Moms of 1st graders: when is bedtime?

[DawnM]

My boys have been going to bed at 10pm for the last couple of years. BUT, we have been homeschooling, so they didn't have to get up so early.

Next year we will all be going to school so bedtimes will change. Elem. school starts at 7:40am here so it is early. I want them to get enough sleep and I think we will start with a 9pm bedtime and see how it goes.

I think it depends on when your school starts, what time you need to leave to get there, etc...if our school started at 8:30 like other schools around the area I wouldn't worry about bedtime so much as they generally get up by 8am right now anyway.

And, for the record.....some high schoolers do need to get to bed earlier. My best friend's son is 16 and bedtime is still 8:30pm-9pm. He gets SO cranky if you let him stay up later. But that is their choice. They let him stay up until 10:30pm for a while and it was a bit of a disaster at school and home.

Dawn

 

[write2caro]

Both my children are still rather young 8 & 10 and both go to bed at 8:30. When they are older I don't know that they will be in the IB (AP, etc)programs. I just recently removed both of them from the gifted and talented school here because of the amount of work they were giving. They can get into really good schools with regular or Honors classes.

I know it's OT but just thought I'd mention I did the IB program and wouldn't trade that education for anything! I loved the whole experience though, and didn't feel over burdened by it, and still had plenty of time to be a kid. Maybe it's different now, though. I do know that this pgm gave me a big edge in college admissions, but I also know kids who pulled out of the pgm because they felt it was too much for them. I'm sure that if you watch and listen to your kids by the time IB is an option, they'll tell you (in words and in what you can observe yourself!) if it's right for them. I would keep an open mind about it though. JMHO from my personal experience.

Again yes, there are times that the rules need to be bent but for the most part, I think teenagers need just as much sleep as little ones. Their brains are growing also.

The needs of teens, ON AVERAGE, are about the same as adults, not as little children (or so sleep experts say, anyway!). Again, I'm below the avg, and left on her own, my sister would be WAY above for adults and this was true our whole lives. Everyone really is different, but here are AVERAGE numbers (most of these expert charts are pretty close to this one).


[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]How much sleep?[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Age,[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Hours needed[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]0-3 months,[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]15-17;[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]3-18 months,[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]13-15;[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]18 months to 3 years,[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]11-13;[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]4 to 12,[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]10;[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Teens,[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]8 1/2 to 9 1/2;[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Adults,[/FONT] [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]7-9.[/FONT]

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

Again, you put words into people's mouths. I never said that your dd was leading you around & you felt school was unimportant. Again I was making general comment which you felt was personal. I do not know your personal history. You also made a comment about ThreeMusketeers rigid &unrealistic bedtimes. She never said she was rigid about it & came back to say that she felt there were times that it should be flexible.
You also are making assumptions about applying for college & high school. The topic was not about that - it was about bedtimes for first graders. I replied to that as did threemusketeers. You took it to another level. We did not address high school & college.
I have 3 little ones. I do not think it would be unrealistic to expect them to go to bed at a reasonable time when they are teens. Again yes, there are times that the rules need to be bent but for the most part, I think teenagers need just as much sleep as little ones. Their brains are growing also. I wish your dd success in her achievements.

Thank you! Exactly what I was thinking. KIDS brains are not fully developed until they are around 21 years old. And most teens i know sleep an excessive amount b/c they have bodies that are changing and growing so much in those years. I think its imperative to teach your children that the proper amount of sleep is a neccesity for a healthy life. I love the way you think Benducci!!

 

[solferino]

Thank you! Exactly what I was thinking. KIDS brains are not fully developed until they are around 21 years old. And most teens i know sleep an excessive amount b/c they have bodies that are changing and growing so much in those years. I think its imperative to teach your children that the proper amount of sleep is a neccesity for a healthy life. I love the way you think Benducci!!

I agree with this based on a conversation I had with a parent of one of DD's classmates. (DD currently is a 2nd grader in a multi-grade class and the classmate I'm speaking of id 1st grade). Anyways, his dad is a high-school English teacher and was frustrated that their school day starts at 7AM, when their bodies aren't ready for learning at that time. He said that so many of his students are sleep deprived and it's discouraging to him because it's not conducive to a productive school day.

 

[Starr W.]

I agree with this based on a conversation I had with a parent of one of DD's classmates. (DD currently is a 2nd grader in a multi-grade class and the classmate I'm speaking of id 1st grade). Anyways, his dad is a high-school English teacher and was frustrated that their school day starts at 7AM, when their bodies aren't ready for learning at that time. He said that so many of his students are sleep deprived and it's discouraging to him because it's not conducive to a productive school day.

The Super. of our district would have liked to change the starting times of the schools so HS and JHS started later, which meant elementary started earlier based on the same reasoning as that HS teacher. I think the HS/JHS bus comes through our neighborhood at about 6:40 am.