What time is bedtime?

Reckon you know what time your child should be going to bed? Guess again! This chart gives you the ideal bedtimes for different ages from five years old to age 10.

As we try to get back into a slick, military-style up and out early routine with the start of the new school term, ensuring our kids have had a good night's sleep is often one of our main concerns – particularly if disrupted bedtimes and late nights mean grumpy, difficult mornings!

It can be hard to work out just what time our little one's should be hitting the sack though, and calculating just how much shut-eye they need to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed in the morning. Fortunately help is at hand...

A school in the US has produced a very detailed chart which says EXACTLY when your child should be getting the Zzzs – based not only on their age, but also when they woke up that morning. Sounds intriguing, right?

Stacy Karlsen, an educator from Wilson Elementary in Kenosha, Wisconson, posted the chart because she thought it would be helpful to parents with children at her school.

Within days it had been shared a staggering 356,000 times and got almost 50,000 likes on Facebook – so why not take a look for yourself and see what you think - tearing her hair out, irate morning you may well be grateful!

Source: Wilson Elementary

Obviously different children, different family set ups, and no doubt a million other variables will mean this won't work for absolutely everyone, but here is when the chart suggests your child should be going to sleep - to get the exact time, just match your child's age with their wake up time (so if your five year old gets up at 6.30 (ugh!), they'll be ready to go to sleep at 7.15pm).

5 years old: 6:45pm to 8:15pm

6 years old: 7pm to 8:30pm

7 years old: 7:15pm to 8:45pm

8 years old: 7:30pm to 9pm

9 years old: 7:30pm to 9:15pm

10 years old: 8pm to 9:30pm

Talking to a local news station, Fox6Now, Stacy, who teaches first grade children, explained:

'To me, it was a shock [that the post was shared so much]. I didn't make it up. I found it coming across my personal page and I thought, wow, this is super helpful.'

Unsurprisingly the chart sparked thousands of comments (14k at the last count) from parents, some thinking it's brilliant – others thinking it's pretty far from the mark.

'Definitely something to consider,' wrote one. 'As a retired Pre/Kdg teacher, I noticed all too many kiddos being sleep deprived. Which created undesired behaviors and lack of focus.'

Another was more skeptical, writing:

'My guess: a very small percentage of schoolchildren do this!!!'

While a third was all for it, saying bedtimes NEEDED to be more regimented!

'AMEN! Stop taking your little ones out to dinner at 8-9pm and expecting them to behave!!! They are tired and need their sleep! Not a loud restaurant!!'

However, one parent sums up what most of us are probably thinking when it comes to getting kids to bed at a set-in-stone time:

'Yeah right – in your dreams!'

Still, it's worth a go, right?

Want help getting your child to stay in bed for longer? Why not invest in a Gro Clock sleep trainer? It's a genius buy and you can see more details, here at Amazon.

What time is bedtime for your kids? Let us know on the forum thread below…

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