Delaying the start of the school day until at least 8:30 a.m., they say, would help curb students lack of sleep, which has been linked with poor health, bad grades, car crashes and other problems.
I have a better idea ... why don't parents just make their kids go to bed? My kids had a very strict bedtime, and it was rarely waived. When my kids were in elementary school, they went to bed at 8:00. They went to bed at 9:00 in middle school, and 10:00 in high school. As a single mother, I needed them to go to bed on time. I needed time without my kids underfoot. They knew they had to go to bed, and they generally didn't raise a stink. They were used to a bedtime. It was part of their routine, and they seldom questioned or fought it.
Parents just need to start being parents. They need to take the electronic toys away from the kids and put them to bed at a decent time. They need to have rules and enforce them. School doesn't need to start later ... parents just need to put their kids to bed earlier!
The men who grew up and put men on the moon ... those men were at school before 8:30. There have been some amazing inventions in the last sixty, seventy, even eighty years ... and all of them were invented by people who were at school before 8:30.
If children need more sleep, they should go to bed earlier. I guess it's easier to try to force schools to start later than to try to force parents into being good parents.
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