Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear the "all my friends" excuse too. Most nights, mine is in bed at 9:30 and asleep by 10:00 at the latest. She gets up at 7:15 a.m. I also think it is not enough sleep, but it is an all-out battle to get her to bed earlier than that.

private school? public middle schools around here all start at 7:30am.

lolol! no, all public middle schools do not start at that time. Mine starts at 845.

My 6th grader is usually in bed 815/830 but she reads until 915. This is the only time of day she reads so it is what it is. Light out at 915. If I had to guess she’s probably asleep between 930-945. She gets up at 7am with an alarm, she’s definitely asleep until the alarm goes off but doesn’t fight us about getting up and ready.

My 12YO is supposed to be in bed at 9:30 and lights out at 10. She's generally pretty close. She gets up at 7:15/7:20. Out the door at 8am for school which starts at 8:20. Seems about right because she gets up at the same time on weekends without an alarm. Funny enough when we sleep trained her when she was an infant we aimed for a wake-up around 7am and she's still sticking to the schedule.

Up at 5:45, usually asleep by 10:00, except on one day where she has an EC that runs late, and she's in bed by 10:45. Cannot wait for HS, where the start time is a whole 40 minutes later.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is allowed to stay up later than 9:00 pm. I think 9:00 is really early for a middle schooler.

This. Honestly, the idea of a "bedtime" for a teenager is odd to me. Mine has to get up a bit before 6am and gets to sleep when he can after activities and homework and, yes, sometimes just wasting time if he has caught up on sleep over the weekend.

It is. I tell my 14 yo good night when I go to bed and then assume he goes to sleep at some point. If not, oh well, he’ll be tired the next day. He’s usually asleep between 9:30 and 10 from what he tells me but he really doesn’t have a “bedtime”.

how can you feel good about this? bc he's 14 he no longer needs parenting? ugh, this is what's wrong with this generation -- shitty parents.

Huh. NP. So my 14 year old kid gets up at 630am to be out the door by about 720am. He walks to school. Our practice is the phone goes away at 9pm (both turns off and needs to be charging downstairs) and he's expected to be in his room doing something quietly. Sometimes that's sleeping. Sometimes he's not tired and he reads a book. Sometime he re-organizes his closet or just messes around in his room. Whatever just be quiet.

I don't think a 14 year old needs a strict lights out bed time like a little kid needs and in fact, I think that's weird. Do you want someone turning out the light and making you lay there if you're not tired yet? At what age does the kid get any agency?

My FCPS kid has to leave for the bus at 6:45. He gets up at 6 and has to be in bed at 9:45. It's not enough sleep, but his baseball practices often go til 9. It's easy to say "just don't do it", but if he misses practices, he doesn't play on the weekend.

The real issue is having bus pickups at 6:45 for 12-14 year olds. Their natural sleep rhythms really don't allow for this. Glad it's only 2 years, but it's a pivotal 2 years in terms of growth.

The parents with athletes who are letting them get less sleep are foolish. Studies show the more sleep a kid gets, the bigger and better their potential is in success at their sport. You are stifling their physical and mental growth capacity by shortchanging their sleep during these critical years.
We protect our teens' sleep at all costs: no late dinners, parties, games/practices, certainly no socializing/being on the phone late. If your kid truly prioritizes the sport they love, they should have the sense (or parents who educate them) about how critical sleep is (among other things like nutrition).

About 8 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less. They sleep when they’re tired, no bedtime since they were 6, always up by sunrise 🙄.

Anonymous wrote:Why are kids up at 6/6:30? When do they leave for school?


Mine is up at a soft 7 for breakfast and out the door 7:30.

Our middle school starts at 7:30 (ridiculous IMO but seems to be common). High school starts at a more sensible 8:30.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is allowed to stay up later than 9:00 pm. I think 9:00 is really early for a middle schooler.

This. Honestly, the idea of a "bedtime" for a teenager is odd to me. Mine has to get up a bit before 6am and gets to sleep when he can after activities and homework and, yes, sometimes just wasting time if he has caught up on sleep over the weekend.

It is. I tell my 14 yo good night when I go to bed and then assume he goes to sleep at some point. If not, oh well, he’ll be tired the next day. He’s usually asleep between 9:30 and 10 from what he tells me but he really doesn’t have a “bedtime”.

how can you feel good about this? bc he's 14 he no longer needs parenting? ugh, this is what's wrong with this generation -- shitty parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is allowed to stay up later than 9:00 pm. I think 9:00 is really early for a middle schooler.

This. Honestly, the idea of a "bedtime" for a teenager is odd to me. Mine has to get up a bit before 6am and gets to sleep when he can after activities and homework and, yes, sometimes just wasting time if he has caught up on sleep over the weekend.

I have posted a few times on this thread about my 13 yo's bedtime. It's self-imposed. It's not an order. But why would it matter if it was? Some families work better setting a boundary for sleeping-- you might set one for something else. Live and let live.

Anonymous wrote:Why are kids up at 6/6:30? When do they leave for school?


Mine is up at a soft 7 for breakfast and out the door 7:30.

FCPS middles start at 7:30. my kid's bus picks up at 6:30, so she's up at 5:45. it's hell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:9 seems insanely early. My 7th grader doesn't get home from practice or games until about 10-10:15 many nights a week, and then has to eat, shower, wind down and go to sleep. Tough to get to sleep before 11. They leave for school at 7:30.

that's insane. you need to dial back the practices. super unhealthy and unsustainable. we don't allow our kids to participate in any practices that end later than 8pm. their health and growth potential is far more important than them attending a late practice in a sport. parents really need to get their priorities straight!

Well if I did that then the kid wouldn't play the sport they love. They don't complain about it, and I have a hard time stayed awake until they get home or picking them up that late, but this particular kid has never needed much sleep. Doesn't sleep in on weekends or days off when they are able to, never even napped until they were almost 1. Just doesn't need a lot of sleep. Up before me without an alarm at 6:45 this morning.

biggest cop-out response ever. grow up and parent your kid. do not allow a dumbass coach who has 13 year olds at practice until 10pm dictate your life. coaches like that should be fired and banned from coaching. but you're responsible for allowing your kid to participate.

Most of the time the schedule is based on when facilities are available, not just a coach’s preference.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear the "all my friends" excuse too. Most nights, mine is in bed at 9:30 and asleep by 10:00 at the latest. She gets up at 7:15 a.m. I also think it is not enough sleep, but it is an all-out battle to get her to bed earlier than that.

private school? public middle schools around here all start at 7:30am.

What a weird comment. The largest middle schools in DC all start will after 8am.

+1. All the Loudoun ones are 8:30+ as well. My LCPS middle schooler sleeps about 10pm-7am, so 9 hours. I wish it was more but she can’t sleep and stays up reading.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear the "all my friends" excuse too. Most nights, mine is in bed at 9:30 and asleep by 10:00 at the latest. She gets up at 7:15 a.m. I also think it is not enough sleep, but it is an all-out battle to get her to bed earlier than that.

private school? public middle schools around here all start at 7:30am.

What a weird comment. The largest middle schools in DC all start will after 8am.