Mum bemused as she’s told 10-year-old should be in bed by 7pm – and others agree

The mum said that her daughter had been told by somebody else that she should be in bed by 7pm, so she wanted advice on what time other parents thought was actually best – with mixed responses

Bed time for children is one of those things that can be really confusing – what works for one family doesn’t necessarily work for another, and if you’re constantly reading that your child should be in bed by a certain time and your little one doesn’t follow that rule, it can make you feel a level of parental guilt that nobody wants to take on.

One woman recently took to Netmums to ask others for advice on what time their 10-year-old child should go to bed. She explained that she’d seen some parents saying their child went to bed at 7pm, but she didn’t know whether this was the right thing to do.

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She wrote: “Hi I’m a single mum to my daughter of ten and recently she was told she should be in bed at 7pm. Is this correct? Is t is also good if a child is bored? My daughter should amuse herself now! There is a piano, paper for art, reading. I tell her all the time and she can look at the bugs in the garden.

“What do parents do with their 11-year-olds? My daughter has no friends won’t join clubs.”

Other parents were quick to offer their advice, with one writing: “At that age my son chose his own bedtime, with certain conditions; no noise after 9, quiet activities only, no trouble getting up next morning and no complaints from teachers about being tired.

“As for boredom, in a way it’s good. Children need to learn how to amuse themselves, as there’ll come a time when there’s no one there to amuse them. If they can’t think of anything to do, tell them there’s always the washing up!”

Another wrote: “I have children ranging in age from 16 down to four, they all go up at the same time – 7pm. They can watch TV or read for a short while, but while they’re all still in school and need a good night’s sleep so they all have everything off by 9pm.

“Personal choice, but kids shouldn’t be given a choice of when they go to bed – it’s part of being a responsible parent to ensure they have a good night’s sleep.”

One mum disagreed though, saying that 7pm was way too early for someone of that age to go to bed.

She said: “You were told by who? 7pm is way too early. My daughter is 11, about to turn 12 and the only time she goes to bed at 7pm is if she’s unwell, lol.

“Bedtime depends on the child, how quick they fall asleep, what time they need to be up for school (I child that lives next to school can get up later than a child that needs to walk for 40 mins to school, etc).

“As for boredom…yes it’s good for children to be bored and to find/make their own entertainment. When mine says ‘Mum, I’m bored’ I reply with ‘Hi Bored, I’m Mother. How do you do?’ If you do that enough they just grunt and groan at you and leave you alone.”

Someone else said their daughter goes to bed at half nine, commenting: “My daughter is 10, she goes to bed at 9.30pm for a 7.30am wake up time and as far as we know she sleeps pretty much straight away and she almost always wakes naturally for 7.30.

“I think at 10 they can entertain themselves, but they still like to spend time with you and want your attention even if you see it as they have plenty of things to do. That’s totally normal in my opinion.”

What time do you think is reasonable for a 10-year-old to go to bed? Let us know in the comments.