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How many hours of sleep should your children get?

I have two high school boys. Parent friends require "as much as possible" up to 10 hours. My boys generally get 7-8 hours each night.

Question applies to ages: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

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avatarElizabeth.Johns
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Top 5 in: Choosing College, Discipline, Families and Relationships, Family Activities, Growth and Development, Health and Wellness, Learning Disabilities and Special Needs, Learning Styles, Parents and Schools, Safety, School Policy and Education Issues, Study Skills and Academics, Summer Learning and Camps, Teens and Jobs, Transitions and Readiness, Motivating StudentsTop 5 in 16 Topics		 Teens do need a lot of sleep, but their body rhythms are also such that they are not physically able to fall asleep very early at night. So, even if you made your teen go to bed at 9 p.m., he probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep until later.

I think between 7 and 9 hours is reasonable. My 14 year old goes to bed at 10 and gets up at 6:45, my 17 year old goes to bed at 11 and gets up at 6:35. My 19 year old, who is away at college, has the schedule his brothers would like to have: he goes to bed between 1 and 2 a.m. and gets up between 9 and 10 a.m.

The rule in our house is that you get up on the first call; if you are not able to do that, then your bedtime must be too late, and it gets moved back half an hour. Also, if the kid is too grouchy or surly (more than normal--this will vary by teen), that also warrants an earlier bedtime.


References:
Mom to three teen boys
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avatarlouise
# of Thumbs Up Received (1)		 Everything I've read (research, American Pediatrics, etc.) says that teens need at 9 hours of sleep. As already pointed out, though, teens' bodies and such tend to slow down later in the evening than a younger child's. So the trick is to get them to bed at a time when they can fairly easily fall asleep and rest well for 8 1/2 to 9 hours. Not being on the computer (or texting) the hour or so before bedtime helps, and avoiding activities that are energetic so that the brain can start to slow down and be able to fall asleep are important, too.
I encouraged my young teen to use the pre-bed hour as quiet time, hopefully for reading, and she was almost always able to be asleep by 10:00 and wake up just fine at 7:00 to eat breakfast & get ready for school.


References:
Parent to a previous teen.
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avatarluna_girl_555
# of Thumbs Up Received (0)		 I would say roughly between 6-7 hours or possibly more if they play a lot of sports.
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