Bedtime by age
What time should a 2 year old go to bed?
Between 6:30 and 7:30 pm for most 2-year-olds who wake up around 6:30. At two they need 11 to 14 hours a day, and that still counts an afternoon nap of an hour and a half or so.
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 two
- Sleep
- 11 to 14 hours a day, naps included
- Naps
- One, about 1½ to 2 hours
- Routine
- About 30 minutes
- A late nap is the usual reason bedtime slides at two. If lights out keeps drifting, wake them from the nap a little earlier, by 3:00 at the latest.
- Two is the age of "no" and "one more". Give a choice that doesn't matter, like which pajamas or which of two books, and keep the order of the steps fixed.
- There's no rush to leave the crib. Most families find the move to a bed goes easier closer to three, and climbing out is the usual reason to switch sooner.
- A few weeks of fighting bedtime is common somewhere around two. Hold the same lights out through it. Changing it every night drags it out.
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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