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I find it odd that my parents still treat me like a 10 year old when it comes to bedtime. I have to be in bed with lights out at 10, after which I'm not allowed to do anything but sleep (Although I sneak on the computer every night).

I'm nearly 17... am I the only one who thinks its time to eliminate the bedtime altogether?

Also, I'm curious as to when other peoples' parents decided to let their kids choose when to go bed, and stopped nagging them to go to bed.

What time do you have to wake?

Do you have sixteen to eighteen hour days?

When I was a teenager I did not have a really strict time to go to sleep, if I had to be up early I would want enough sleep so I was rested in the morning, which makes me wonder back on those times, if I was up at six am, why was I not tired by ten or eleven pm (as a kid or teenager as I may have required a bit more sleep at that time.)

I'm usually up around 6:30 A.M., and off for school around 7. I normally don't get to sleep until midnight. Somehow, 6 hours of sleep works perfectly for me. Getting more than that seems to only make me tireder. Although I do admit I like to take naps after school if I can afford it.

well, come to think of it, I don't have a bedtime, never did.

I can even be up all night and it's fine with my mom as long as I get a little studying in. like tonight, I'll most likely be up till 4:00 am, but I'm going to have to fit an hour or two of studying time. Then I'll take a little nap.

it turns out I do better with my study work at night. and I sleep more soundly in the day.

I go to school in the afternoon so I can stay a bit more late...

though my mother doesn't seem to share this opinion.

When I was 17 I came home drunk during the weekend, hehe. For the rest I never really cared what my parents wanted, I would just go my own way.

I'm 23 and my mother still thinks its within her right to decide countless things she did when we were just little kids. She finally gave up on trying to dictate when we went to bed, however, when we went off to college. Now in an ironic twist, I'm the one that usually tells her to turn off the TV and go to bed. . . Or more accurately, to turn off the TV before she goes to bed. She's developed into one of those old people that can fall asleep with the TV on, but if you turn it off will snap awake and say "I was watching that!"

I'm 34, and these days, most of the time my problems are quite the opposite: being forced to stay awake when I really just want to go to sleep. But, I do remember when I had a bedtime.

The parental instinct is strong, and it's hard for parents to acknowledge the growing process. I remember when eight and later nine were fixed bedtimes, well into adulescence. Thankfully, my parents acknowledged my maturity comparatively early. Still, the diurnal cycle was pretty ingrained, and I usually didn't stay up past about ten or 10:30 simply because I became sleepy. I remember when Star Trek: The Next Generation first came out; in rural Nacogdoches, it was only on starting at 10:30 pm on Monday nights. This broke down the usual bedtime restrictions a lot, as my whole family consists of avid sci-fi fans. I was just starting high school then, so in later adulescence and early adulthood, "bedtime" was a functional event rather than a formal rule, and I was given a lot of leeway. I openly admit I was lucky.

After a year or two of working 24 hour shifts, I found myself gradually slipping more nocturnal, staying up as late as 2am even on days off, and sleeping in until noon. I have since shifted back so that I can be more in contact socially with other people. But, I have a hard time waking up, and I have a lot more energy in the evenings.

I also refer the reader to my last most recent post on this forum, under "Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction" in Video Games. I quite inadvertently was up until about 3:30 am, playing video games. I had no intention of being up that late, and when I stopped playing, I thought it was around midnight. Without a parent looming over you, or at least a clock nearby, it's easy to lose track of time. Casinos are notorious for using this psychology.

I never had a bed time well as far as I can remeber which is since I was 4

Well that sucks.

When I was still in high school, I didn't have a heavily enforced bedtime. I think as long as I did not stay up past midnight on school nights it was ok. Weekends, whatever.

Now I tend to go to sleep around 2:30-3:30 am. I wake up around, like, 1pm if I have nothing to do lol
I should try and go to bed/wake up at normal times I guess. I'm working on it.

Silverclaw wrote:Well that sucks.

When I was still in high school, I didn't have a heavily enforced bedtime. I think as long as I did not stay up past midnight on school nights it was ok. Weekends, whatever.

Now I tend to go to sleep around 2:30-3:30 am. I wake up around, like, 1pm if I have nothing to do lol
I should try and go to bed/wake up at normal times I guess. I'm working on it.

why do that i've been basically nocturnal for a year and im happy and healthy

Good gracious, where did all these pups come from?
Back in highschool my parents never cared when I went to bed(because if I was up, I was up reading), or how late I stayed out as long as I called to let them know I was safe.

PariahPoet wrote:Good gracious, where did all these pups come from?
Back in highschool my parents never cared when I went to bed(because if I was up, I was up reading), or how late I stayed out as long as I called to let them know I was safe.

my parents are giving me problems about going out because my sister just ran away with her boyfriend so they dont trust me anymore.

Wow, my mom must of been REAL lenient! I was sleeping over my (much) older boyfriend's house at 17!

As for now...I usually go to bed at 1 and wake up anywhere between 8 and 11...depending on my work schedule.

PariahPoet wrote:Good gracious, where did all these pups come from?

Too many kids being exposed to and spoiled by the internet. :\
(But that's a discussion for another thread.)

Okami wrote:

PariahPoet wrote:Good gracious, where did all these pups come from?
Back in highschool my parents never cared when I went to bed(because if I was up, I was up reading), or how late I stayed out as long as I called to let them know I was safe.

my parents are giving me problems about going out because my sister just ran away with her boyfriend so they dont trust me anymore.

That sucks. Be extra careful about calling them and letting them know where you are then. They will eventually realize that you are not your sister. But you'll have to go out of your way to be extra trustworthy.

I have an odd relationship with my parents. They fed me. They clothed me and provided a home to live until I was 18 and had to pay rent or get out. I never had a curfew. They didn't really care. I know this is hard to believe, that they didn't care, but it's true.

They never bought me one toy. My grandfather had to give me clay so I could make them on my own. A clay Teenager Mutant Ninja Turtle and so on. But, when it came to where I was or where I had been at the age of 12 and on they let me run around where ever I wanted. I learn my lessons along the way. I never did drugs and I never broke any laws
except stealing BigBoy from the restaurant parking lot, but it was more my friends doing this and it was later returned.
I never had to ask to go out, because they expected me to find out for myself what happens and fortunately I never had any problem with school or hanging out with friends. I became a better person being on my own and having no restrictions. Take away the restriction and there are actually less problems.

Some homes don't let a girl sleep over. My parent's house, I was obligated to have a girl over if it was too late or they lived in a bad neighborhood.

Some homes have curfew. My parent's house, I could go out as long as I wanted as long as they knew where I was in case something happened.

It's all very difficult to tell when to draw boundaries as a parent. When there is a problem that as occurred or when the kid doesn't know the resort of such an action of stay up too late, thats when boundaries are supposed to be met. One may be 21 and be babied. It just depends on whether you are mature enough, wise enough for them to notice. You have to show it to them.

well it doesnt bother me anyway i dont really go anywhere im considered either creepy or wierd

Okami wrote:well it doesnt bother me anyway i dont really go anywhere im considered either creepy or wierd

That's what matters.

well, usually with my parents I have to be into my room at 11:30, asides from that they could really care less if I go to sleep or not, I guess that just assume I am asleep because I always close the door

Luckly for me I never had a bedtime or a curfew after I hit 12 basicly, lol.