My tweens are already daydreaming about being able to sleep-in during their summer vacation.
This, of course, led to a discussion over how late they’d be able to stay up once school is finished.
“I think we should be able to stay up until at least 11:00,” Andie emphatically told me.
I stared at her. “Are you kidding me?” I said. “I wasn’t even allowed to go to bed that late in high school!”
“Well, at least 10,” she mumbled.
“The thing is, I don’t want you getting too far off of your school schedule unless there’s something special going on,” I said. “When school starts again, it’s just too hard to get back in the swing of things.”
Though this was followed by the typical adolescent plea for sympathy — “But all my friends get to stay up late, even during school!” — the conversation made me wonder how other parents handle the summer vacation sleep schedule. For real, I mean, not just the perception/claims of my sixth grader.
Assuming they don’t have anywhere to be in the morning, do you let your kids stay up later than normal during the summer? If so, how much longer? Does it depend on their age? (For instance, I would never let Logan and Cody stay up very late because they are still at the age where they almost never sleep in, no matter how late they get to bed.)
Thoughts and comments welcome!
I didn’t put bedtimes on my kids much during the summer…I was a light sleeper as a kid, so I kind of empathized with them…If you can’t sleep, you can’t sleep…that said, you know your kids best…and sometimes, the issue needs to be forced a bit.
I have to say my tween’s bedtime is pretty lax. Probably because she rooms with an almost 17 yr. old. So, your girls are probably referring to her. (sorry)
School nights, I push Kate to go to bed by 9:00-9:30; but she doesn’t have to be up till 7:00. (9-10 hrs of sleep)
Summer? Hoping to shoot for 10; but we are out a lot at night; ballgames, etc. So, 11 or later isn’t unheard of. But, you got me thinking…They sleep in a little too late in the summer; so i may crack down on them. I want them all up and ready for the day by 9:00; so their schedules may change. Thanks for the “heads-up”. Also, want to implement a no TV, no computer summer too. Gotta get on that, cuz, summer is coming!! Yeah!!
My kids are 10 and 12. I am still pretty strict with the bedtimes for a couple of reasons: I am a single parent and I run out of patience (lol!) and also they feel better when they get good sleep. They go to camp for half day mornings in the summer and I work from home so we all need to be awake and dressed so I can get them to camp. I am thinking though that they can stay up later if they are behaving–maybe to read or watch a show. We will see how that works out. I think they will still be in bed by 9:30.
Lisa
http://www.singleparentsavings.wordpress.com