(Bedtime questions are popular, check out another bedtime post here).
A: There is a lot to consider when choosing a bed time for a child. One has to consider the amount of activities the child has in their lives (eg school, sports, etc.). The key thing when considering a bed time is when do they need to wake up. Given that a typical 5 year old child needs 11ish hours of sleep in a given 24 hour period, and they need to get up at 7:00am for school, their appropriate bedtime should be around 8:00pm (*disclaimer: I think this is the right time…please cut me some slack here. I did not go to school for math…and I did fail my stats class on the first attempt).
I am glad that someone brought this topic up as I believe this is an area of our health that many of us neglect. We all (children and adults) need our sleep – and not just to feel rested. As adults we NEED at least 8 hours of sleep EVERY NIGHT. Why you ask? When we sleep our bodies go into repair mode (hence we sometimes wake up worse than when we went to bed). Given that it takes our bodies 8 hours to repair itself, we cannot strengthen our bodies if we do not give it the additional sleep time it requires. I realize this question originally was centered around children, however we also NEED to set examples for our children and be at our best health for our children.
Questions, Comments, Outbursts…anyone?
Check out other Q & A with Trevor posts HERE
Do you have a question you would like answered on Q & A with Trevor?
E-mail your questions to mommymomentblog AT gmail DOT com with the Title Q & A in the subject line or use our contact form in the top link bar! You can also leave your questions in the comment section here if you prefer!
>>
Check out our amazing giveaways:
Norman Rockwell calendar
(ARV $13.99) US/CAN ends 1/9/2011
PicPocket Book Apps for ipod, iphone or ipad
US only ends 1/9/2011
2 Gift Vouchers for DealCanada
(ARV $25 each) CAN ends 1/10/11
$30 gift certificate for Healing With Nutrition
ends 1/23/11 CAN (US can enter but will have to pay shipping)
Apps for OMagazine, Thomas & Freinds, sesame street & National Geographic
Ends January 28th, 2011
Family Pass to see Caillou’s Greatest Skate of All
(ARV $120) Canada Only
Callista
Saturday 8th of January 2011
My 5 year old (and 3 1/2 year old) goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at 7am. And I have to wake them up.
It also depends if they have a quiet time or nap time at all. If they sleep at school or still go half day and nap at home, they won't need as much sleep at night.
Alex
Thursday 6th of January 2011
Our children are 6.5 yrs old and 4 yrs old. Both go to bed anywhere between 7pm and 8pm (depending on how they're doing and what the day held for them) and wake up at 7am.
One of the things that drives me nuts it personally know some people who allow their young children to stay up until 12am or 1am every. single. night.