Good point there BB I wouldn't be able to sleep!

You don't have to put them in bed either way, unless you purposely enjoy tucking them in. As soon as you go to the menu or quit the game, the actions your little peeps were performing are canceled out.

For instance, if you want one family to sit down to a meal and then check on the other family mid-meal, you'll come back seeing your peeps walking around hungry. It's almost as if they're thinking "Okay, it's safe he/she's not watching us anymore!" and do whatever they please.