Raise your hand if your kids take a full military band to wake them up in the morning. If your hand isn't raise, you're probably still trying to pry your offspring out of bed or in an argument about how they overslept and are going to be late for school.
Especially after a summer of chaos, it can be a struggle to get your family back into a bed time routine for school.
There are recommended sleep durations for different age groups, and that can mean different bed times for each kid in your house. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics, this is the recommended amount of sleep for each age group:
Infants (4 to 12 months): 12 to 16 hours (including naps)
Toddlers (1 to 2 years): 11 to 14 hours (including naps)
Preschoolers (3 to 5 years): 10 to 13 hours (including naps)
Gradeschoolers (6 to 12 years): 9 to 12 hours
Teens (13 to 18 years): 8 to 10 hours
Taking this into account can be tricky. It all depends on how long your kid will sleep, how long it takes to get to school in the morning, and what time school actually starts.
One mom, from the blog Mommy Moment, created a chart that she believes takes all the guesswork out of bed time.
What do you think of this bedtime chart? http://www.mommymoment.ca/2013/10/10-tips-to-help-your-child-fall-asleep.html
Posted by Creative Child Magazine on Friday, August 4, 2017
She suggests that bed times be increased by 15 minutes every year, because the kids need less sleep.
While it may seem like an innocent post, it got more attention than I'm sure she was expecting.
What did people think of her chart?
The post has been shared over 10,000 times and people aren't holding back on their opinions.
"I think this chart is ridiculous," one person responded. "11 p.m. is not an appropriate bedtime for anyone at any age. The latest bedtime that I think is appropriate (for normal days, not on holidays or special days/nights) is probably 9:30 p.m."
"9:00 for my 10 year old and 9:30 for my 12 year old? They wouldn't be able to function," another person wrote. "They go to bed anytime between 8-9 (I know I'm not the norm though!) My 5 month old and 2.5 year old go to bed anytime between 7-830 and older kids between 8-9."
"Yeah children are robots, didn't you know?" joked one mom. "Came from the Ford T factory, all alike and follow the clock punctually. (That clocks only tell the time man made up doesn't matter... All babies know in what time zone they're born.)"
Other parents didn't seem so bothered by the suggestions, however.
"Nope. My kid is 4 almost 5 and she goes to bed at 9:30." Carla Meister wrote. "She loves sleep but she won't sleep long enough. If I want to get up any time later than 6 am, she has to go to bed at 9."
"7:30 isn't doable in many households when everyone doesn't get home from the day until 6:45," Allison Burns pointed out. "Do what's right for your family schedule and know that flexibility for all will help in the long run in life."
It all becomes the parent's choice, of course. Do what's right for your child and try to get them enough sleep. But when posts like this circulate suggesting a blanket schedule for every child, it's not hard to judge.
What do you think of the sleep schedule? Would it work in your house?
