[wolfgangqpublic]

Good morning, you guys.

I have 3 kids - a 6 year old 10 year old and a 14 year old and they keep asking me if they can have a later bed time. I would love too but if they're going to go to sleep a little later, they will still wake up quite early in the morning. Well - the 6 year old doesn't really care but the other two are just a pain in the neck.

Ïs sleep really that important for them? How to talk to them about the importance of sleep? And how much sleep do they need (in hours)...

Please help... They are really giving me a hard time... :confused:

Wolf.

[stevetcg]

Every child is different. After the toddler years, a good rule of thumb is 8-10 hours a night.

If they can stay up later, particularly the 14 year old, and continue to function normally, I don't really see much problem.

What is their bedtime now?

[wolfgangqpublic]

The 14 year old goes to bed at 10 on weekdays and an hour later on weekends. The 10 year old goes to bed at 9 on weekdays and an hour later on weekends. Yeah, and the 6 year old goes to be at 8 on weekdays and an hour later on weekends.

The 14 year old will get his sleep when he needs it, if he goes to sleep at 1 in the morning he will wake up at 11. But the other two won't. And when I try them to tuck them in a little earlier they are the worst.

So it kind of is a problem. Are their bed times okay? What do you think?

[stevetcg]

My recommendation would be to bump them up 30-60 minutes with the stipulation that if them getting up for school becomes a problem, the change will be revoked.

Personally, I think those bed times are OK. I would let the 10 and 14 get another hour during both week and weekend and the 6 year old half an hour on the weeknights just so it seems fair.

For what its worth, my 3 and 1 year old go to bed at 8 and they need far more sleep than a 6 year old.

[wolfgangqpublic]

Thanks buddy :)

Wolf.