What Time Should Your Kids Actually Be in Bed? | Pay The Nanny [ ![Pay the nanny logo](https://assets.paythenanny.nz/images/logo-white.png) ](/) [Parents](https://paythenanny.nz/For-Families) [Nannies](https://paythenanny.nz/For-Nannies) [Agencies](https://paythenanny.nz/for-agencies) [Pricing](https://paythenanny.nz/pricing) [Contact](https://paythenanny.nz/contact) [Sign Up](https://paythenanny.nz/signup) [Log In](https://paythenanny.nz/app/login) Article ------- What Time Should Your Kids Actually Be in Bed? ============================================== By Mark Hudson · 16 April, 2026 Getting kids to bed can feel like a nightly challenge. Whether you're dealing with toddlers who won’t settle or school-aged kids pushing boundaries, knowing the right bedtime by age can make all the difference to sleep, behaviour, and overall wellbeing. ![What Time Should Your Kids Actually Be in Bed?](https://assets.caresies.io/articles/2488/conversions/jOdsWvmdgd0KvN5W1Z3N-webp-featured.webp) A no-nonsense NZ parent's guide to bedtimes that work ----------------------------------------------------- Ask five parents what time their kids go to bed and you'll get five completely different answers. Followed by at least one person saying "whenever they finally stop bouncing off the walls." Sound familiar? Here's the thing though. Getting bedtime right is one of those parenting wins that quietly fixes a bunch of other problems. The morning meltdowns, the after-school grumpiness, the mysterious inability to find shoes at 8:15am. A lot of it traces back to sleep. Why Timing Matters (Not Just Total Hours) ----------------------------------------- Most of us know roughly how much sleep kids need. But the bit that catches parents out is *when* that sleep happens. Kids have natural sleep pressure that builds during the day, and if you miss the window, you end up with an overtired child who is somehow wired and exhausted at the same time. Every parent knows that kid. That kid who runs laps of the lounge at 9pm looking like they've had three flat whites. They're not "not tired." They've gone past tired and come out the other side. So What Are the Right Bedtimes? ------------------------------- Every child is different, obviously. But sleep researchers have landed on some pretty consistent ranges that work for most kids. Here's what the guidelines suggest for New Zealand families. **Babies (4 to 12 months)** need roughly 12 to 16 hours of sleep including naps, and do best with a bedtime somewhere between 6:00pm and 7:30pm. Early feels counterintuitive, but babies are genuinely wired for early nights. Fighting it usually backfires. **Toddlers (1 to 2 years)** need 11 to 14 hours, with bedtime landing around 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Toddlers are creatures of habit and even shifting bedtime by 20 minutes can show up as a cranky monster the next morning. **Preschoolers (3 to 5 years)** need 10 to 13 hours and a bedtime between 7:00pm and 8:00pm. This is the age where bedtime negotiations really kick in. "One more story" becomes five more stories, a glass of water, a trip to check the front door is locked, and an existential question about why dogs don't wear shoes. **School-age kids (6 to 12 years)** need 9 to 12 hours, with bedtime ranging from 7:30pm to 9:00pm depending on age and what time they need to be up. After-school activities, homework, and screen time all start pushing bedtime later here. **Teenagers (13 to 18 years)** need 8 to 10 hours and a bedtime between 9:00pm and 10:30pm. Their body clocks genuinely shift later during puberty, which is a biological reality and not just stubbornness. But with early school starts, they still need guardrails. Working Out Your Child's Sweet Spot ----------------------------------- The simplest approach is to work backwards from when they need to wake up. If your seven-year-old has to be up at 7:00am and needs about 11 hours of sleep, you're looking at an 8:00pm bedtime. Not 8:00pm "start getting ready for bed." 8:00pm lights out. Red Flags That Bedtime Is Too Late ---------------------------------- Not sure if your current setup is working? Keep an eye out for these: Struggling to wake up in the morning is the obvious one. If you're dragging them out of bed every day, something needs to shift. Frequent meltdowns and irritability during the day are another clue, especially if they used to be pretty even-keeled. And then there's the classic overtired hyperactivity at night. The bouncing-off-walls behaviour that looks like excess energy is usually the exact opposite. If any of this sounds familiar, try moving bedtime earlier by just 15 to 30 minutes for a week and see what happens. It's a small change that often makes a surprising difference. Building a Routine That Sticks ------------------------------ Bedtime routines don't need to be elaborate. In fact, simpler is better. Bath or shower, pyjamas and teeth, a quiet activity like reading or puzzles, then lights out at the same time each night. That's it. The magic ingredient isn't any specific activity. It's the predictability. Kids' brains start winding down when they recognise the pattern, which means less resistance and faster sleep onset over time. The Real-World Challenge ------------------------ Of course, all of this is easier said than done when you're juggling work, school pick-ups, dinner, homework, and activities. Getting home at 5:30pm and trying to have everyone fed, bathed, and in bed by 7:30pm is genuinely ambitious. This is exactly why a lot of Kiwi families bring in help for those afternoon and evening hours. Having a nanny manage the after-school routine, get dinner sorted, and keep bedtime on track means kids get the consistency they need, even on your busiest days. The Bottom Line --------------- There's no magic bedtime that works for every child. But having a consistent routine based on your child's age and sleep needs is one of the best things you can do for them, and honestly, for yourself too. A well-rested kid is happier, healthier, and a lot more pleasant to be around at breakfast. *If you've got a nanny helping with your family's routines, [Pay The Nanny](https://paythenanny.nz) takes care of the payroll side so you don't have to. 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