What is an appropriate bedtime for a 2 1/2 year old and a 15 month old?

Question

We've pretty much let our kids go to bed by their own rhythms, but now I think that I should enforce a proper bedtime. For awhile I was trying to get my boy (the older one) down by 9 and my 15 month old down by 10:30pm . I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Answer 1

My 15 month old goes to bed at 9:00 every night. She sleeps until 7:30 the next morning and takes a 2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoons. My pediatrician recommends 12-14 hours of sleep for kids until they are 4 so I assume your 2 1/2 year old should be sleeping about the same amount as the 15 month old. Try getting them both to bed by 9. That will give you some time for yourself before your bedtime :)

Answer 2

I have 3 kids, 6, 8, 12. The two youngest are in bed by 8:30 and the oldest at 9:00.

Answer 3

I would think that 8 would be a suitable time. That is usually what time my daughter goes to bed at and she is 2 1/2. I used to let her go to bed whenever ( 11, 12 @ night ) but now that I have her on a semi ridged bedtime ( gotta cut some slack occasionly sometimes kids just arent tired ) she seems much happier in the morning. And also remember tired toddlers arent yawning and sitting on the couch, tired toddlers are doing laps around the living room.

Answer 4

I think that you should lay the youngest down first then the oldest. I have a 6 year old and a 15 month old and I lay the youngest down about 8:15 and then I lay the oldest down about 9:00 it may take awhile for them to get used to the ideal but once they get it they will be alright and then it will become a habit and there body will just be tried around that time I promise it will work cause then that gives you a little mommy time.

Answer 5

We have a 15-month-old and a three-year-old. They go to bed at about the same time.

They eat dinner, and then we play outside or go for a walk, and then start baths (on the days they have baths) a little after 7. By 7:30, everyone's washed, had their teeth brushed, and in jammies. That way there's plenty of time to hear some stories or talk and cuddle or watch part of a movie. (Or some combination of those things.)

The littler one is usually asleep before 8, and our older one is usually in bed, and reading, by then, too.

The older one might stay up all night. She has a lamp by her bed, and a pile of books, but she doesn't call for us, and she stays in her bed, and she isn't a train wreck in the morning, so I think that's just fine.

They're rubbing their eyes and melting down if we let them go too much later than that. And our older one will come to us and ASK to go to bed...

Answer 6

My 2 1/2 boy is in bed between 7:30-8:00.

Answer 7

I put my daughter to bed at 9:00 PM It doesn't always work sometimes it is 9:30, she just turned two. She does great on that schedule and it helps me get alittle breather before I have to go to bed. I just put her in a toddler bed and having her on a schedule helped us and her with changing to a bed she can get up and out of. She knows when it is her bedtime. I've got a few neices and a nephew who don't have bedtimes and they always seem very grumpy or tired because they haven't had enough sleep, because my sister wasn't setting any bounderies for a bedtime. I find a time very important when it comes to a little one, because they always want to play or be with you.

Answer 8

our 2 1/2 year old goes down between 9:30 and 10:30. We dont have a set time aside from between those times...we play it by ear from there. if he's getting cranky or whiney he goes to bed closer to 9:30. If he's playing around nicely, we'll start the bedtime routine around 10:15.

Answer 9

Depending on what time your family starts their day is what time you could put the children to bed. Kids that age should get at least 8 hours of rest each night, so say your day starts at 7a.m. then maybe 9 ish would be appropriate. My 5 year old goes to bed at 8p.m. every night during the week and gets up at 6:30a.m.

Answer 10

Some of the answers you got baffles me. Why in the world would a ADULT let a child stay up until 1 or 2 am? These kids need sleep and most importantly Guidance. I now know why the divorce rate is so high. Kids have mom when it should be Dads time. Ridiculous!