What time should an 8 year old go to bed?

[Hellion]

I have to say my son seems to be a bit of a night owl as although he goes to bed at 7.30/8pm he frequently doesn't fall asleep until 9.30 or later and usually wakes up at 7.30/8am. However I'm confused as one of my friends puts her son to bed at 6.30 but others don't put their children to bed until after 9pm. What do you consider the 'correct' time for an 8 year old to go to bed?

[cameo]

as you have pointed out everybody has their own idea.

when my kids were 8, (they are now 14 and 9), i use to put them to bed at approximately 7.30pm, they could then read for about half an hour and then it was lights out.

[meltoadhall]

my 9 yr old goes at 8pm, each birthday it goes up by 15 to 20 mins so when she was 8 she went at around 7.45. On a school day we have to get up at 6.30am but in the holidays she wakes at about 7.30am.
does he look tired or gets grumpy from lack of sleep, then maybe he needs more. i wouldnt worry too much, my daughter will come and tell me that she is going to bed as she is tired.

[beejaybee]

I think 8pm is late enough. Although he may not be sleeping, he`s away from tv & other distractions. I see so many kids up at 10/11pm & they`re only 7/8 year olds. Parents should have more sense re bedtime. Apart from their school work suffering their health also does.

[boobesque]

my 7 year old goes up to bed at 7pm, and its lights out and tv off at 8pm, but every parent has different ideas on bed times

[Lily_b]

As others have said before, it is up to you as a parent. Although you may want to consider what effect a bedtime has on your child.
We tried changing our sons bedtime to 7.30 (he's 7), but he got too tired in the mornings at school, so we put it back to 7.

[Denisec4502]

I have a 7 year old and a 10 year old. They both go to bed at 8pm school nights. 8.30 weekends. They both get up in the morning at 7am for school. Sometimes they ask to go to bed earlier because they are tired. Sometimes my 10 year old will watch a little tv in bed before she goes to sleep. My work colleague has a 9 year old who never goes to bed before midnight the same time as them! I find this strange as surely we need some time as parents to ourselves of an evening?

[Hellion]

Thanks for the answers everyone (sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday, out all day).
I think I'll stick with what I'm doing then, I was just thinking maybe I've got it all wrong! My son has always been bad at settling down to sleep since the day he was born but once asleep he sleeps well.

[wildsheep]

If you put a child to bed and they are not tired then they are bound to stay awake for a while. A few tips.

Try to avoid TV or computers for 2 hours before bedtime. No matter what time you send them to bed the flickering lights will have an impact on brain activity and it is harder to get to sleep.

Let them have 30mins or so reading time, perhaps in their room, before sleep. Studies have shown that reading immediately before bed can help sleep.

Personally, my 7 year old goes to bed at 7.30-8.00 most nights but has a parent-authorised torch and can read for as long as he wants before going to sleep. He usually only does so for 10-15 minutes before going to sleep.

Everyone is different though.