When a parent says 'go to bed' to their child, what does it mean? Dodo, or under the covers and you can...

Question

When parents say to their children: go to bed. My version of it is "turn off the lights, close your eyes, dodo, that's it." Apparently some people think differently. A friend think that most people would think it means to go to bed, get some downtime, so 'read if you want, talk to a sibbling or the other parent if you want, in short, it's ok if light is still on. To me, if I say to my child your bed time is 9:30pm, it means "dodo". If the child would like to read or something before bed, then the child should go to their room ahead of time, say, 1/2 hour ahead of 9:30pm to get their 'downtime' ; not extending it to 10:00, because by then, to me, their bedtime is not 9:30 pm, but becomes 10:00pm. I would like to know the general public's opinion on this... Is bedtime "dodo", or does it mean 'go to bed" physically but not necessarily dodo.. Thanks! :)

Answer 1

"Dodo" sounds rather insultive...

But anyway, bedtime is lights out, quiet, and go to sleep.

My sister lets her kids stay up to any time they want, which usually means three in the morning or more, doing what I can't imagine.  But their lack of sleep shows in their report cards at school.

Kids need at least nine hours of sleep and a good breakfast to do well in school.

Answer 2

When I told my boys to GO TO BED, they KNEW it meant GET IN BED AND GO TO SLEEP.  Period.   What's so hard to understand about that?

Answer 3

Seriously, what do you mean by "dodo?"

Go to bed in my family means go to bed:  get in your bed and go to sleep.  The kids start getting ready for bed 30 minutes before bedtime.