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Bed Time...

Sara

Sara

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So we are rapidly (too rapidly) coming upon Bugga's very first day of school in kindergarten. *sob* and I was thinking about how I'd like to ease her in to the routine of bedtime and morning, etc. now to get ourselves used to it and to shake of the summer residue. kwim?

She has been going to preschool the past 6 months, but this will be her first "real" school experience. I am thinking she'll probably be more tired because her days will be fuller and she is generally kind of sensitive to hustle and bustle. So I know we'll learn as we go and probably will tweak our routine...

But for those who have walked this road already...what kind of bedtime routine do you have? What time is bedtime for your kids when they are going to school regularly? What do your mornings before school look like?

TIA!!!
 
My little daughter goes to school since 2 years. She is much tired even if she can sleep at school during the afternoon. But she's never tired when it's time to go to sleep at night !!!
She often stays whith us until 9:30pm.
School begins in France at 08:30am and we live at 3 minutes by foot from the school.

I'm pretty sure you'll find together your routine.
 
My 2 kids (7 & 5 years old) are going to school for a couple of years now. Kids go to school here as soon as they are 4 years old. Until they're 6 years old you can keep them at home if you want for whatever reason, but as soon as they turn 6 they HAVE to go to school. School hours are from 08.30-12.00 and from 13.30-15.30, and every wednesday- and friday afternoon they have the afternoon off. They come home for lunch every day.

I've never kept my kids at home if they were tired, in my opinion they just have to get used to the routine.
I think I'm very strict about bedtimes. Both my kids go upstairs at 19.00. My daughter mostly doesn't go to sleep until 20.00 (she reeds and writes or whatever, but she's IN bed) and my son is asleep as soon as his head touches his pillow. I wake them at 06.45 and we have to rush every morning.....sigh.....even though we live just a few minutes walk away from school. I guess I just have two slow snails ;) it's not the getting dressed but eating that just takes so much time.... but they don't leave home without breakfast, so they'll just have to stay put untill they've finished their bread and milk.

You just have to do what feels right for you, look at how your daughter reacts to her new situation and figure out a routine. Mostly things just go the way they go, without too much "planning" you'll see ;)
 
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I'm pretty strict about bedtime in our house.
Those kiddos let off so much energy during the day... and really need their rest at night.

Previously, I've done a school time bed time of 7:30pm. I do this because my kids are crazy early early risers... no matter what time of night they go to bed. So to compensate, an earlier bed time work. They are both usually up at 5:30 or 6:30am. They also have school earlier than most at 7:40am. I've found this to work fairly well. Weekends I let them stay up until 8-8:30pm.

Now with school starting up again, and them a little older... I'm trying to consider what their bedtime should be. My kiddos are 7 and 9. I think I will do an 8:00pm this year??

I'm interested in what a few other of you are doing as well.
 
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OMGosh, my kids haven't done 8pm bedtimes since they were like 5! Now that they are 7 & 9, I can't get these guys to go to bed until like 9:30! During the summer? Forget it! More like 10:30! I get them up at about 6:45, they get dressed, brush their teeth and out the door, they eat breakfast at school :)
 
We are getting ready for kindergarten here too. Since they were like 2 months old, they have been up every day at 7 AM, now that they are older, they have strict instructions to stay in bed until 7 or they would be up before then, I am sure. We have been much more lax this summer with their bedtime, but when school starts back, we will probably start being much more strict and it will probably end up falling in the 7:30ish time.
 
Our kids (9, 9, 6) do their "jobs" at 8pm during school (so brush/floss/rinse, etc), then they can stay up and read if they want, then lights out at 9pm.

Weekends and Summer we have a play til you drop policy for the most part. :P

Mornings I get them rolling at 7am (the boys are usually already awake by then, Jessica i have to wake up) and out the door to the bus at 8:15.

Good luck w/ the new Kindergartener!!!
 
we do bedtime by 8:00 at the latest. our evening routine for that age looked like this:

7:00 - pick up toys, pick out clothes for tomorrow
7:30 - bath, brush teeth
7:45 - bedtime story
8:00 - lights out

morning was get up, get breakfast, get dressed. no toys, no tv because it too easily became a distraction and a point of contention. so we just don't do it... we keep mornings sweet & simple.
 
During school, we generally have had an 8:00 bedtime. The girls usually get yelled at several times a night for goofing around, but I like them in bed by 8:00. Before bed I have them pick clothes and such for the next day, so there are no arguments or missing items in the morning. We pick clothes, backpacks by the door with all homework. Then up at 7:00 for breakfast (we have a hot breakfast just about every morning, because they get full and need that for the energy) then dressed, and morning chores of making beds and rooms picked up.

I am seriously dreading getting back into a routine, because change from the summer will be tough, but I always love when the routine works, and things run smoothly.

I can't believe your little lady will be in school! Good luck Mommy!
 
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well I have been thinking about this TONS! My plan is to get up at 6 or 6:30 everyday (BOOHISSS!!!) cause school starts at 7:30. In the evening we will have dinner 5-6 and at 7 it will be clean up toys, bathe, get jammies on, wind down time. Lights out at 8 I think. It will take my kids a bit to get used to it though so it will probably start at 9 or 9:30 pm and we will work down to 8 :)
 
It is great to read about what everyone does. My son is starting Kinder this fall too but he has always been in preschool or daycare so it shouldn't be too much different in the mornings for us. He wakes up between 5:30 & 6:00 am every day regardless of when he goes to bed so even in the summer he is in bed by 7:30 pm.
 
My DD will be in first grade this year, so we just started up last year - it was a HUGE adjustment! My DD is not a morning child; she would sleep until 8 or 8:30 every day if you let her, regardless of when she goes to bed (although she loves to stay up late any time she can). So for us, getting to school on time was a major production :(

We found that if we didn't have her little booty in bed by 8-8:30 at the latest, she just couldn't get up at 6:45 like she needed to. And she just doesn't move fast, either. We got up at 6:45 to try to leave the house by 7:35 and barely made it (ok, often times were late! LOL).

During the summer we're like Lauren- they play till they drop, and even my 4YO has been up until after 9pm regularly. And they're having a GREAT summer. They can sleep in though because dad stays home :)
 
I am a big believer in early bedtimes...except for myself. :giggle

For a long time, my youngest went to bed at 7. In the last 6 months, we've pushed back to 8 because my DH had a long commute and wasn't getting enough time with her. She's almost 5 now and I think we will stay with 8 as our bedtime for pre-K. She likes to sleep in too, but that works because our start time for school is 9:30 am.

My oldest just turned 13. She was always an early riser and went to bed very early. She didn't start staying up to 9 until last year. LOL She would kill me for telling that! Now, she's turning into a teenage night owl, but I am giving her some flexibility this summer at least.
 
I'm soooo looking forward to getting back to our school schedule! Right now they are going to bed between 9:30-10 (with my oldest having issues falling alseep and some nights he's up until Midnight (but he's in bed) - he's nervous about his upcoming surgery on 9/8 and starting Junior High). The younger 2 have been getting up at 8am lately. Sooooo nice. Anakin has been getting up at 10am! Today I started waking him up at 8:30am. Got to start somewhere, right? ;)

My boys are 11, almost 9, and 6. (So, 6th, 3rd, & 1st grades this year.) They go to bed at 8:30pm and get up at 7am (they have to leave the house by 8:10). This year though, I have to take my oldest to the Junior High by 7:45, so, my younger 2 will have to be read earlier. I'm not sure how this is all going to play out yet.
 
for the PK - K years, bed time was 7. otherwise, by the end of the week, they're a total wreck. usually, they still need a nap in the afternoon at least one weekend day.

older kids, no later than 8 for lights out. so, really starting the process at 7 (tidy up, final chores, clothes laid out, showers, teeth brushed, read a bit, etc.)

we have always been very very very firm on bedtimes.
 
When they are young (1-3rd grade) bed time is around 8 pm. Baths start around 7 pm. But the older ones are 9-9:30. Mine have various times of getting up. The teenager regulates it all herself, and pretty successfully. (better than Mom, lol)

I think the hard thing for me is when to start the new routine. Do I start waking them up early and putting to be early a few weeks before school starts, or do I let them enjoy the sleeping in part till the end of summer?
 
Brady will be starting a 3 day a week pre-school this year. He is an up-with-the-chickens kid, no matter his bedtime, like Krista's. He goes to bed every night at 8:00, story time, prayers, songs, lights out at about 8:30. Most nights I hear him talking and singing to himself until about 9:00. He's up by 6:30 every morning. He seems to do okay with that as long as he gets in a good nap. Since I'm not sure if he'll actually get in a good nap once he starts school, I think on school nights I'm bumping bedtime to 7:00.

I agree with Rebecca. We don't do TV or toys in the morning, until after they're dressed. It's just too distracting. So, we will definitely continue with the morning TV/toy ban when school starts. I just like simple, quiet, stress-free mornings. It gives me a chance to really talk and connect with the boys.
 
Thank you SOO much for all the feedback! It's been really neat to see how everyone operates and the different routines.

I think we are going to begin to ease in to our fresh routine soon, leading up to the first day of school on 10 August (which seriously seems sooo early to me, but that's another story, lol!). Bugga is one of those kids for whom change and new things are a little tricky...she struggles with a bit of anxiety, so everything we can do to ease it for her we will. Mostly things will be the same as they are now, but we are going to bump our bedtime to a bit earlier.
 
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