What time should a 3yr old go to bed?

Question

my son who is 3 doesn't take naps during the day.. He hasn't since he was 2. I usually put him in bed by 10 but he lays in his bed a watches tv but doesnt go to sleep till he gets tired which sometimes can be 1 in the morning.. He wakes up at about 11a or 12p. I think I just spoiled him because I really don't inforce it and I dont think he should be up that late.

Answer 1

my son who is 2 and a half  goes to bed at 8:30 p.m.  every night and gets up at 9:30 a.m.(excellent sleeper)..he takes a 2 hour nap in the day...your son without a nap should be going to bed at the latest 9 p.m.  Yes, you  are spoiling  him and it's only going to bit you in the butt later on even worse than it is now, i would lay down the rules right now!! 1 a.m. for a child any age is ridiculous!! My 10 yr old is even in bed before your child...she goes  at 10 p.m. non school nights and 9 p.m. school nights!!

Answer 2

Our boys both go to bed at 7:30pm (they are 1 and 4) and they both sleep until 7am.  Our oldest didn't always go to bed this early (he had been up until 9 at one point), but then we worked at rewinding his bedtime and building a routine for him and it really worked.  The payoff in his behavious is incredible!  We don't let him watch TV close to his bedtime as it stimulates children, rather than winding them down.  His usual routine is bath (around 6:30), jammies and brush teeth, clean up toys, pick stories (usually 3), read stories (in his bed), have a little talk and cuddle time, prayers and then lights out.  

Answer 3

It depends on what time that 3yr old needs to wake up in the morning, if or how long that 3yr old naps during the day, and how much sleep that 3yr old actually needs.  Most of these questions can be answered by looking at the behavior of that 3 yr old.

Answer 4

My 3 year old grand daughters are in bed before 8pm, and up by about 8 am.

If you decide that your child will need to be up earlier for when he starts school, then if you figure that he needs about 11 - 12 hours sleep each night and he has to be up at 8am, then you need to start now getting him into bed earlier.

If it were me, I would remove the TV for a start, a child of 3 does not need a TV in his room as it is too stimulating.

Make bedtime  30 minutes earlier next week, then another 30 minutes earlier the following week, and also make sure that you wake him up in the mornings half an hour earlier each day.

Do this until he is going to bed at 8pm, which will mean that he will be getting up in time for school by the time he is ready for Kindergarten.

Answer 5

well here's my experience.

I worked overnight from 9pm-4am. when I would come home. I would find my son in his room watching TV .  I couldnt get him to sleep, and I would find my daughter sound asleep with the tv on blaring infomercial.

SO I took the TV out of the kids bedroom. When we moved into our new house i set up a tv/play room and only in this room could they watch TV. For the first week they kept telling me that they were scared. I kept a night light on and their bedroom doors open.  

I also set a new bed time. 9pm.  it really worked and I didnt find them up in the middle of the night. and they can wake up and not overtired.

the bst thing is to take the TV out of the room and I promise you will see a world of difference.

Answer 6

I'd probably say about 8-8:30

Answer 7

my son's bedtime is 8 and he's 3

Answer 8

Your little guy should go to bed 10-12 hours before you want him to wake up.  So, if he doesn't have to get up to go to school, daycare, etc. then it's okay if you prefer to let him stay up late.  For example, my children are in bed by 7:30 because they need to be awake by 5:45 to get ready for daycare.  However, my best friend's daughter stays up until 10 and then sleeps in until 9, because her parents don't want to wake up early and like having family time in the evening when her husband gets off work.  Set a bedtime that works for your family.

However, the T.V. needs to stop.  No wonder he's staying up, T.V. is stimulating.  Develop a  bedtime routine (bath, READ a book, etc.) and then when the lights go out and the door is closed the T.V. doesn't go back on.  You may have "spoiled him" because you didn't want to deal with it, but it's time to take a stand now before he's developed bad habits and can't function at school.  You may need to remove the T.V. from his room for a while to help with the transition to new rules.

Answer 9

7:30

Answer 10

7:30 - 8:00 should be good.

Answer 11

He shouldn't be up that late. He is going to have major problems when it comes time for him to start school.

My 2 1/2 year old is in bed by 8pm and gets up between 8 - 8:30am - she doesn't nap either. He is probably getting enough sleep if he sleeps that late, but sleeping so late is setting him up for all sorts of problems.

Start waking him up earlier and earlier and putting him to bed earlier and earlier (no tv) so that he still gets 12 hours but is tired enough to go to bed an hour earlier. So wake him up at 9am then put him down at 9pm for a few days. Then go to waking at 8am and put him down at 8pm. He should be tired enough that he'll go to sleep. That tv is just distracting him and keeping him awake. It isn't helping him in the long run.  

Answer 12

Dear god! he doesn't fall asleep until 1 sometimes?! This is one of the major things you should be strictly enforcing! My daughter goes to bed at 8, no t.v, no playing. She's usually sleep by 8:30-9.

Answer 13

My youngest brother was in bed by 8 pm when he was 3.  My daughter went to bed at 8 or 8:30.  But we had to leave the house by 7 am, and the only way for her to get her sleep was to get to bed early.

Why don't you take away the television and substitute some CDs of classical music?  There have been studies that prove listening to classical music is good for brain development in kids.  Believe it or not, it actually supports their learning math later.  You can find a whole selection of classical CDs for kids that are geared for "sleepy time" listening.  

We always had to take our daughter away from the television at least half an hour before bedtime just to get her calmed and ready to settle down.  Even I can't watch television right up to bedtime.  Music might be worth trying with your son.  

Answer 14

The reason he doesn't go to sleep is because watching television in bed has caused him to developed a sleep disorder.  It has been proved that children who watch television in bed suffer from sleep disorders/deprivaton and will begin having problems socially as well as educationally  and become cranky.  Take the television out of the bedroom and replace it with a radio set to a classical station with soothing music that will help him relax.

Answer 15

so that they wake up when you want them to.

the answer is different depending on if you cant the kid to awaken at 7am, 8am, 9am, 10am etc.  

Answer 16

Around 8 pm is a good time plus a nap is needed during the afternoon as well.  That is just my opinion of course .  I think 10 pm is to late and watching tv in bed at that age is not a good idea.  Also waking up at 11 am or 12 pm is odd.  Kids are usually up so early.  It will be difficult with a schedule like that when they go to school.  It is time now to change things and enforce it.

Answer 17

My niece is 3 and goes to bed between 8 and 8:30 p.m.

Answer 18

I told this to another lady recently-- It's not that your child isn't tired.  It sounds like he doesn't know how to go to sleep.  I would talk to him about how sleeping helps him grow and stay healthy.  That night, I would start a strict bedtime routine.  Since he's used to going to bed so late, I'd start at 8:00, and give him a bath, brush his teeth, read him a story, and say his prayers.  Make sure he has access to no enticing toys, and put a baby gate on his door so he can't get out (put it a little high so he can't climb it, and use two if you have to, and then, leave the room.  When he gets out of bed, put him back and give him a kiss.  If he comes out again, just put him back in bed and don't say anything.  Don't let him watch tv or play.  Make sure everything around him says "It's bedtime" with dim lights, no loud noises, and no television.  If he goes to bed well at night, let him choose his cereal/breakfast in the morning, and play it up with him big time.  He'll realize you mean business, and will start to learn to prepare for sleep mentally when the routine starts.

Answer 19

His sleeping patterns are WAY out of place.

To break this habit, wake him up an hour earlier than when he'd wake up, and make surehe stays up all day, or at least until 7.30pm. Then he can go to bed.

The next day, wake him up another hour earlier than the day before, and continue this until this bad sleeping habit breaks.

Xx

Answer 20

He shouldn't be up that late, and he certainly shouldn't be sleeping that late. It's also HORRIBLE for his brain to fall asleep to the tv. Get the tv out of his room, wake him in the morning by 8, and put him to bed by 8.  

Answer 21

He should be in bed no later than 7:30 PM! If he's really good, he can have story time until 7:45 or 8, but then it's lights out. Then he should be up by 8 or 9 the next morning.

Answer 22

7.30pm and why does your son have a tv in his room?

Answer 23

around 7:00 to 8:00, 8:30 the latest.your not being a responsible mother by putting a tv in a 3 year old's room, it's not making you a cooler mom either.you should really start inforcing the rules!