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For a long time, Charlie wouldn't sleep before 10/10:30 pm!! Thankfully lately he's been exhausted from pre-k + not napping as much in school, so he's passing out much earlier now. It's such a relief!!

I'm the hardcore on-a-schedule parent where my life revolves around the sleep and routine schedule of my toddler. Our plans are made with her schedule in mind and she's in bed by 6:45pm every night, which is great for us! However, with #2 waiting to arrive, I'm pretty sure all of this will change and that I have to learn to be a little bit more flexible. But once DH and I were out and we saw a couple and their toddler roaming the streets of downtown and it was nearly 11pm! My thought was to the child, "Hey kid, aren't you tired???"

How old were they? C is 8 weeks and no matter what time we start trying to put her down she won't fall asleep before 9. It's gradually been getting earlier but for now we do have her out until 8 or later sometimes. Plus it helps us hang on to our normal selves if that makes sense. But as she gets older I do anticipate an earlier bedtime and sticking to it.

I also have friend who work long hours and have their son go to bed at 8:30, which is later than many but otherwise she just wouldn't get to see him. He is doing fine with that schedule and its understandably important to her to get an hour with him before he's asleep!

But yeah I've also see. Parents out way later than I think any kids should probably be out. I used to really judge that. Now I sometimes wonder what people are thinking about us.

Our older daughter also doesn't sleep before 10. We try so hard, but we could fight for hours or just let her body do its thing. I know it's hard not to judge other parents, but you just never know what the story is.

My LO goes to bed at 8:30 to 9. Even if she did go later, I'm not one to have her out and about at 9 or 10 at night unless we were on vacation somewhere or something.

I've noticed that a lot too when DH and I take a stroll at our outdoor mall. I think it may be more seasonal? Parents are more lax around here during the summer months, as Im sure we'll be a lil bit when DS is older.

Anyway, I'm in the sleep by 7pm camp now, so I get ya there

I'm always amazed at ADULTS who are out and about after 8pm, lol. I'm in my pajamas getting ready for bed myself!

G is in bed at 8, always has been & that's how it's always worked. Right now, P will not sleep before 10... I could lay with her & nurse her for hours, not happening. We aren't out shopping at that time though... Evenings are home, getting ready for bed time.

I just think some kids are more adaptable and able to stay up later. We've learned my son is not one of them. He goes to bed at 6:30/7 pm. So dang early! Sometimes I wish he could stay up later, so it doesn't feel like we need to be getting home so early. We've become those parents that make our plans around DS's bedtime. It just makes life easier for us. but I don't think just b/c a family is out late/not out late says anything about their parenting style or the kind of person they are (doing yoga, eating organic, etc.).

@blackbird: lmbo! me too!

I get more judgey when I see kids of school age out and about with their parents on school nights.....because working in education, there are always those kids who are so sleepy all day (on a regular basis) and when you talk to them about why, there are so many stories along the vein of "mom took us to her boyfriend's house last night and didnt take us home until their tv shows were over", or "dad took us to whatever-r-rated-action-movie is out last night and we got home at 11", or saddest....."mom works her second job until late at night and we have to stay at Aunts house, and her 5 kids are too loud for us to sleep or do homework." Yup...then I start getting judgey/concerned. It's different if its a one-off because of one bad night at home.....but parents who routinely have their kids out and about late when they still have to wake up at 6:30 for school are just cruel.

Kids tell all!

I don't really give it a second thought when i see super young babies. I'm more surprised when i see toddler aged kids. DH and i were leaving the mall at 11:30pm on Saturday and there was a toddler playing like it was no big deal.

Although i am surprised, not all babies are on the same schedule. Some of these parents may have different work schedules so their kids can sleep in until 8-9am, which means their bedtimes are probably much later.

@mediagirl: When your daughter is in bed at 6:30, mine is just winding up for the night. Lots of children don't enjoy an early bedtime, and it doesn't reflect poorly on their parents. My daughter is a short sleeping night owl, exactly like her father. Like others, we see no reason to try to fight her nature, and we go on with our lives in the evening.

I buy any old kind of food, I've never tried yoga, I use disposable nappies and formula feed - but bedtime is bedtime!!! We start the bedtime routine at 8pm and will move it earlier and earlier as she grows (she's currently 8.5 weeks). I therefore need to have LO at home, relaxed at 7.30 at the latest. I'm that kind of parent - whatever that is!!!

Yeah, some nights I'm one of *those* people, oh well!

We go with a relatively vague schedule, and naps and sleep happen around the same time most days. We'll adjust his sleep if we have a special event, but if he doesn't go down normally, I'm not going to have a war.

I'm also not going to break my neck living up to a strangers standards- my kid is loved, well fed, and as behaved as a toddler gets, beyond that people can judge away- he's not in school, so I see no problem with him being up late if he's not melting down or giving us tired signals.

I'm not a fan of labels, but if I have to have one I'd prefer easy going or goes with the flow.

DS doesn't go to bed until 8pm, and until he was 13ish months he didn't go to bed until 9pm. DH used to work until 7, get home at 7:30, eat dinner, if DS went to bed before 9pm, DH would never see him. DH work schedule changed and DS naturally upped his bed time an hour...which we are fine with.
Last night DH was going to go grocery shopping at 8pm with DD(7 weeks old), i told him no, because i didn't want people to look at him and think he was a bad parent, because i know people judge other parents who have their kids out late. i personally don't see an issue with kids out too late...my nephew doesn't go to bed till 10-11pm...whats the difference of him being up at home until then vs. going grocery shopping with his mom...which may be the only chance she gets?

I am a very,very schedule, rigid, schedule type-person. I am very busy and I just don't have the luxury of the 'shoot from the hip' type of lifestyle. So, our LO goes to bed at 8pm because that's how we sleep trained him and that what works for us. I def don't care what time another child sleeps or doesn't.
I do care when they are clearly overtired and WAILING in the restaurant at 9:15PM though. Then its like, "OK...ya'll need to leave and take your kid with ya"

Xander's in bed every day by 7:30! We're strict schedule people, but I'm of the mindset, if it's working, don't mess with it! I actually have no idea how he would do if we took him out past bedtime - he might be fine! But I'm too scared to try it, haha.

And he has to get up at 7:00 every day to go to daycare. Some people have different schedules, so maybe a 10:00 bedtime works for them because they don't have to be up and about for their day until later in the morning. Who knows!

Umm... we have a 7 week old that's nowhere near any kind of schedule, so we just kind of do whatever. Her biggest stretch of sleep tends to be from 1am-6am, so anytime prior to 1am, I'm find to be out and about and she just sleeps in her carseat/stroller/pack n play/someone's arms if she's not at home.

I see kids out really late (10/11p) all the time in our area. It seems really late to me but those kids aren't cranky or anything so I guess it works for them.

My son is 3 and he goes to bed between 9-9:30. Sometimes we'll take him to the supermarket down the street at 9 but nobody has ever given me the stink eye or anything. We used to be way more strict about his schedule when he was younger. But he'd be more than happy to stay up until 11 or 12 if we let him. So we just go with the flow. My DD is 14 months and she goes down at around 8:00. She'd be a cranky mess if we kept her up any longer.