Ugh this seems impossible. My kids (1st and 2nd grade) have almost no homework and it's still a challenge to get them to bed when they need to (8:30) given that we pick them up at 5:30 or so and then need to make dinner, eat, play a tiny bit, take a bath every few days, and read before bed. When they have piano lessons or soccer practice or anything, that often means they get to bed a little late (like 9).

7th grade. She has dance classes that run late (with commute) twice a week and especially on those days, she has a hard time getting to sleep afterwards.

The kids need to learn to manage their time. If they can't do that, the activities have to go. One of mine is a jr, in a test in magnet and is a multi-sport varsity athlete. Other is a freshman in the same magnet, and is more of a theater kid (late rehearsals, a lot). Both get straight As (self motivated, I stay out of their schoolwork) get at least 9 hours of sleep. In bed by 10 pm, wake at 7 to leave by 7:20 (both shower at night). If they are tired, they go to bed earlier.

My high school students love their activities and both will do them into the evening. One sometimes has music rehearsal that goes until 9:45 and one has sports that run late on certain days. Of course, they go to bed later than they did when they were little.

But both go to bed between 10 and 11:30 most nights - it's not great sleep but it's not awful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a stickler for kids getting enough sleep. That said, my kid was in 2nd grade when she started getting to bed a little late on the nights she had sports practice.

This year, we moved one of those practices to the weekend, so that she now only has a slightly late bedtime on Thursdays--it feels a lot more manageable. Also, if she's slightly tired on Fridays, she can catch up on sleep over the weekend.

I have news for you, if you started sacrificing sleep in SECOND grade, you're definitely not a "stickler for kids getting sleep."

PP here. See bolded again. This was getting to bed 15-30 min later than normal, so not a huge difference from most nights.

Never.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a stickler for kids getting enough sleep. That said, my kid was in 2nd grade when she started getting to bed a little late on the nights she had sports practice.

This year, we moved one of those practices to the weekend, so that she now only has a slightly late bedtime on Thursdays--it feels a lot more manageable. Also, if she's slightly tired on Fridays, she can catch up on sleep over the weekend.

I have news for you, if you started sacrificing sleep in SECOND grade, you're definitely not a "stickler for kids getting sleep."

I'm a stickler for kids getting enough sleep. That said, my kid was in 2nd grade when she started getting to bed a little late on the nights she had sports practice.

This year, we moved one of those practices to the weekend, so that she now only has a slightly late bedtime on Thursdays--it feels a lot more manageable. Also, if she's slightly tired on Fridays, she can catch up on sleep over the weekend.

High school.

If a middle schooler can't get enough sleep and do activities, I'd be cutting back on their activities.

you should definitely not sacrifice sleep. It's setting them up for a lifetime of bad habits. How can any activity or even homework be worth their health?

My DS is short and will be short as an adult (genetics). He stopped his sport at the end of 7th grade and didn't do anything in 8th grade. He grew 4 inches that year because he got so much sleep. I will never again allow him to do so much that he isn't getting enough sleep. It isn't worth it. He will never be enough of an athlete, musician, etc to get the type of recognition that colleges want to see.

never. I have a 10th grader and 8th grader

Hmmm, I have a sixth grader and don’t see that happening soon. I was talking to a tenth grade mom who said her son is up til midnight doing work.

I think you have to work with them on prioritizing. We come home, homework/meal, leave out about an hour later and go to activities, then home and more homework or what ever else is needed. I stay on top of the homework so we don't have to make a choice. I prefer later activities to get the homework done. We are also in 5th. Its only going to get worse.

5th grade DD used to manage to get everything done before bedtime, but now with more homework and more activities (and some of them end quite late), it's hard to finish everything on time and she's starting to go to bed later and later. Getting a good night's sleep is priority but it's hard to get everything done on time.
Parents of older kids - at what grade did your kids start to cut back on sleep because of homework/activities?
And yes, we're trying to cut back on activities and work on being more efficient.
Thanks.