4 year old bedtime?

amother

OP ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 3:49 pm

What time is normal for a 4 or 5 year old who doesn’t nap?

It takes around 2 hours to get him asleep regardless of what time he goes to bed

amother

DarkMagenta

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 3:52 pm

Does he get enough stimulation & movement throughout the day? Is he eating & drinking well? Does he maybe consume too much sugar?
My 4 year old goes to bed 7:30-8:00, gets up at around 7:00-7:30.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 4:19 pm

amother DarkMagenta wrote:

Does he get enough stimulation & movement throughout the day? Is he eating & drinking well? Does he maybe consume too much sugar?
My 4 year old goes to bed 7:30-8:00, gets up at around 7:00-7:30.

He’s very stimulated throughout the day, eats well, doesn’t have an unusual amount of sugar AFAIK (though my DH tends to give him apples before bed often)

How long does yours take to fall asleep? If I put to bed at 7:30 he’s probably not falling asleep until closer to 10

girlinjerusalem

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 4:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

My 4yo goes to bed between 7.30-8 and falls asleep within 30 mins (often sooner)

MoveEveryYear

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 5:04 pm

My 4 year old just dropped naps over the summer and we spent a while putting him to sleep at 6/6:30. Now bedtime is sometime between 7-8 and he wakes up some time 6-7. Many days, he falls right to sleep, totally exhausted

amother

Begonia

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 5:10 pm

7:30 what night routine do you have? We brush teeth say shema, read a story, I go out room is dark with a night light, ok to wake clock and noise machine and has a water bottle in bed. There is no leaving bed except straight to the bathroom and back and can only call out for emergencies. Blood, vomit or nightmares.

teachkids

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 5:32 pm

We get into bed around 7:15 and she’s asleep around 8

amother

Orange ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 5:45 pm

girlinjerusalem wrote:

My 4yo goes to bed between 7.30-8 and falls asleep within 30 mins (often sooner)

Same. Mine naps though.

OP what time is he getting up in the morning?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 6:04 pm

amother Orange wrote:

Same. Mine naps though.

OP what time is he getting up in the morning?

Sometime around 7

His current bedtime is 5:30/6

amother

Peru

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 6:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sometime around 7

His current bedtime is 5:30/6

That explains it. His bedtime is way too early. So he's not tired. But then he's cat napping so he's not tired at all and there is no proper bedtime so he's up till 10:00.

Try moving his bedtime to 7:00 or 8:00 for a week and see what happens.

amother

↑ Orange

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 6:30 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sometime around 7

His current bedtime is 5:30/6

Why put him in so early if it’s taking 2 Hours for him to fall asleep?

Sewsew_mom

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:03 pm

7pm. Any later she can end up staying up until midnight. Totally overtired.
Shes 5 now nothing has changed since she was 4. She gets up 8ish. (happens to be not the best sleeper. My older ones would be asleep by 6:30 and not budge until 8am)

amother

Gray

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:05 pm

My 4 yo wakes up at 7 and goes to bed at 8 very nicely.

Your dc’s bedtime is way too early.

amother

Kiwi

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:17 pm

amother OP wrote:

Sometime around 7

His current bedtime is 5:30/6

Wow. Wayyy too early.
DC 4 is in bed by 7:45-8

amother

↑ OP

Thu, Oct 31 2024, 8:31 pm

amother Orange wrote:

Why put him in so early if it’s taking 2 Hours for him to fall asleep?

Because it takes 2 hours to fall asleep.. if I put him in at 7/8 he’s only going to sleep at 9/10

Like I said, it’s 2 hours regardless what time he goes in. I’ve tried..

amother

Ivory ↓

Fri, Nov 01 2024, 6:19 am

when I put my kids to bed early also takes them 2 hours to fall asleep

you need to catch the right window
7 o clock makes more sense for a 4 year old
it won't fix on day 1 or 2 but hopefully day 3 and 4 and stay consistent and do the same bedtime routine very night

amother

↑ Ivory

Fri, Nov 01 2024, 6:20 am

now will actually be the easiest time to fix it since we are changing the clock
so first week you will prob still struggle

monseymom25

Fri, Nov 01 2024, 6:30 am

Do you read him a story? I find that if I choose a pretty long book daughter will be almost asleep by the time I finish it. Then when we close the book she just roles over and goes to sleep.