What time should kids go to bed? There's no magic hour. What matters is total sleep time and consistency. 3-5 year olds need 10-13 hours. 6-12 year olds need 9-12 hours. The right bedtime allows enough sleep AND a natural waking.
The bedtime routine matters more than the time itself. A consistent 20-30 minute calming routine signals the brain to wind down. Same order, every night.
Night wakings: all children wake between sleep cycles (every 90 minutes). The difference between good and bad sleepers is whether they can fall back asleep independently. Teaching self-soothing means gradually reducing help, not disappearing.
Wake gently: abrupt alarms trigger stress. Use gradual light or open curtains 15 minutes before they need to get up.
Most useful thing I learned: if a child fights sleep, they're either overtired (cortisol keeps them wired) or under-tired (not enough activity). Fix those two things, and most sleep problems resolve themselves.