Reasonable bedtime for 6th grader?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader has "lights out" at 8:30 and usually falls asleep quickly. He gets up at about 6am so that he can leave the house at 7am. He's been starting to suggest that his bedtime is too early, although I don't think it is since he falls asleep quickly and gets the recommended 9 hrs of sleep. However, if he continues to push on it, our compromise will be that he can read in bed until 9pm.

Lights out at 8:30? Yikes!

We *just* moved our 6th grader from 8:30 to 9:00 pm. We are crack-of-dawn morning people, though.

[Anonymous]

Our sixth grader goes to bed at 10 and is up by 6.

Our second grader goes to bed at 11 and is up by 7.

[Anonymous]

As a PP mentioned, weekend nights should only vary by 1 hour or the child can't get to sleep Sunday night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our 6th grader claims she cannot fall asleep before 11pm. I feel this is too late, since every morning she struggles to get up at 7:15 and get ready for school. On the weekend, I'm ok with a later bedtime. Do other parents of similarly aged kids enforce an earlier bedtime during the week? And what do you do if your child resists the earlier bedtime? tIA.

I think 11pm is way too late. My kids are a few years older but in 6th grade, I think we shot for 9 or 930. I remember several conversations that "bedtime" does not equate to "sleep time". So if your daughter wants to stay up and read after bedtime, I personally would grant that level of personal control. But keep emphasizing how late sleep makes it tough to wake up at 715. It can be a tough process but bear in mind that she may just be trying to exercise some control over her schedule. So compromise a bit and have her in bed at 9 but she can read with a bedside lamp until she's tired enough to fall asleep. I'd be surprised if she makes it 2 hours consistently every night.

+1

[Anonymous]

My 7th grader is bed by 8:30 and wakes up at 6:30. Since Kindergarten

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grader is bed by 8:30 and wakes up at 6:30. Since Kindergarten

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[Anonymous]

My bedtime at that age was 9. When did bedtime become a negotiation?

[Anonymous]

When my son was in 6th it was bed at 9pm, up at 6:30-7 (he always wakes on him own).
In 7th it was 9:30 to 6:30-7.
Now (8th) is 9:30-10, up at 6:30-7.

[Anonymous]

My 6th grader is also pushing back on bedtime. I like him up in bed by 9:30, he has to get up by 7 and it is rare morning that he's not up before we go in there to get him up. Most of the time he's asleep by 10, although there are nights when he's up later reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is also pushing back on bedtime. I like him up in bed by 9:30, he has to get up by 7 and it is rare morning that he's not up before we go in there to get him up. Most of the time he's asleep by 10, although there are nights when he's up later reading.

If he's usually awake before his scheduled time to get up/wakes up without assistance or an alarm, he may well be getting enough sleep and could actually afford to have his bedtime extended if that is something you were willing to consider.

I find that the fewer control issues I need to have with my tweens and young teens, the smoother our house runs.

[Anonymous]

Sleep needs vary not only by age but by child.

My 2 oldest kids need to get up at 7am to get to school on time.

When my DS was in 6th grade, he needed to go to bed by 9:30 at the latest to be well rested for school. He's now in 8th grade & needs to be in bed by 10 to be well-rested. My DD is in 6th grade now & also goes to bed at 10 & has an easier time getting up in the morning than her brother. Quite frankly, she would probably be okay with a later bedtime but DH & I figure allowing our 11-year-old to stay up later than our almost 14-year-old would likely lead to some unnecessary family strife

[Anonymous]

Agree that it varies widely by child. DD has an 8:30 bedtime now in 6th grade. But we started the year with an 8 bedtime. She always needed more sleep than my others.

[Anonymous]

Can you cut off screen time 2 hours before bedtime? The blue light from a computer/iPad/phone etc. can interfere with sleep.

[Anonymous]

Ok I have a 6th grader too. Not sure what's happening I your house, but all my kids and their friends are still doing homework or playing chatting on Skype/minecraft or whatever at 9:30. I can't imagine putting a 12 year old to bed at 8 or 8:30. Is this for your own sex life, because I don't see any kid being happy with that ridiculously early bed time. Do you go to bed at 8:30 too.

[Anonymous]

FWIW, the National Sleep Foundation just updated its recommendations:
http://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2015/02/06/how-much-should-you-be-sleeping

6-13 yo should get 9-11 hours; old rec was 10-11.