What Time Should Children Go To Bed?
Every parent wants to know what time children should go to bed to be in good health, perform in school, have a good mood during the day, and enhance their growth. We will address this issue below: we know that it is not easy to get them to go to bed at the indicated time.
The good news for seniors is that they shouldn’t despair. With the following information, they will know how to decide what is the ideal time for children to go to sleep according to their age. In addition, some practical tips are included to help you stop distractions and finally get to sleep.
What time should children go to bed?
The first thing parents should know is that it is more important to know how many hours the child should sleep than the exact time they should go to bed. Undoubtedly, the idea is not to put them to bed at eleven o’clock at night, but we should not eat their heads either because they meet a schedule without alterations, but rather that they enjoy several uninterrupted hours of quality sleep.
According to the American Association of Pediatricians, an accepted range for children to go to bed is between 7 and 9 PM between the ages of 5 and 9; and until 10:30 AM between 10 and 12 years old.
However, this time to go to bed will also depend on the time they must wake up to attend school. Therefore, it is more practical to divide the data by age.
Recommended time to go to sleep according to the age of the child
According to the ages of the children, their physiological needs to sleep vary. The following information is a close approximation of the sleep requirements of infants.
Children in their first months to one year of life
The little ones in this group should sleep 16 hours a day, including their naps. Of course, children should sleep whenever they want, according to their body’s requirements.
Children between 1 year of age and 5 years
They must rest an estimated 14 hours a day; they also need to take a fraction of those hours to take their rest naps. A good time to take them to bed is at 6 or 7 PM.
Children between 6 and 10 years old
The estimated time for children of these ages to go to bed is between 7:30 and 9 PM, approximately. The number of hours they must rest is in the order of 12 hours.
Children 12 years and up to adolescence
From these ages they can go to bed until 10:30 PM, and they must rest between 10 and 8 hours a day.
How to get them to go to sleep at the indicated time?
We already know how much children should sleep and what time children should go to bed, but how to achieve it? The list of recommendations that we present here can be very useful for you to start creating good bedtime habits.
- If it is a baby, you should know that they stay awake no more than three hours. Watch his cues to identify when he wants to sleep. These are crying and rubbing your eyes.
- If he is already at least 4 or 5 months old and you want him to start sleeping more hours continuously at night, try during the day to always keep the space in which he is illuminated and accompanied by music or moderate noise. At night, keep his spaces with the light off even when he wakes up and you need to feed him; always be very quiet.
- For children between 3 and 4 years of age, it is recommended to give them a relaxing bath before bed, tell them a story and try, if possible, to maintain the same bedtime times and the same bedtime routine each night.
- From the age of 7, avoid having distractions such as the television on, the cell phone or tablet at hand or any visual stimulant that prevents you from falling asleep. A glass of warm milk before going to bed can induce them to a pleasant sleep.
To conclude, it is important that you are alert to your child’s sleep routines. If you feel that you are sleeping too much or, on the other hand, if you have trouble doing so, always consult your doctor for guidance and expert opinion.
