Should a 12 year old have a bedtime?

Question

If so, what time should it be?

Answer 1

Although my 12 year old son would disagree, I absolutely believe they need bedtimes. We've worked out a compromise that we're both happy with. He has to be ready for bed by 9, and he can spend the next hour in his room reading a book or watching tv or whatever he wants to do quietly. At 10, it's time to turn off the light. This works for both of us because he gets time to wind down without feeling like he has a childish bedtime, and I get some time in the evening to relax as well.

Answer 2

Yes, a 12 year old should have a bedtime.

What should it be? Depends on the 12 year old.
I think it would be reasonable to expect a 12 year old to be in their room, quiet by 10:00.

Bedtime isn't always about actually sleeping. If the 12 year old in question were reading in bed, I'd be okay with that.

Answer 3

My parents didn't give my brother and I a bedtime...ever (or at least before I can remember). The reason was that we were both good about going to bed and waking up in the morning without complaining. We got up on our own (especially by middle school, I was often awake before my parents so I could spend all kinds of time on my hair lol) and we were rarely late for school (on the rare times we were, we were given a very early bedtime as punishment). A child of 12 should feel they have a say in their bedtime.

Biologically, the child needs 9 hours of sleep, but adults need 8. What adult do you know gets 8 hours every night? If your child wants 7 hours of sleep at night, doesn't complain in the morning when it's time to get up and isn't late for school, what's wrong with that? If you want to ensure your kids are getting enough sleep, set the bedtime around 930 for school nights, but leave weekends for no bedtime. You'll find that most kids of that age will go to sleep around 930 left on their own once they find a rhythm. These days, kids have such active lives between play dates, ball games, recitals, etc that they tire themselves out.

If you assign bedtime now, when will you stop assigning bedtime? Remember that when your kid goes to college, you won't be there to wake them up for school. They have to learn to get up without you at some point. The earlier you start, the more time they have to building this responsibility. My freshman year roommate could not get up in the morning...her mother called her to wake her up...

Answer 4

YES! Too many parents don't enforce enough simple rules with their children, such as a bedtime, and it leads to the child not respecting their parent as much and retaliating more. The child should get AT LEAST 8 hours of sleep, so take the time they wake up in the morning and count back about 8 1/2 hours (the extra half hour for them to fall asleep). So for example if they usually go to school at 7:30, wake up at 6:30, then they should be in bed by 10pm.

Answer 5

I think it depends on how reasonable the child is being about setting his or her own bedtime. If he/she usually goes to bed at a reasonable hour and wakes up fairly easily then I say don't worry about it, but if you have a child who stays up way late and has trouble getting up for school, it's time for a bedtime. What that time should be you can experiment with.

I will say that a child with a tv or video games or computer in his room will be tempted to stay up far too late so that could be a factor, too.

Answer 6

Yes, I didn't get to go without a bedtime until I was 16. And, no matter how much I hated it, I thank my parents for the extra sleep. They need all the sleep they can get to function. My mom also gave me chances. Say if she was to change my bed time to 10:00 if I would wake up and get dressed and not be cranky that would stay my bedtime. Try something like that. It might just work.

Answer 7

For children under five, bedtime should be at 8:00 or as needed. Once they start school, you add fifteen minutes for each year.

5 - 8:00

6 - 8:15

7 - 8:30

8 - 8:45

9 - 9:00

10 - 9:15

11 - 9:30

By the time the kids are twelve or thirteen, they should be allowed to regulate their own bedtime as long as they are getting enough sleep. (They shouldn't go to bed after 10:30, though)

Punishment: As a punishment, time should be reduced. Such as if their normal bedtime is 9:30, they must go to bed at 9:00.

Answer 8

A twelve year old should have a bedtime. On a weeknight, the night before they go to school, they definitely need a bedtime. They have to get up and go to school, so they should have a reasonably bedtime of about 9:30pm. On a weekend, they get to sleep in, so a bedtime reasonable would probably be anywhere from 10:00pm - 11:00pm.

Answer 9

If the child is active (sports, clubs,etc...) he/she should have an early bedtime around like 9 pm. That's more of a curfew though. Bedtime would be 11-12 pm.

Answer 10

Yes. Children function better with plenty of sleep. You also set boundries by doing this. How do you honestly expect a 12 yr old to go to bed by hiself in our multimedia society. TV, Video games, ect.. will hold a certain temptation for a 12 yr old child. Bedtime, lights out.
10:00 pm.