In bed by half past seven – or not until eight? Few questions get compared as often at the playground, and few have so little to do with what other families do. The right bedtime for children depends mainly on two things: how much sleep your child needs at their age and when they have to get up in the morning. Once you know both, you can count backwards instead of deciding on gut feeling. In this article you will find a chart by age and wake-up time that does exactly that for you. It is meant as a guide, not a stopwatch – your child will show you whether the time fits.
The short answer: Count backwards from the wake-up time: night-time sleep need plus about 15 to 20 minutes to fall asleep. A two-year-old who gets up at 6:30 will therefore usually be in bed between 19:00 and 19:30, a kindergarten child a little later, and a primary school child aged 9 to 10 closer to 20:30. The figures are based on the recommendations of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). What really matters, though, is how your child seems during the day: if they mostly wake up on their own and are even-tempered, the time is right.
- Rule of thumb: wake-up time minus night-time sleep need minus 15–20 minutes to fall asleep equals bedtime.
- Sleep need per 24 hours according to the AASM: 1–2 years 11–14 h (including naps), 3–5 years 10–13 h, 6–12 years 9–12 h.
- When the daytime nap is dropped, bedtime can temporarily move 30–60 minutes earlier.
- Consistency beats perfection: try not to deviate by more than about an hour at weekends either.
- Adjust in 15-minute steps every two to three days – the wake-up time stays fixed.
How much sleep children need – the basis of the chart
Every bedtime starts with a simple question: how many hours of sleep does my child need? The best-known guidelines come from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), which published recommendations per 24 hours in 2016 after reviewing the research.
For children between one and two years, the AASM recommends 11 to 14 hours, naps included. For children aged three to five, it is 10 to 13 hours, again including any daytime naps. Children aged 6 to 12 need 9 to 12 hours.
Important: these are ranges, not fixed values, and they refer to the whole day. A two-year-old with a 90-minute nap needs correspondingly less sleep at night than a child of the same age who only dozes for half an hour in the pushchair. For the chart below, we have therefore derived the typical night-time sleep: around 11 hours for one- to two-year-olds, around 10.5 to 11 hours for three- to five-year-olds, around 10 hours for six- to eight-year-olds and just over 9 to 9.5 hours for older primary school children – plus about a quarter of an hour to fall asleep in each case. You will find a detailed overview by age in How much sleep does my child need?.
Bedtime for children: the chart by age and wake-up time
The chart shows when your child should be in bed – meaning “lights out”, not the start of the bedtime routine. Allow 20 to 40 minutes beforehand, depending on age, for brushing teeth, pyjamas and a story.
| Age | Sleep per 24 h (AASM) | Wake-up 6:00 | Wake-up 6:30 | Wake-up 7:00 | Wake-up 7:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 years | 11–14 h incl. naps | 18:30–19:00 | 19:00–19:30 | 19:30–20:00 | 20:00–20:30 |
| 3–5 years | 10–13 h | 18:45–19:15 | 19:15–19:45 | 19:45–20:15 | 20:15–20:45 |
| 6–8 years | 9–12 h | 19:15–19:45 | 19:45–20:15 | 20:15–20:45 | 20:45–21:15 |
| 9–12 years | 9–12 h | 20:00–20:30 | 20:30–21:00 | 21:00–21:30 | 21:30–22:00 |
How to read the chart: find the row with your child’s age and the column with the wake-up time your daily routine requires – not the one your child wakes up at on Sunday. The 30-minute range is deliberate. Children at the lower end of their sleep need take the later value, children who need a lot of sleep the earlier one. For three-year-olds who still nap regularly, go by the later value; for five-year-olds without a nap, rather by the earlier one. For later wake-up times, simply add 30 minutes per column.
How to work out bedtime yourself
If your child does not fit neatly into a row or your wake-up time falls between two columns, the formula behind the chart will help: wake-up time minus night-time sleep need minus time to fall asleep equals bedtime.
First example: Lina is four and has been attending kindergarten since August. Lessons start at 8:20, so Lina has to get up at 6:45. She no longer naps at midday and, according to her parents, needs quite a lot of sleep, around 11 hours. Add 15 minutes to fall asleep: 6:45 minus 11 hours and 15 minutes gives 19:30. The bedtime routine therefore starts at 19:00.
Second example: Noah is 18 months old and goes to nursery three times a week. His mother has to leave the house at 7:15, so he is woken at 6:15. Noah naps for around an hour and a half at nursery and needs about 11 hours at night. His bedtime is therefore 19:00.
Many children fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes. If it regularly takes much longer, that is a sign that bedtime is too early – or that something else is making it hard to fall asleep. We describe possible reasons in Child won’t fall asleep.
Why the chart is only a guide – and how to recognise the right time
Sleep need is individual: two siblings can be an hour apart despite the same daily routine. The chart gives you a starting point; your child will show you within the first one to two weeks whether it is right.
The time is right if your child falls asleep within about 20 minutes, wakes up on their own shortly before or at the wake-up time on most days and is even-tempered in the morning. Toddlers take their nap without you having to settle them for long.
The time is probably too late if your child has to be woken almost every morning, falls asleep immediately in the car or on the train, gets irritable in the late afternoon or becomes noticeably wound up in the evening. The latter confuses many parents: overtired children often do not seem tired, but hyper.
The time is probably too early if your child lies awake for a long time, sings, calls out or gets up several times, but then sleeps well and is bright in the morning. Or if they wake up very early because their sleep need is already met before 5:30 – more on this in Child wakes too early. Observe for a week and then adjust in small steps.
Naps and bedtime go hand in hand
For children up to about four years old, bedtime cannot be planned without the daytime nap. As a rough guide: between the end of the nap and bedtime there should be about four to five hours for two-year-olds, and more like five to six for three-year-olds. A child who wakes from their nap at 15:30 will rarely be tired at 19:00.
This has practical consequences. If your child sleeps at nursery from 12:30 to 14:30, 19:00 to 19:30 is realistic. If they only fall asleep at 14:00 on grandparents’ day and are not woken, the evening shifts – on a single day, that is not a problem.
The tricky phase is when the nap is dropped, usually somewhere between two and a half and four years. On days without a nap, one to two hours of sleep are suddenly missing. It helps to bring bedtime forward by 30 to 60 minutes temporarily, even if that seems unusually early. After a few weeks, night-time sleep has usually lengthened and you can move back gradually. To find out whether your child is ready, read Dropping the nap.
Kindergarten, summer time, weekends: everyday family life in Switzerland
With the start of kindergarten – under HarmoS at around four years in most cantons – the wake-up time becomes fixed for many families for the first time. It is worth practising the new bedtime in the last two weeks of the summer holidays rather than switching on the first day of kindergarten.
The summer months are the second challenge. In June the sun does not set in Zurich until around 21:30, and other children are still playing outside. Good blackout blinds and a calm transition indoors after supper help more than long discussions.
When the clocks change at the end of March and the end of October, the clock jumps by an hour, but your child’s internal clock does not. So shift bedtime in 15-minute steps in the days beforehand.
And weekends? Lie-ins are allowed, but big jumps take their toll on Monday. As a rule of thumb: on days off, try not to let bedtime and wake-up time deviate by more than about an hour from weekdays. A family party until 22:00 is still no drama – the next day you simply carry on with the usual rhythm.
Step by step: introducing a new bedtime
If the current bedtime is well off the chart, do not change it overnight. A child who has been falling asleep at 20:30 for months will lie awake for an hour at 19:30. Here is a gentler way:
Days 1–3: set the wake-up time and stick to it consistently, at weekends too. Open the curtains straight away in the morning or go outside briefly – daylight in the morning sets the internal clock.
Days 4–6: bring bedtime forward by 15 minutes. The bedtime routine starts correspondingly earlier; the sequence stays the same.
Days 7–9: another 15 minutes. Check whether your child falls asleep within about 20 minutes.
From day 10: repeat until the target time is reached. With a one-hour difference, you will be there after about two weeks.
At the same time, it helps to keep the last hour before bed calm: dimmed light, no screens, no boisterous games. A reliable routine that always follows the same order signals to the body that bedtime is approaching. You will find concrete routines with a timetable in Bedtime routine from 2 years.
Common mistakes
Basing bedtime on the neighbours’ child. What works for others says little about your child. What counts is the wake-up time and individual sleep need.
Later to bed so they sleep longer in the morning. This rarely works with young children. Many still wake up at the usual time – just with less sleep.
Confusing the start of the routine with “lights out”. If you start brushing teeth at 19:30, the light is rarely out before 20:00.
Jumps that are too big. Bringing bedtime forward by a whole hour at once usually leads to long periods lying awake and frustration on both sides.
Renegotiating every evening. Once the time is set, discussions become unnecessary. An hourglass or a wake-up light makes the end of the day visible for younger children without you having to play referee every time.
Putting the chart above the child. If your child is rested and cheerful even though they are half an hour off the chart, all is well.
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Frequently asked questions about bedtime for children
What time should a three-year-old go to bed?
That depends on the wake-up time. With a wake-up time of 6:30, bedtime for three- to five-year-olds is usually between 19:15 and 19:45; with 7:00, between 19:45 and 20:15. If your child still has a long nap, the later value is more likely to fit.
Is 20:00 too late for a kindergarten child?
Not necessarily. With a wake-up time of 7:00 or 7:30, 20:00 can work well. With a wake-up time of 6:30 or earlier, it gets tight for many kindergarten children. Watch whether your child wakes up on their own in the morning and is even-tempered during the day.
How many hours of sleep does a child need?
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, children aged 1 to 2 need 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours including naps, children aged 3 to 5 need 10 to 13 hours and children aged 6 to 12 need 9 to 12 hours.
Should bedtime stay the same at weekends?
As similar as possible. A difference of about an hour is usually unproblematic. Bigger jumps shift the internal clock and make Monday morning harder.
My child won’t fall asleep despite an early bedtime – what can I do?
If your child regularly lies awake for more than 30 minutes, bedtime may be too early or the nap too late or too long. Try moving bedtime 15 minutes later and observe for a week.
What is the best way to change bedtime?
In 15-minute steps every two to three days, while the wake-up time stays the same. Daylight in the morning and a bedtime routine that starts earlier but is otherwise unchanged support the transition. A one-hour difference can be bridged in about two weeks this way.
This article is for general information only and does not replace advice from a paediatrician. If problems persist, please consult your paediatrician.
