what time do your toddlers go to bed?

T

trailingspouse

New member
Hi there,

I am moving to HK in november with twin boys who will be just 3 and a baby who will be 18 months. What I was wondering was what sort of sleep routine do people in HK tend to follow with their children? I have my twins in bed by 7.30 pm here (UK), but was wondering if people tended to keep their children up later in HK as the weather is warmer in the evening. is it more of a medeterranian style arrangment of a siesta then a later bed time, or should i plan on sticking with my early to bed routine? I like the idea of taking them out for walks and so on in the evening to enjoy the cooler weather but was wondering if other people do this as well.

thank you in advance!
 
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Both mine (one 3 yrs and one 9 months) are in bed by around 7:30. But I'm from the UK and a lot of my Chinese friends have their kids go to bed a lot later. Personally, I prefer to stick to the early bed time for a few reasons: 1) I think it's better for the kids ( they need at east 12 hours at this stage) 2) On the few occasions they have had to go to bed later, they wake up just as early but a lot more grumpy 3)By the time they go to school, they're going to have to go to bed earlier anyway.(Some of my Chinese friend's kids have started going to bed earlier once they are in school )
That's just my 2 bits worth...
 
as a generalisation you tend to find that Chinese families keep their children up later and Western families stick to earlier bed times.

My almost-3 year old goes to bed at 7.30pm and still naps in the day at 12.30/1pm for a few hours.
His younger brother goes to bed any time between 6.30 and 7pm.
 
Those who keep their kids up later often do so to allow the working members of the family to spend some time with them. HK job are rarely like UK ones and you can't leave the office at 5;30/6.
So, to compensate, children as old as 5 or 6 will still nap in the afternoon and attend school in the morning.
Having said that, I put my kids to bed by 8pm as I like to have some adult time in the evening as well as all the reasons previously stated.
 
Hello, also from UK and my kids are in bed the same time as everyone else has stated here. Just to let you know that it is dark by 7pm even in the summer here, and dark by 6pm in the winter. There are no long light summer evenings like in the UK, which I really miss - so if you go out late it will be dark:)
 
my two kids (2 & 4) go to bed between 7-8pm.

however, as previous posters have mentioned, most chinese parents keep their kids awake MUCH, MUCH MUCH later. i have kids at my playgroup centre the MUST have afternoon classes as they don't wake up until 10:30-11am!!! when i commented on how late they wake up, i was informed "of course she sleeps so late, she doesn't go to bed until .... MIDNIGHT!"

as for "cooler" temperatures... please be aware that the temperatures in the evening are usually only a few degrees different in the summer time (may-september).
 
I'm local Chinese. My girl sleeps from 8pm to 7:30am since she's 6 weeks old (she's 11 mths now). Quite a few of my friends also put their babies to sleep around this time. Yet, the majority of local parents do let their kids sleep as late as 10 or even later. Like Kashismom says, it's very common for both parents going to work and they want to enjoy some quality time with their kids when they're home. Most of them will be surprised to hear that ur babies sleep at this time and they do think babies sleeping early (7pm, 8pm) are weird! My mother-in-law always thinks i give my girl special training and force her to sleep at 8pm! I don't care about what she says. It's my baby's routine. She has 2 naps in day time and she sleeps like an angel when we put her to bed.
 
our son used to sleep between 7-8 but now a days he sleeps by 9 and wakes up by 7.00 which is normal time he never slept more than 10 hours at a stretch and he sleeps in the afternoon for 2 hours so he makes up his 12 hours of sleep. There are days when doesnt take his afternoon nap he sleeps early at 7 and wakes up at 6-7
 
that is brilliant, thank you everyone! Really helpful stuff. I totally agree with having adult time in the evening, I couldn't do without it with three so young. My husband will be working as a lecturer so should be able to get home in reasonable time to see the kids (he manages it now, so fingers crossed it will not be too different). good to know it is not a lot cooler in the evenings, forewarned is forearmed! Thanks everyone.
 
My 14-month-old goes to bed between 6-7:30 pm but that is because my husband and I conscientiously keep to that schedule (for our son's health and our sanity). I second what the above posters have written: My husband's parents (local HK Chinese people), if left to their own devices have no problem letting our boy stay up until 10 pm, 11 pm or even midnight! (and feeding him copious amounts of chocolate and sugar--thankfully, we've come to a compromise on this!)

Hong Kong isn't exactly "mediterranean" as people are constantly on the go here and don't really do "siestas" (however, in ML China, afternoon siestas are common) however, this city runs late. In the urban parts of the city you can usually go out at any time of the night (2-3 am!) and find a place or two open to eat dinner. So, people eat later (before baby, we usually ate dinner around 9-10 pm) and go to bed later and also wake up later and go to work later. I read an article in the South China Morning Post probably about 3 years ago talking about how a survey was taken and HK people go to work later than people of many other large cities.

Because of the late nights (spent working and socializing usually) you will often see people on public transport full-on sleeping. I've been on train cars and buses where I looked around and every passenger except for myself was sound asleep. I can't do it because it gives me a crink in my neck but my husband gets on the bus and immediately goes to sleep.

If you're moving to HK in November, I wouldn't worry about cooler evening walks versus "hot days" because November is the beginning of the winter season--which will be sort of maybe comparable to a balmy spring day in countries that have four distinct seasons. You may have to layer on more clothes to keep out the cooler winds, though--usually January-March are the coldest months in HK. When I first moved here in January 2002, from an area that has a snowy, cold winter, I mistakenly assumed that HK was warm and comfy all year round so I didn't even bother to bring a coat! Big mistake! It does get cold here--damp and cold sometimes and most local homes are made of concrete and don't have heat so it can be uncomfortable at times. In the summer, you'll deal with muggy, hot weather that will leave you dripping--that's when evening walks come into play, but as Carang says--sometimes it doesn't even cool down in the evenings. For example, this last summer in late July, I happened to look at the thermometer at 4 in the morning. It was still nearly 30 degrees C and 85% humidity out. You will definitely want a good air conditioner in the summer!
 
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