How long do your LO's play before bedtime?

[UNCMomma]

I would love to hear how long other LO's are playing/talking/chatting in their beds before they fall asleep at night.  My 18 month old does this every night for about an hour, which made me think maybe I was putting her down too early or letting her nap too late in the afternoon, but after experimenting a little, it seems that she does this no matter what time she goes to bed!  It's fine and I have no problem with it if this is the down time she needs, but I'm just curious about other babies b/c my first child never talked more than 15 min before falling asleep at night.

Also, how long are your A times before bedtime?

Thanks!! 

[Mum-of-Two]

Mine is about the same as yours -- it does vary if she is very tired or if it is dark out when she goes to sleep, in both of those cases she settles faster.  Otherwise she will take up to an hour.  Sometimes, she is so busy playing in her crib I think I put her down too soon too and wonder if she's going to go to sleep at all -- but typically within 10 minutes of my having the "maybe I should just get her up" thought she's asleep.  I find now that she's getting older I can sometimes ask her to lay down, sometimes in a friendly voice, sometimes in a soft but stern voice and she'll do it.

[LeesMom]

She usually falls asleep really quickly at bedtime and rarely talks or plays beforehand, as far as I know. She goes to bed about 5 to 5.5 hours after waking from nap, but is almost always really active outside in the afternoons since it's summer here. Naps can be another story... sometimes she talks and plays in there (happily) for up to an hour, but the average has been 10-15 min. or so. Right now she's in a phase of going to sleep right away at naps.

[TDR'smom]

My ds is a little older however, he can play up to an hour before falling asleep.  Other times he is asleep within 5 minutes.

[momofclaire]

Claire is 20 months and I don't think she plays that long. Sometimes I hear her talking to her baby and puppy as I am leaving the room but never for more than 3 minutes.
She is awake about 5-6 hours after her nap before bed.

[janelle]

My ds is nearly 18 months and he is asleep within 5-10 mins of being in bed.  His awake time before bed is 4.5 hours.  All this said, he is a terrible napper and only naps for 1.5 hours during the day and is up at the crack of dawn so by 6:30pm he is absolutely exhausted and ready to drop off straight away!!

[UNCMomma]

Thank you so much for all your responses!! 

I can't figure out if I need to lengthen her last A time or just keep doing what we're doing.  There's no real problems now, and I hate to create any, KWIM??  But I also feel terrible putting her to bed IF she's not ready. 

Like I said, not a huge problem but I was just curious, thank you!   

[Mum-of-Two]

I have thought the same and find it is a fine line between not tired enough and over tired.  Personally, I don't mess with it -- each day is different, some days she is more tired than others.  If she has a really really busy day its typically two days later that she sleeps better for it, or as I say "makes up for it".  Good question though, I sometimes wonder how other LOs are doing too.