What time should my child wake up?

A child's wake-up time is usually determined by school, daycare and the family's morning schedule. Ideally, it should remain fairly consistent every day, including weekends, because regular wake times help support the body's internal clock. Once you know the wake-up time, work backward using the recommended sleep range for your child's age. A child who needs to leave home at 7:30 a.m. may need to wake at 6:30 a.m., which means bedtime should allow enough time for 9 to 12 hours of sleep if they are school-age. Your child should generally wake without extreme difficulty and become alert reasonably quickly. If mornings regularly involve exhaustion, irritability or repeated alarms, an earlier bedtime may be needed.