I totally agree with this! http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/13/get-some-sleep-school-start-times/
If you think about the growth patterns of kids, you'll notice that the teenage years and the toddler years are the times of the most rapid development. Puberty takes as much out of a kid as learning all the skills a child learns in the first 5 years. So it makes perfect sense that a teen needs more sleep. My dd is almost 11, but hit full puberty at 8. She is very restless until about midnite or 1 am. Now I know why! I think I'll have to quit nagging her every night about her bedtime.
I agree as well. I shudder for the kids on our bus route- the bus picks them up by 6:30 The idea that they don't want little kids standing in the dark is ridiculous. My kids had to be on the bus for 7:30 and in mid winter, guess what? the sun wasn't up yet and the temps were close to ZERO. My poor dd was always bringing out a blanket to wrap around herself, or climbing into my coat with me, crying because she was so cold. (didn't help that our bus is always early or late, so we'd be standing out there for a good 20mins some days). It was one of the things I was happiest to give up when we started homeschooling. Back to the article, though. I do think there is an issue between the amount of sleep kids need, sports practices, and the amount of homework they are given. I remember being up until 10:30 or so doing homework, and I never had sports practices. How are teens supposed to do it all AND get enough rest?
There is a local school district in a wealthy community that saw these studies and changed their school start times. The high school doesn't start classes until 8 am which is pretty late compared to other local districts. They were rated "Excellent with Distinction" so I guess it isn't hurting them.
We PS last year and the bus picked up at 6:15, drove around picking up kids til school started at 7:45. They woke up at 4:30 so they could 'primp and fluff' before school. My teens slept on the bus to and from school almost every day! This year they are HS. They LOVE getting up at 7am, eating and starting school in PJ's by 7:30. I send them to bed at 9:30, but I know they don't get to sleep til around 11. But they are getting more sleep now.
I don't! You put the start time for school later (like they actually did here!) and it makes NO DIFFERENCE! Why? The teens figure that, since school starts an hour later, they can stay up an hour later. Still coming to school late, still missing class, still sleeping in class.... Until parents chose to BE PARENTS and tell their kids to go to bed, it won't matter!
I have something else to add though.... The majority of many teens days are spent sitting. Sitting in class sitting in front of a tv. I started making my dd (14) exercise for 1 hour each morning. All of a sudden she is ready for bed at 8:30. She is happy to be going to bed. Teens do need sleep, but they also need strenuous activity. The majority of American teens do not get much strenuous activity, and it makes me wonder if that can skew their sleep cycles.
My teens are phsysically moving around pretty much all day. We limit computer/tv time to 1 hour a day each for pleasure. They are always helping me, playing soccer, playing with the little kids, and I also make them do 45 minutes of "p.e." a day! Yet they still don't go to sleep until 11:00 or so. I've started becoming more leniant with them about waking up early, I figure wether they get their studies done at 8 am or 8pm its still getting done!
With my teens I have found some of their best brain storming idea's come after dinner when we are all sitting around the table. We tend to have later bedtimes and start school later. That being said everyone is in bed between 9 - 11 pm, with the preteen and 13 yr old at 9 and the older teens between 10 -11. Everyone is up for the day by 8 am. During the day is when we run off energy, get dog training done, yard picked up, etc. We tend to do art, sewing, and baking during the afternoon and science, math and "non-fun" schooling after dinner.
