bed times

[anarchamom]

I'm just interested to know what time others put their toddlers to bed, and if that time changes with the seasons. My little one is 20 months and I have not been able to get him to sleep before dark the whole summer. So this means that he is not getting to sleep until after 10 sometimes. When I try to get him to sleep earlier, i just end up spending 2.5 hours getting him to bed. We go through a cycle of reading books, going to the potty, nursing, laying down with dad, and on and on for hours. I'm a woman on the verge...

We need to start back with a regular routine so mostly I'm just curious what time y'all try to have your toddlers in bed, and presumably asleep.

Thanks!

[colsxjack]

Our 25 mth old toddler goes to bed by 8:30 and is asleep by 9ish. She wakes at 7:30ish.

She used to go to sleep at 7:30pm. We we slowly moved it a bit later so that she will get to see her Mum on days when my wife works day shift and because the bedtime routine took forever.

During the summer we still put her to bed before dark. We close the curtains in the house a half hour or so before bedtime routine and keep the lights off so it is a bit darker insode. And we have black-out curtains in the bedroom. No way she would go down if the room was light.

[anarchamom]

Thanks. that's helpful. I really don't like curtains or shades, but I know that I need to just break down and use them. I like to see the sun come up and go down. Our bedroom does have pull down shades. I'll give it a try. He wasn't asleep until after 10 last night. So frustrating.

[GoGoGirl]

My almost 2.5 year old dropped her nap when I weaned her last week, so now she's going to bed earlier...we start bedtime with a bath around 7 and she's usually asleep by 8.  When she was napping, her bedtime was around 9 or 9:30.  We also have to close all the curtains when the bedtime routine starts...while one parent is doing her bath, the other one is "putting the house to sleep"--putting away toys, closing the curtains, turning down the lights, getting pajamas ready, etc.  We've learned that it takes DD about an hour of getting ready for bed before she can settle down and go to sleep.  She just needs that transition period where the house is boring and sleepy or she'll get wired and stay up forever.  Oh, and we have blackout curtains in the bedroom--I hate how they look, but otherwise she'll be up at the crack of dawn.

[liberal_chick]

My older two boys both go to bed at 8:00.  Sometimes they don't fall asleep until 9, but they are in the bed at 8 (if not before on rough nights) year round.