My teen boy sneaks out of the house and roams Bethesda with his friends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ordering food? Oh hell to the no. How is that getting paid for?

We allow her to spend up to $60 a week in food.

That’s crazy. Teach her how to make a few simple meals. She can get a job next summer and order food with her own money then.

My 15 yr old stays up too (as did her older brother) but if she's caught on her phone after midnight, it's taken away. You may want to look into cutting off your internet at midnight.

Many kids don't have the self-regulation to put the electronics down, so you may have to do it for her.

And is food being delivered to your house late at night? I'd cut that off after a certain time as well.

I don't consider myself a hard ass parent (at all! --really!) but I made my 15 year old twins get jobs last summer. They each made $3K which became their spending money for the year (plus they saved quite a bit).

This summer (age 16) they're on track to each make $4K. One makes $17/hour and the other averages $20/hour ($13 plus tips). Teen wages are ridiculous in this day and age

We still go on vacation, they spend a ton of time with friends, they sleep in (weekends).

15.5 year old this summer so far:

First two weeks: volunteered at library, studied for drivers test, finished summer English assignments, hung with friends

Next two weeks: Camp Counselor, studied for drivers test, started on Algebra II summer assignment, hung with friends

The next two weeks: at pre-college program on campus (has to put themselves to bed at a reasonable time because they have to wake themselves etc)

Three weeks after pre-college: studying and taking written drivers test, starting behind the wheel lessons, volunteer at library, finish Algebra II summer assignment and will have plans with friends

Last two weeks of summer: family vacation

I don’t give allowance. They get spending money for specific plans with friends (movie, bowling, mall etc). They do not have any food ordering apps including the Starbucks app. I would be very unhappy if they ordered take out at 1am while I was sleeping. We have food and snacks if they wake up and they’re hungry and they aren’t staying up until 5am. Phone plugs into my bedroom at bedtime (temptation is too great otherwise).

Walks not walls (above)

My kid took an accelerated online class and is getting volunteer hours done. Talks to friends via PlayStation, meets friends at pool, hangs with friends in person. Has some chores, walls the dog occasionally, in bed with phone with my phone downstairs by 10pm. Asleep around 11 or so, still sleeps till 10:30am, will go to camp the next few weeks and needs to get up at 7:30am then so will be going to be earlier then.
OP, the rest of the summer make rule that lights are out by midnight. Camp will help reset.
Have all tech away from dc by 10pm so they can sleep better.
Six hours is not enough.

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 18 and 16. Phones are hung up at midnight and they go to sleep. Sleep hygiene is so important.

I just don’t understand families where there are no rules around phone use, etc.

Same
Would you let your kid stare at the tv ALL day and carry it around with them too??

Anonymous wrote:$240/month allowance for takeout, no job, terrible sleep hygiene. Poor kid. She needs you to do better than this.

+10000
I’m hoping OP is trolling all of us appalled DCUM moms

15 yr old has an 11 pm curfew for electronics, so they are off & maybe read in bed a little. Up at 8 for work some days, so they need sleep.

Maybe with camp coming up, set a limit for electronics so that they aren’t tempted to stay up so late (& regret it in the am).

My 15 year old has a camp counselor job so she’s not staying as late as I think she normally would. Last summer it was 2-3am which was not healthy. She was sitting online and it made her depressed. She got sucked into eating disorder discords and the like. She had friends, but wasn’t necessarily online with them during that time, although ppl in these kinds of threads always claim that’s how kids socialize.

She does a little now but mostly in person and she’s soooo much healthier mentally

My 15 year old doesn't have a job and we don't insist on it (yet) but she IS generally productive with her days- violin lessons and practicing, runs and workouts to prepare for the high school cross country season, doing chores, some volunteering, and some babysitting.

Hell no would she be staying up until 5AM and sleeping in until noon, and getting $60 per week to spend on takeout food! WTF? You realize this is all within your control as a parent, right?

My 15 year old is doing health/PE, hanging out with friends, volunteering at a food bank, and learning to drive. He’s off his phone and computer around 12am or so on his own usually. Occasionally he might have a late night (there’s a girl he’s been talking to who works late so sometimes they text after she’s done with her shift) but that’s only once in a while.

Glad this post exists - our 15 year old has also been doing a lot of ounging and playing video games (but does have chores and spends his own money on stuff). We realized we were not on our game when friends told us their 15 year olds had jobs this summer (coaching soccer, restaurant and fast food jobs). We have 3 weeks to fill and it's looking bleak.
Anyone have ideas for good volunteer gigs? I like the idea of online courses or preparing for driving.

Parenting doesn't stop just because it is summer. Do you have other kids? Can you see how this is going to impact them?

No electronics after midnight- period. And food out with friends is one thing. We give our teen money to do something social (she gets $20 a week) but she is going to eat what is in our house unless the whole family eats out or orders in.