.
I'm so glad we're not the only ones the enforce early bedtime! Carrie, you are exactly right that time in the evening is so important to us.
Thanks so much for commenting and reading!
I sure wish it would work for me. If there is something I have learned, it is that all children are different….and they get up early no matter what at our house.
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My little one goes to bed at 8, my oldest son at 8:15-8:30 and my four-year-old usually at 8:30.
I wish my boys would all go to bed by 8:00. We are trying hard to impliment it… my husband is a night owl so that makes it hard for the kids sometimes. It is kind of an on going battle at our house.
That can make it difficult! Our kids kind of chose those early bedtimes from a pretty young age. We nudged them towards it, but it helps that we are homebodies, so we don't have a big need for them to be up late.