Is 8 hours of sleep enough for an 11 year old?

[Anonymous]

My daughter's dance schedule just came out and on Tuesday, wed, and Thursday's she will need to be in the studio from about the time school gets out until 8:15. It takes 30 minutes to get home, then shower, so she won't be ready to start homework until 9pm at the earliest. If she gets to bed by 10:30 she will still be able to get 8 hours of sleep. She is starting middle school so I do predict she will be doing homework right up till 10:30.

[Anonymous]

No. We just had a physical and the doc was upset that DD gets only 9.5 hours. Seems like most of their physical and mental growth occurs while they're asleep. DD slept only 8 hours last school year and had a growth spurt over the summer when she added the extra 90 min a night.

[Anonymous]

New poster here. My DS starts middle school on Monday and found out yesterday that his AM bus will pick up at 6:40 AM for a 7:30 school start. His elementary school bus picked up at 9:00 AM for a 9:20 start. It's going to be a rough adjustment.

Also, kids that age are just hitting puberty. They need more sleep. Their internal clocks are set to stay up late and sleep later. The young elementary grades might be able to handle this schedule, but not tweens and teens.

[Anonymous]

Just to clarify, the 8 hours would only be for 3 days, unfortunately those 3 days are right in the middle of the school week

[Anonymous]

Dancing 3 days a week from after school until 815 seems crazy to me regardless of the amount of sleep she needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dancing 3 days a week from after school until 815 seems crazy to me regardless of the amount of sleep she needs.

I agree with this. If she's that good then she should be going to an arts private school which incorporates a balance between academics, art and sleep.

To answer your question directly, no I don not think that is enough sleep.

[Anonymous]

Can you do the homework en route to dance after school, or on the way home, or do it in the morning after breakfast?

[Anonymous]

No, we aimed for 10+ hours at that age. They are growing and still need a lot of sleep. Bedtime was 8:00, lights out by 8:30. Often they would be asleep shortly after 8:00 and one of mine around that age often went to bed early. They got up at 6:30.

[Anonymous]

The number of hours of sleep needed varies per kid and as previous posters mentioned, it often varies across time depending on growth spurts and the like. That said, I would definitely not let my 11 yo stay up til 10:30 3 nights in the middle of the week. One night, I would probably be ok with. See if there is another time that homework can be fit in (is she really dancing 4 hours straight, 3 nights per week? If there are breaks, homework could be fit in that way.)

Also, I have a dd who just finished middle school and one about to start 6th grade so we have been trying to recall what 6th grade was like to prepare. My recollection was that in 6th grade, my dd usually had tests at least 4 days per week, and often didn't hear about them til a day or two out. Also, my dd didn't do a ton of activities (a couple of hours after school a couple days a week) but was often up til 9:30 or sometimes later with homework/preparing for those exams. This will clearly depends on teachers and how fast your kid works, but I'd say you are setting her up for a very stressful year if she has such long days in the middle of the week. Can't something be moved to weekend?

[Anonymous]

My thought is to talk to the dance instructors. I would guess they have used this schedule before. They may have some advice.

I can't imagine how you can fit 5 hours of extracurricular activity into a day that already includes school and I am someone who would ENCOURAGE 3 hours.

You are right to be worried about sleep but when is she going to eat? At our MS 6th graders are done lunch at 11:30 am.

"Tuesday, wed, and Thursday's she will need to be in the studio from about the time school gets out until 8:15."

[Anonymous]

I have 2 dancing daughters but neither had 15 hours per week at that age unless some were on weekends or were just special practices leading into big events. Honestly, for a 6th grader to be dancing that much (presumably more as she ages) I would start looking at other education options. We have friends doing homeschool co-ops and online education. dont think of it as mom sitting at the kitchen table teaching chemistry!!

For now, you just have to do your best. What we do on late studio nights is eat dinner right after school with a "second dinner" after dance. I bring something in the car for them. We keep a backpack of school supplies to do homework during the short windows that sometimes happen between classes ( i'm very grateful my kids are in school that uses books rather than online homework because it makes things much more portable). Remind her that she needs to use any free time at school to plan for those late days. Any work she can do at school helps. It stinks to have to slip away from friends at lunch to go sit somewhere and do homework, but I reminded my kids and they chose a commitment to dance in that require sacrifices. Her school might even have an option where she can bring a lunch and skip the cafeteria entirely to do homework and eat in a lounge or something. Also help her develop long range skills to use her weekends and slower nights to work ahead as much as possible. Even things like making vocabulary flash cards in advance that she can review in the car will make test prep lighter.

Also, keep on top of dance gear and set it all out for the whole week on Monday. The focus on those evenings should be honework and bed, not running around looking for other things.

I'll try to think of more ideas!

[Anonymous]

What kind of dancing are we talking about? I would have serious concerns about the impact of that many hours of, say, ballet, on a growing body, nevermind the lost the sleep.

Come on, Mom, you know this isn't good or you wouldn't be asking the question.

[Anonymous]

Why are so many people surprised by this schedule? This is light for gymnasts.

[Anonymous]

I respectfully suggest that any gym or studio that suggests a schedule like this for your child does not have the child's developmental interests at heart. Their interest is in one thing only. So it is your job to create a healthy balance in your child's life.

[Anonymous]

I would say the gymnasts have more hours/days a week but I doubt they do any more than 5 hours on multiple individual days during the school week.

There is NO problem doing anything 15 hours a week, 2-3 hours a day. I could even go with 5 hours a day on Friday/Sat/Sun but I don't see how it fits in the middle of the school week.

"Why are so many people surprised by this schedule? This is light for gymnasts."