Pediatricians prescribe later school start
By Fred Barbash, Washington Post
Starting the school day before 8:30 in the morning is bad for kids. It’s bad for their physical health, their mental health and their academic performance.
So says the American Academy of Pediatrics, which issued a formal policy statement Monday recommending that middle and high schools do away with those 7:30 or 8am school bells and begin no later than 8:30.
“Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today,” said pediatrician Judith Owens, lead author of the policy statement. She added, “The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life. Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn.”
I think this is a good idea. Its very difficult for my son to get up at 6:30 to eat and get ready for school. Plus they are done by 2:00 pm and they have another day ahead of them to stay focused and keep busy. Id be much happier if he didnt start school till 8:30. IMHO
Maybe parents should enforce an early bed time?
Dogula, maybe you should practice reading comprehension. Try one more time.
Bedtime at my house is 9 with about 30 minutes to read. No computer stuff after 8.
Got a problem with that dog?
make sure you read the article about blogg trolls…..
I make a comment about an article and get two personal attacks. And one of them makes a veiled accusation about ME being a troll? *snort*
Gofigure, I got no problem with however you want to run your household. Do what you please. But if your kids are still tired in the morning, maybe they need to go to bed earlier. But whether you want to fix a problem or make the world around you change to fix your problem, that’s something YOU need to think about.
I remember until we were 10 or so, we went to bed at 8 and got up at 6. Our parents were grownups and made sure we were bathed, in bed, fed, and at school. Sorry if that’s a problem for you. But I did not make this personal against you. YOU attacked me. As usual.
The day you write a comment that isnt derogatory or demeaning, well that will be a good day forsure.
Attacked? we learned it from you finger pointer
Dog, the entire point of the article is that young people brains are wired to stay up later than adults. The study suggests ntelling kids to go to bed earlier is a waste of time because of their brains natural sleep cycles.
Read for understanding.
Go ahead, defend your bad behavior. I made a suggestion. You turned it personal.
Gee, Dogula is misinformed-science denying and wrong again as usual-imagine everyones surprise
humm all of you are attacking dog for no reason than your own satisfaction, it seems the only reason is to start a flame war. No wear in the article does it state anything about children being wired to stay up late(wired i must assumes that it is a biological thing) rather that one of the things that children must deal with that we did not is technology. Gofigure its nice that you dont allow cumputer stuff after 8(i assume you also mean the smart phone), if i was to go to Harrahs and make a bet that most parents dont enforce anything like that, i would be a very happy gambler.
Name-callers and insulters – a small group of people who post here will not act in a civil manner. The insults are not clever. They are tiresome to read. Most educated people suspect that those who resort to personal attacks have no confidence in the strength of their arguments.
“Moral Hazard” and “TeaTotal” – LTN addressed this in an article you should read:
https://www.laketahoenews.net/2014/08/opinion-furious-trolls-are-everywhere/
“Dogula,” whether you agree with her or not, does not engage in such juvenile behavior.
Dog is always viciously attacked by the vile left wing on this blog, she makes points about political ideologies and they attack her (and others) personally.
It is part of the personality of South Lake Tahoe that has led to it being considered a trashy community, Oakland ghetto with a view as it is known on the north shore and elsewhere.
Anyone with a core of honesty realizes that it is left wing that brings on the hate. Not only here but in the country at large.
It is why so many people have turned their backs on the community. It is sad but SLT is a trash heap because of the high concentration of leftist haters. Many of whom are government employees.
I don’t respond to them any more. I get a laugh and then spread it around …
Your reputation is earned and it is nothing to be proud of.
birds of a father flock together-thats where the teabaggers came from
Cj. Small mind, small….
The article is right on. Teens aren’t wired to sleep during the hours they need to in order to function early in the morning. It isn’t an issue of parental discipline, but one of biology. Plus, needs aren’t the same for all teens. People are innately morning people or night people.
As adults who have to make a living, people force themselves to accommodate the requirements of their jobs, but that doesn’t mean that the hours produce optimal performance, and it’s the same with kids. The more the schools can accommodate the sleep needs of young people, the better off the students will be.
It’s a tall order. Public schools can’t be that flexible. Starting school later, though, will mean better rested students arriving later, and dismissing school later will leave young people with less unsupervised time on their hands in the afternoon when they’re alert enough to get into mischief.
Know bears, well said. My son would love to be up till late but we have to enforce our routine of 9pm during school time so he gets enough quality sleep. I have read and heard through many channels that turning off computers/tablets/video games and phones at least an hour before bed time is better for promoting restfull sleep. Seems to work well in our house hold.
Local pediatrician, Dr. Doyle, is on the LTUSD School Board. I am curious to know his views on the subject.
Strange, I think the link changed. Here is a link that explains the circadian rhythm problem teens face.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/08/25/u-s-doctors-urge-later-school-start-times-for-teens/
CJ, a documented plagiarist, will now lecture you about intellectual honesty.
And no one will take them seriously.
“and they attack her (and others) personally. ”
Followed by:
“…a trashy community, Oakland ghetto with a view as it is known on the north shore and elsewhere. ”
and
“SLT is a trash heap”
Hypocrite.
“Anyone with a core of honesty realizes that it is left wing that brings on the hate.”
*except last week when a handful of bigots all happened to be conservatives. You’re just an angry white with a chip on your shoulder. Nothing more.
***
At one point we had 4 teenagers at home at the same time. As they got to that age their sleep habits and needs did appear to change. And two had the night owl gene. I brought it up to the school district when they had made some changes for teacher prep time that caused a very early high school arrival at school. One concern my wife and I had was if the oldest kids in families left the earliest for school that the younger kids in the family might be left at the bus stop without an older sibling to watch out for them especially after the Jaycee Dugard kidnapping.In that same safety concern Some parents might have to be at work before their children left for school. They of course should use neighbors or before school sitters if they had the ability and money.The response from the school district was two issues. One was that high school kids in sports (roughly 1/3) would get home too late after practice and games if they came to school later in the morning. The other reason was that they didn’t have enough busses to accommodate a better schedule. I still think later arrival at school is better for teenagers and even for the grammar schools. Getting more sleep in the morning is a good thing. And getting home a bit later is good also. In a perfect world someone is always home for them, but statics show that the time between school getting out and parents getting home is the prime time for kids to get in trouble. That is where Boys & Girls Clubs come in. I’m not sure what our local teachers think about the subject. Most of them have kids too.