Melly
03-05-2009, 11:56 PM
I'm not a parent, but as a 16 year old I'd still like to give my input on teenage behavior. For one thing, my memory of what "being a teen" is like couldn't be sharper. For another, when my mom started getting teen psychology books (including Yes, Your Teen is Crazy), I ate them up like sugar cookies. My mom, on the other hand, hasn't completely finished a single one. So while this is a "parenting" forum, maybe an actual teen's perspective would be insightful.
Anyway, my mom went to one of Dr. Bradley's speaking events tonight, and came back with the knowledge that I, as a teen, should be getting 10 hours of sleep a night.
This is all well and good. I enjoy sleep immensely, and try to spend as much time on the weekends doing it. During the school week, however, 10 hours is impossible. My school starts at 7:30. My bus comes at 7. For 10 hours a night, I'd have to go to bed around 8:30, if not 8. For perspective, one of my extracurriculars goes from 6-9 two nights a week for 6 weeks, and I don't even get home until 9:30. I'd love to get 10 hours a night, but as it stands I consider myself lucky if I get 7 hours on a weeknight. Whenever there's a two-hour delay, the difference is amazing. Kids actually pay attention. It's like night and day. If our school started at 9, I think test scores would be up and everyone would be happier, including the administration. Unfortunately, I think Hell might freeze over before that happens.
Moral of the story: for most teens, 10 hours a night is an impossible dream. I've got friends who get around 8 a night, but almost no one makes it to 9 on a regular basis. I know it's a kind of weird thing to complain about, but one has to realize that saying we need 10 hours is not enough. Until schools start later, that's not going to happen.
I'm sorry for this kind of long rant (and yes, I realize I'm typing this at 12:30 when I should be asleep instead of finishing an essay or going on some random forum), but it seems to me that if you want to set a goal for your kid's sleeping patterns, it should at least be realistic.
On the positive note, I'd like to add that out of all the psychology books I've read, Dr. Bradley's was one of the best. It made me laugh, because a lot of what he described was exactly what was happening with me. The title was a little unsettling (I may be a hormone-raged adolescent whose brain is reconstructing itself, but honestly, I think on the whole I'm more sane/mature than some of the teachers at my school), but after that Dr. Bradley seemed to understand how the teenage mind works. Or, at least, that's how I remember feeling when I read it a few years ago. Maybe that's why I couldn't compute the 10-hour sleep thing, because I expect him to just understand so well that such a ridiculous idea as enough sleep seemed ludicrous.
Anyway, my mom went to one of Dr. Bradley's speaking events tonight, and came back with the knowledge that I, as a teen, should be getting 10 hours of sleep a night.
This is all well and good. I enjoy sleep immensely, and try to spend as much time on the weekends doing it. During the school week, however, 10 hours is impossible. My school starts at 7:30. My bus comes at 7. For 10 hours a night, I'd have to go to bed around 8:30, if not 8. For perspective, one of my extracurriculars goes from 6-9 two nights a week for 6 weeks, and I don't even get home until 9:30. I'd love to get 10 hours a night, but as it stands I consider myself lucky if I get 7 hours on a weeknight. Whenever there's a two-hour delay, the difference is amazing. Kids actually pay attention. It's like night and day. If our school started at 9, I think test scores would be up and everyone would be happier, including the administration. Unfortunately, I think Hell might freeze over before that happens.
Moral of the story: for most teens, 10 hours a night is an impossible dream. I've got friends who get around 8 a night, but almost no one makes it to 9 on a regular basis. I know it's a kind of weird thing to complain about, but one has to realize that saying we need 10 hours is not enough. Until schools start later, that's not going to happen.
I'm sorry for this kind of long rant (and yes, I realize I'm typing this at 12:30 when I should be asleep instead of finishing an essay or going on some random forum), but it seems to me that if you want to set a goal for your kid's sleeping patterns, it should at least be realistic.
On the positive note, I'd like to add that out of all the psychology books I've read, Dr. Bradley's was one of the best. It made me laugh, because a lot of what he described was exactly what was happening with me. The title was a little unsettling (I may be a hormone-raged adolescent whose brain is reconstructing itself, but honestly, I think on the whole I'm more sane/mature than some of the teachers at my school), but after that Dr. Bradley seemed to understand how the teenage mind works. Or, at least, that's how I remember feeling when I read it a few years ago. Maybe that's why I couldn't compute the 10-hour sleep thing, because I expect him to just understand so well that such a ridiculous idea as enough sleep seemed ludicrous.