A typical Spanish family weekday from school run to bedtime

Key rules

• Lunch: Lunch at 14:00-15:00 is the main meal of the day.
• Dinner: Children's dinner is late, but a light one earlier in the evening is what paediatric advice favours.
• Bedtime: Bedtimes run later than in many countries, so check your child still gets enough total sleep.
• School canteen: School lunch is earlier than family lunch, so the two meals can differ.

The short version

A Spanish family day runs later than in much of Europe. Lunch is the main meal, at 14:00-15:00. Dinner is light but late, and children go to bed later than you may expect. The timeline below lays out the day step by step, and the planner helps you build your own.

Morning: breakfast and school

Children usually eat breakfast at home between 7:00 and 8:30, then head to school. Typical foods are milk (often with cocoa powder), cereals, tostadas with olive oil, tomato, jam or butter, and galletas. Some children skip breakfast or eat very little.

Mid-morning, children have a small snack at school break, called almuerzo or a bocadillo (a sandwich). It is a short top-up, not a meal.

Midday: lunch is the main meal

Families with children usually have lunch (la comida) between 14:00 and 15:00. It is the biggest meal of the day. Weekends and holidays can stretch to 15:30.

School canteens serve lunch earlier. Expect about 12:00-13:00 in infantil and about 12:30-14:00 in primaria. Your child may eat at school and then have a second, lighter eat-up at home or a family lunch on days off.

Afternoon: merienda

Merienda is the afternoon snack, taken once a day between 16:30 and 18:00. It bridges the long gap between lunch and dinner. Fruit, a small sandwich or yoghurt are healthier choices than sweets.

Evening: late dinner

Spanish children typically eat dinner on weekdays between 20:30 and 21:30. Doctors who specialise in children's health favour a light dinner around 20:00 to 20:30, lighter than lunch and at least an hour or two before bed.

Many parents work a jornada partida, a split shift with a long lunch break. They get home around 19:00-20:00, so grandparents, activities or paid carers often do school pickups, and the evening is short. With a jornada continua, parents finish earlier, collect children sooner and can eat lunch together.

Bedtime

School-age children typically go to bed between 21:30 and 22:30 on school nights. It is later still at weekends and in summer. Older primary children and families in the south tend to go later.

Many children sleep less than recommended. Aim for these totals over 24 hours, including naps:

• Ages 1-2: 11-14 hours
• Ages 3-5: 10-13 hours
• Ages 6-12: 9-12 hours
• Ages 13-18: 8-10 hours

If your child has to be up for school at 7:30, a bedtime at the late end of the range cuts sleep short. Count back from the wake-up time.

Regional differences

Routines differ by region. Meals and bedtimes tend to be later in the south, Madrid and Valencia. In the north, including Catalonia, Navarra and the Basque Country, lunch and dinner are often 30-60 minutes earlier. Summer heat pushes the day later in the south. School hours, including jornada continua, also vary, so ask your child's school for its timetable.

Timeline and deadlines

A typical weekday, hour by hour

• Eat breakfast and do the school run: in the morning, before school starts

• Serve dinner, ideally light: between about 20:30 and 21:30 is typical; paediatric advice favours around 20:00 to 20:30

• Check total sleep against the usual ranges: 11-14 hours for ages 1-2, 10-13 hours for ages 3-5, 9-12 hours for ages 6-12, 8-10 hours for teenagers: over each 24 hours, naps included for the youngest

Plan a family weekday on Spanish time

Start with the school's schedule

Your day depends on one question: does the school run jornada partida or jornada continua? Ask the school, because each region and school council sets this. Primary schools in many regions use jornada continua, and many schools switch to it in June and September.

• Jornada partida: classes start between 8:30 and 9:00, with a lunch break of about two hours, and end around 16:00-17:00.
• Jornada continua: classes run from about 9:00 to 14:00, and the canteen follows.

A weekday with jornada partida

• 7:30-8:30: Breakfast and the school run. Many schools offer early drop-off (aula matinal) from about 7:30 if you start work early.
• 12:00-14:00: Lunch at the school canteen. Infantil usually eats around 12:00-13:00 and primaria around 12:30-14:00, so your child has eaten long before the family's usual lunchtime.
• 16:00-17:00: Pick-up.
• Between 16:30 and 18:00: Merienda, once a day. A sandwich, fruit or yoghurt on the way home or at the park works well. Because the school lunch comes early, this snack matters.
• 16:30-19:00: Activities. Sports, music and language classes usually start between about 16:30 and 18:30 and last 45 to 60 minutes. Put homework before or after.
• 20:00 to 20:30: A light dinner, which is what paediatric advice favours. Many Spanish children eat between 20:30 and 21:30, so you can drift later without it being unusual.
• Bath and wind-down: Aim to finish dinner an hour or two before bed.
• Between 21:30 and 22:30: Bedtime for school-age children. Younger primary children usually sit at the earlier end, and older ones, or families in the south, at the later end.

A weekday with jornada continua

• Morning: Same start as above, with the school day running to about 14:00.
• 14:00-15:00: Family lunch at home, or the canteen if your child stays. Home lunch is the most common slot for families with children.
• After lunch: Many schools run activities straight after the meal. Others start around 17:00 after merienda.
• Between 16:30 and 18:00: Merienda, then park time or homework.
• Evening: Dinner and bedtime follow the same pattern as above.

Making it work

• Work backwards from bedtime. Choose the bedtime first, then set dinner an hour or two before it, then place merienda and activities earlier in the afternoon.
• Keep dinner light. A big lunch plus a snack means dinner can be small.
• Weekends run later. Lunch, dinner and bedtime all shift later on weekends and in summer, so expect a reset on Sunday evening.
• Check the school calendar. Schedules change in June and September, and your afternoon plan will change with them.

Quick answers on children, bedtimes and meals

Is it normal for young children to be out at 10 pm in Spain?

Yes, it is common for young children to be out at 22:00 or later in summer, at fiestas and on café terraces. It is most usual in the south and east and at weekends. On school nights in winter it is less common.

Do toddlers in Spain still take a nap, and until what age?

Yes, most toddlers in Spain still nap after lunch, usually once for 1 to 3 hours, until about age 3 and often to 4 or 5. Escuelas infantiles (nurseries for ages 0 to 3) schedule a nap after lunch. The siesta is normally dropped in the second cycle of infantil, ages 3 to 6, though some classes keep it for the first year or two.

Should my child eat a lighter dinner than lunch?

Yes, paediatric advice is for a lighter dinner than lunch, with a healthy merienda in the afternoon to bridge the gap. That helps when the family eats late, and it leaves at least an hour or two before bed.