Now I know parenting is diverse.
I've met parents who keep their 2yo up until they go to bed themselves (around 11pm) because they can't get her to stay in bed. I know parents who keep their 10yo up until 10pm or 11pm (he struggles at school and they can't imagine why). In fact I've met all manner of parents with varying bedtimes and yet I've met very few parents who actually put their children to sleep at reasonable hours.
If I drew up a bedtime chart it would look VERY different to the one above.
From ages 2 - 5 (including first year schoolies) a good and reasonable bedtime is around 6 - 6:30pm because they're young and NEED plenty of sleep to grow physically and mentally. Their immune systems need time to grow and strengthen and their brains needs lots of sleep to process and learn the many things they'll need to know as adults. They're also really full on at this age and mums and dads NEED this early bedtime so they can have serious wind down from their mini hurricanes.
From ages 6 - 10 a reasonable bedtime is around 7:30pm because they still have so much learning to do. We absorb and process all the information we see during the day while we sleep. The more sleep a child gets the more they absorb and process which is why children who get more sleep tend to be smarter than those who stay up late.
A reasonable bedtime for young teens is 8:30pm (and TV tells us this by starting MA15+ shows at this time).
A reasonable bedtime for mid teens is to 9-9:30pm and older teens up to 10:30pm. Keep in mind that even though teens are almost adults they still need to process all they've learned during the day. They have exams and tests and reports and projects to learn and understand, with information to absorb and remember. They will achieve this best by having a good night's sleep. They might also play sports and need to practice and improve and they need sleep to help their bodies recover and their minds to grapple the details of the game.
There is no way I'd let an 8yo stay up until 9pm! They'd be ratty the next day and they'd struggle at school. Not to mention I'd struggle having to deal with them during my quiet, wind down, adult time. No thanks! At most we might do a movie night on a Friday night which gives my children a full weekend to recover from a late night. Keep in mind we usually feel the effects of late nights the second day after, not the first day after, so they have Sunday to recover as well.
Do you agree? Do my bedtimes seem unnaturally early to you? What time do your children go to bed?
No comments:
Post a Comment