What time is lights out?

Very tough. They are meant to stay up late and sleep in at that age. i don’t understand why schools don’t adjust their hours accordingly. No teen aged student is alert in class.

Well, for weekends my parents set a curfew that increased to midnight by the time I was a senior in high school (with the exception of some oddball things that went until past midnight).

Weekdays I generally just didn’t go out, but if I did, it was the same as the weekend time.

As for turning out the lights, there was no real set time when I was older. When I was younger, my bedtime was 8, then it was 9, then it was 9:30, then it was 10 (increased over the period of several years). When I was older, my parents pretty much always went to bed at 10 so I stayed up until whenever, but I usually went to bed from 10–12 (preferably earlier because I had to get up for school to start at 8). On occasion I would go to bed earlier if I was really tired.

Now in college I’ve been going to bed around 11:30–1:30 and waking up at 9–10 (on days without my 9:00 class. With the class I wake up at 8:30. Works for me. But man, this weekend I went to bed at 12:00 and woke up at 11:30. 11½ hours of sleep…jeez…

@pdworkin I know, eh?! They used to start an hour earlier – this year pushing it forward to 8:30.

I set my own bedtime, I get up at 6 in the morning to get ready and go to school but I go to sleep at 8 PM to 10 PM everyone thinks I’m crazy for going to sleep that early but… oh well, I have a good night’s sleep every day

I go to bed 11 or 12 ish

@applesaucemanny Your body will thank you when you’re older.

During the school year I’m in bed my 1am. On MW my day starts at 8am and I wake up at 6:30am. On TTH my classes start at noon and I wake up by 1030am.
However, during midterms and finals my bed time is closer to 3 or 4am. =\
During summer and over holiday breaks, it’s a complete mess. To bed when I’m tired, awake whenever I want.

@Zen thanks for letting me know :) now this is something I’d have to tell people

@applesaucemanny I can’t sleep for more than two hours straight, and for more than 4–5 hours total. It doesn’t affect me during the day, but I am very tired by early evening – so I am not really “in sync” with most of the world. I also know that thisis taking a toll on my body and health – but I can’t seem to change it.

I guess I was a nazi. In bed by 9 when they were in primary school. By 10 when in High School.

@Zen hmm and how much did you sleep when you were a kid?

@pdworkin, @Zen The students at my high school waged a campaign to get out start time made later, using the data on the natural teenage metabolism as support for our argument. We were told that the reason for the early start was in order to allow enough time for after-school sports. Guess sports matter more than academics :P

@filmfann Bet you read comics under the covers with a flashlight?

My sophmore has tv and pc off at 9 and lights out at 9:30. The school bus comes at 6:35 so it’s up and getting dressed by 10 til 6…..Some nights he gets an earlier time with lights out, but only after wrestling practice is followed by cutting grass…...
In elementary school, both boys had lights out at 8:30….they still had to get up early to go to daycare.

@wildpotato I think it’s cuz the whole system (parents, teachers, coaches, after school activities, bus drivers and rides et al) are in tune for the 8–4 day more or less.

These days for me, I’m in bed by midnight (give or take 30 minutes), out of bed by 9am (give or take 30 minutes). I’ve got from that point until 10:20 to shower and eat (A process that takes 40 minutes, 25 if I’m really in a hurry).

When I was 15, I was lucky enough to attend a charter high school that started very late compared to the regular high school. I think the first period began at 9, so I had to be up by a bit before 8.
I didn’t have a real “lights out” or “bedtime” in high school (I did in elementary and middle. My parents gave up after 8th grade trying to get me to go to sleep), but I typically went to bed around midnight those years.
(For 10th grade, when I was 14, I remember having to be up by 6am. I don’t recall specifically, but I probably went to bed by 11)

@pdworkin No teen aged student is alert in class.
I was, 95% of the time. Then again, I’m a weirdo who loved learning.

I can’t remember ever having a bedtime as a teen. I know I did in elementary and middle school. But, in high school I would go to bed when I was tired…and I knew staying up meant being exhausted the next day, so I would go to bed at a decent time.
My parents weren’t too strict.

@casheroo My parents were also not strict about my bedtime once I got older.
Once I was in high school, it was assumed that I could go to bed whenever I wanted. I was expected to get a full night’s sleep, and to understand why I need that. after a couple of days in school where I nearly fell asleep in every class, I understood that I need to manage my schedule better. however, my family did not have normal sleeping habits; on the weekends, my father was almost always up after me. Not because I got up early, in fact, I slept in quite a bit, he just slept later.
Once I got to college, however, the control over my class schedule made me very happy, and I picked classes that started late so that I could sleep in.

My curfew was always midnight during school nights which I was fine with because I had sports and later I worked f/t while finishing school so I was more than ready for sleep.

I never had a curfew… then again I never went any where…

Nowadays I have no set schedule, so I go to sleep whenever, which isn’t healthy. Ideally, I’d like to be in asleep by ten every night.

I’m the bedtime control freak. My kids are still young, and the boys in particular are worn out by the time we finish dinner. They are 6 and 4, and they go to bed between 7 and 7:30 most nights. On weekends they might get to stay up until 8:00 only if they’ve truly earned it! They’ll sleep until 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning, wake up at full speed, and don’t slow down until their heads hit the pillow again. Just watching them makes me tired!

My ten year old daughter has to be outside waiting for the bus at 7:25 in the morning. She goes to bed when her brothers do, but is allowed to read until 8:30. She’s supposed to turn off the light and go right to sleep, but by the time she uses the bathroom, comes out to tell me about something she read, fixes her sheets, and procrastinates in general, it’s close to 9:00. She gets up at 6:00, which totally baffles me. She used to set her alarm for 6:30, but lately decided she needed more time. I don’t know why, because she showers at night and doesn’t take long to get ready for school. I think she likes having the TV and computer all to herself in the morning, and she’s lately been cooking her own breakfast, making herself some tea, etc. If she’s the only one up, no one can tell her not to put too much sugar in her tea or not to pour honey all over her already-sweetened Cream of Wheat. :)

Looks like your 10 year old is becoming a woman. I am a male and I started being independent at age 10. I still do most everything myself

@Sarcasm you are a weirdo. Not cause you loved learning(i did too) but cause you were awake. :P

DSPS is a bitch.

@steelerspilot “Looks like your 10 year old is becoming a woman.” That is the single scariest thing I have ever heard. Ever. I wish she was still two! :(

I’m in bed before 10pm most nights. Sometimes I push it to 11. But of the 8 hours I’m physically in bed, I probably sleep about 6 hours. I’m a bad sleeper.

As a teen I never had a bedtime, or a curfew, or parents who cared if I came home or not. Sometimes I went to sleep at 8pm sometimes not at all.

At 15, I think a lot of sleep is good for the body and the mind. It would be hard to enforce at bedtime though. Maybe just encourage your son to get sleep. Remind him at 10pm that it’s getting late. Tell him sleep will make him a strapping young boy. I have no idea where that came from.

Wow. When I was in high school I had a 6:15AM rehearsal twice a week. And I walked to school in the snow. My hair would freeze if I was running late and didn’t have time to dry it.

Kids these days. Humbug!

In high school, I kept my own hours, mostly deciding for myself what time would be a wise choice, though I certainly didn’t get as much sleep as I should have sometimes. Now in college, and not a teenager, I have kept doing the same thing, and my sleep schedule is pretty out of wack. I wouldn’t try to impose a “lights out” time for someone who’s 15, though; I feel like that’s old enough for them to be able to manage for themselves. Suggestion is never out of the question for sure, though.

@wildpotato – So, they should switch the sports to before school. My daughter has cross country, track and tennis at o’God thirty every morning. With the heat we have down here in Southern Texas, early morning is the best time to get out and exercise.

In reference to bedtime at our house, with two teens in residence (ages 15 and 17), on school nights everyone should be home and in night clothes by 10 pm. We are fairly successful with this.

However, getting them to actually lie down and go to sleep is a bit more difficult. Generally, both are definitely asleep by 11 pm. We don’t do an official “lights out” but we do employ the supremely irritating “parental reminder system with countdown to removal of car keys or cell phone.”

Exceptions include away games (we have a very large district and have games up to 150 miles away, one way, so players get back between 11 pm and 1 am), special events such as dances, and weekend church events. However, if you are getting home after midnight you had better call and let me know why, who you are with, where you are, and what time you will be home.

for the toddler lights out is at 9pm
for the infant it’s 11 pm
for Alex it’s 11:15 pm
and for me it’s well…clearly I’m still on fluther

Sounds good to me.

@Darwin You take away cell phones? But what if an emergency should happen? Not being judgmental, just curious. The only reason I carry mine 24/7 is because I once had an emergency and having the phone was really important.

An emergency? In the bedroom? I don’t follow.

Out of condoms? SOUND THE ALARM!
Edit: ... not that @Darwin‘s kids are having sex or anything. That’s not what I meant.

@wildpotato – My son only uses his to play games and my daughter uses hers to text. They are generally at home, at school (where there are plenty of phones), at school events (where teachers have phones – the kids supposedly don’t but they do anyway) at a friend’s house (where there is at least one phone), or with friends who have phones.

We aren’t talking free-wheeling adults who are out and about at all hours or who are driving long distances, but teenagers who are supposed to be going to sleep.

Sometimes we forget how only a few years ago – we somehow went to school and existed quite well without cellphones at all.

I’m with you on that @Darwin bed time doesn’t include phone privilages…school the next day.
Chargers in my room…That way I know where they are

@Skippy Did you know that the worst radiation comes from a cellphone ringing while in the charger? You should keep it away from you while charging, and not be tempted to answer it.

@zen typically the boys phones are off when charging in my room. I’ve heard that before, and if mine rings and it’s on the charger, I will unplug it. Besides, if I didn’t it would pull out from the charger. The cord isn’t long enough!!!

@Skippy Good thinking.

I do wonder how we as a society have gotten to the point of the the “instant gratification” that we must have information right now!
Twitter, facebook etc. seems some people feel that they must let everyone know their every move.
When I was in school if my parents needed to reach me they called the office, left a message and the school secretary et el would call you down to get it, and it had to be important or an emergency. Now people are texting with their kids during the day, kids texting answers to tests etc…
up on my soapbox
Someday, won’t ever happen I’m sure, I’d love to see some old fashioned values come back to us. Talking around the dinner table about your day, going outside to play basketball, football, run around with the dogs. I guess as a society we have just advanced to far out there that basketball is now a wii sport. No wonder our country has become obese and lazy, and some of the younger generations feel they are entitiled..

down from my soapbox