What time should I put my baby to bed?

This is such a controversial subject in the baby sleep world. I can almost guarantee that you've read somewhere that 7pm is the 'perfect' time for your baby to go to bed. However, what if I told you that most babies sleep for 10 or 11 hours a night, rather than 12? What would that mean for that 7pm bedtime? Well it could potentially mean a 5am start.

All too often I will speak to Mums who tell me they put their baby to bed before 7pm because they're worried about overtiredness. They're worried that their baby simply will get to a point of no return with their sleep and that they will just end up almost being too tired to fall asleep. I can assure you, that this won't happen. A baby might become tired.. yes absolutely. They might become grumpy. But they will still sleep.

In fact, what I see all too often, is parent sputting their babies down to bed fair earlier than they should and then battling for the best part of an hour to get them to sleep. They often mistake this for overtiredness. When in fact, a baby who isn't tired enough to fall asleep is going to fight it. We can't force a baby to go to sleep when they're not ready.

So what time should you put your baby to bed? Well it all depends on your baby's sleep needs. Those who have babies at the lower end of the sleep needs scale will probably need to put them to bed slightly later - 8pm or after. Firstly, work out how much sleep your baby needs. Are they on the lower end or higher end? Then you can work naps and bedtimes around that.

So, in short, of most the babies I tend to see, I would generally recommend to the parents that they put them to bed at 8pm. But sometimes it's even later. It's rarely 7pm.