Bedtime by age
What time should a 1 year old go to bed?
Between 6:30 and 7:30 pm for most 1-year-olds who wake up around 6:30. At one they need 11 to 14 hours of sleep a day, most of it at night, with one or two naps on top.
Their lights out
Lights out between 6:30 and 7:30 pm.
Tonight, counted back
An hour and a half out leaves room for a bath without rushing.
Or screens off, on a night without a bath.
What's different at one
- Sleep
- 11 to 14 hours a day, naps included
- Naps
- One or two, 2 to 3 hours in all
- Routine
- About 20 minutes
- Two naps turn into one somewhere between 12 and 18 months. While that's happening, move lights out earlier on the days the second nap doesn't come, even to 6:30.
- Twenty minutes of routine is plenty: bath, milk, teeth, one book, a song. The same steps in the same order matter more than how long it takes.
- Wanting you at bedtime is normal at this age. A short goodnight that's the same every night makes leaving easier than a long one that changes.
- Dinner has to be early for this to work. For a 7:00 lights out, eating at 5:30 leaves room for a bath without rushing.
By wake-up time
The same sleep, counted back from four common wake-ups. Lean early on a day they woke up tired or the nap went wrong.
| Up at | Lights out |
|---|---|
| 6:00 | 6:00–7:00 pm |
| 6:30 | 6:30–7:30 pm |
| 7:00 | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 7:30 | 7:30–8:30 pm |
Sleep hours are the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's recommended ranges, which the American Academy of Pediatrics endorses. Every kid is a little different. If you're worried about how your child sleeps, ask their pediatrician. For any age and wake-up time, use the bedtime calculator.
Knowing lights out is the easy part. Nightlight plans the two hours before it: a dinner that fits the energy you have left, then every step, timed back from 7:00.
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