Let’s have an honest discussion about bedtime—no matter the age of your children, it can be a complete nightmare. Everyone knows the struggle of getting kids into bed; it’s akin to trying to roll a squirming boulder into a bathtub, then into pajamas, and finally into bed. Just the other night, I found myself yelling upstairs, “YOU’VE HAD ENOUGH HUGS!!” to my four-year-old.
But the real challenge lies with my older kids. Emma is nine, and Lucas is twelve. Getting them to bed on time requires more than just a bath and a bedtime story. They both have homework to finish. Lucas has soccer practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while Emma goes to gymnastics once a week. They return home around 3:30 p.m., and between then and 8 p.m. (their bedtime), it’s a chaotic race to get everything done while they continually plead for screen time. Dinnertime often turns into a juggling act, with my wife helping Lucas with math while I assist Emma with her writing, all while our youngest is glued to a tablet to keep her entertained.
Honestly, this is not how I envisioned parenting would be, but if we don’t squeeze everything in, there’s no way I can get them to sleep by 8 p.m.
I’ve noticed the lethargy in my children when they don’t get enough sleep, but the consequences of skipping out on rest are more significant than I initially thought. According to the CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, “A” students average 30 more minutes of sleep per night (6.71 hours) compared to “D” and “F” students (6.16 hours). That’s a surprisingly small difference!
Does this mean that simply getting my kids to bed on time will transform them into straight-A students? Probably not. However, it does indicate that adequate sleep can set them up for greater academic success. I never thought that a mere 30 minutes could have such an impact, but here we are.
Take last night as a case in point. Lucas finished his homework right after school, ate an early dinner, and went off to soccer practice. By the time he returned home, showered, and settled in, BAM—it was already 8 p.m. He had completed his tasks, and I felt proud, so I allowed him to stay up an extra hour to play games as a reward. But perhaps that wasn’t the wisest choice.
Like many families, we keep a close eye on screen time. If we didn’t, our kids would spend all day playing games and binge-watching shows. However, we also use screen time as a reward. On nights like this, I feel torn: I want to praise Lucas for his hard work, but I dread him dozing off in class because he stayed up gaming, which has happened before.
This is the modern parenting dilemma: balancing screen time with teaching our kids responsibility. Naturally, I found myself asking how much sleep my children really need. Interesting research from Savvysleeper reveals that children aged 13 to 18 should ideally get 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Shockingly, 71% of kids fail to meet this guideline. As I mentioned earlier, screen time is a significant culprit.
Among high schoolers who don’t get enough sleep, about one in three confessed to watching two to three hours of TV on school nights. While nearly 19% reported not watching any TV at all during the week, 14% struggled to balance their schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and still managed to squeeze in four or more hours of TV before bed. On top of that, roughly 28% of students spent more than four hours playing video games on school nights.
Ultimately, this underscores the importance of sleep and the need to help our children grasp its value. I understand that every time I tell them to turn off their devices and head to bed, they act as though I’ve committed a grave injustice. With my twelve-year-old, just a simple “good morning” might earn me a glare, so this is just part of the parenting experience. Nevertheless, this data should motivate us to prioritize earlier bedtimes for our kids—because even a mere 30 minutes can lead to significant improvements.
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In summary, encouraging our high school students to get just 30 more minutes of sleep can make a noticeable difference in their academic performance and overall well-being. By understanding the importance of sleep and managing screen time effectively, we can help our children thrive.
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