Have you ever been confused about when bedtime should be for your little one? If so, you’re not alone — in fact, that was me before embarking on my sleep consulting journey!
I have a whole blog post with details about the bedtime range for each age, but for quick reference, bedtime for ages 4 months to 5 years can fall anywhere between about 5 and 8pm, most commonly between 6:30 and 7:30pm. To some, that may sound like an EARLY bedtime, but I’m here to give you 5 reasons why early bedtimes are so great!
Time to Recharge AND a Decent Bedtime for You!
I hear all the time about how people can’t manage to go to bed early themselves because once the kids are *finally* in bed, they need some time for themselves to relax and recharge. This is completely understandable — while kids are wonderful, they certainly take a toll.
Having an earlier bedtime gives you the best of both worlds — you have 2-3 hours to relax and recharge AND you can still get to bed at a decent time yourself!
Adult Outings
Have you ever wanted to go to a party or have a date night, but it just sounded way too tricky to have a babysitter manage bedtime for your little one? 😅
When Baby has an early bedtime, you can put Baby to bed yourself, and then hire a babysitter to come make sure your sleeping baby stays safe. Easy peasy! Then you’re free to go out for a long, child-free evening, knowing that Baby will sleep soundly through the night (or at least until an appropriate feeding several hours later).
One-on-One Time with Your Partner
And while date nights and parties are awesome, the day-to-day interactions you have with your partner are even more important.
When your child goes to bed early, you can have time with your partner built into your daily schedule that you know won’t be interrupted by the constant requests of children. You can have some of that adult conversation that you crave! You can play games, watch a movie, or do other activities that kids can’t participate in! Plus there will be plenty of time for things to get 🤭 *steamy* 😉😉
However you choose to spend it, that connection time with your partner is so necessary to keep the spark alive!
Reduced Bedtime Battles
Kids are biologically programmed to need early bedtimes — it’s part of how they get the 11-12 hours of night sleep they need! When we push for later bedtimes, we often end up with more fights about bedtime because Baby becomes overtired, and overtired kiddos cannot be reasoned with!
While kids are notorious for fighting bedtime regardless of what time it is, you’ll likely find a decrease in the amount of bedtime battles you face when you work with their biology to give them an appropriately early bedtime that helps keep them well-rested.
More Sleep AND Less Crankiness
I once saw someone say, “If I put my kids to bed late, they wake up early. If I put my kids to bed early, they wake up early.” And it’s so true!
If your child is going to wake up early regardless of the bedtime, it just makes sense to put them to bed earlier so they can get more sleep overall. Getting enough sleep is so important for growth and development, plus it helps reduce crankiness and tantrums!
Early bedtimes might be inconvenient at times, but overall, early bedtimes WIN THE DAY for me! These 5 reasons (actually 7, since two of them have two parts!) make it easy to say yes to an early bedtime 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Of course, the proper (early) bedtime is just one piece of the good-sleep puzzle, and if you need help putting the whole thing together, I’d love to help! Let’s get the whole family the sleep you all need and the predictable schedule you crave. Learn about your options here!