Major difficulty waking teenagers for school

[SPOILEDkiwi]

Originally Posted by yvalenz

she has a "bedtime" even as a freshman in college. it's 11pm.

WOW! In college that's when most parties start!

[ChristyR143]

I didn't read through all the replies, but if it were me, I would not wake them up. They are old enough to be getting themselves out of bed. And if they are late, then so be it. There are natural consequences to being late to school habitually, so I would imagine it wouldn't take them long to figure it out.

[BasketballCourt]

I find it works to put my cell phone alarm on my desk across from my bed, so I actually have to get up to turn it off. If it's right next to me then I can just turn it off and go back to bed. I'd suggest this to your kids. :)

[omgblonde]

Originally Posted by BasketballCourt

I find it works to put my cell phone alarm on my desk across from my bed, so I actually have to get up to turn it off. If it's right next to me then I can just turn it off and go back to bed. I'd suggest this to your kids. :)

That doesn't work for me at all! I have it right on the otherside of my room & it's super loud.. I either sleep through my alarm full stop (when it wakes my dad up & he's on the opposite side of the house haha) or I get up and switch it off & get back into bed without even waking up LOL

I even have conversations with my mum in the mornings while still sleeping! She'll tell me all about them when I actually get up & I won't remember a thing!

Now I just set my alarm for an hour before I have to get up so I can be up in time! LOL

[BasketballCourt]

Originally Posted by omgblonde

That doesn't work for me at all! I have it right on the otherside of my room & it's super loud.. I either sleep through my alarm full stop (when it wakes my dad up & he's on the opposite side of the house haha) or I get up and switch it off & get back into bed without even waking up LOL I even have conversations with my mum in the mornings while still sleeping! She'll tell me all about them when I actually get up & I won't remember a thing! Now I just set my alarm for an hour before I have to get up so I can be up in time! LOL

LOL and I thought I was a deep sleeper!

[mockinglee]

When I was a kid I thought the coolest things ever were those alarm clock/phone combos. So I learned to use an alarm pretty early on. My brother however, was totally babied by my mom, so she'd wake him up all the time. Fast forward a few years and he's getting kicked out of college because he'd never bother going to classes or taking his midterms. Coincidence?

You could always get them one of these:

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/741...romo=el_clocks

[frostedcouture]

Today was my 2nd day of high school! I wake up on my own with my alarm clock, although it's hard..my parents always said it's my responsibility to wake up on time. i think that's fair..

[MonkeyGirl]

^ita frostie! i dont wake up with an alarm clock but that is cause mine isnt loud enough and i havent gotten around to getting a new one yet. i am in high school as well and it is going to be my responsibility to get myself up (once i get an alarm clock). i dont think your being a meanie at all. although i do remember being like your kids at one point too. it might just be their age?

[HauteMama]

At what age did this start? Right now my kids are 8, 6 and 4 and the younger two would be up by 5 am everyday if I let them. They get up around that time every morning and I have to force them back to bed. Sometimes my 6 year old never goes back to sleep. They are all awake by 6:30 am, and they don't even take a bus to school. I'd LOVE for them to sleep later!

That said, kids live up to the expectations placed on them. My kids have responsibilities, even at their ages, and as they get older getting up in time to get ready for school will be one of those. There will never be a question in this house that they will be up in time for school and that they will get up themselves. There was never a question when I was growing up (though my mother had to vacuum up the stairs at noon to try to wake me on weekends!), and the same will be true in my house.

[evolkatie]

Theres an alarm clock thats extremely loud and doesn't stop going off until you put a coin in it.

[k2sealer]

Originally Posted by Peeking_Around

My dad did that! He came in ... threw the window blinds open while singing "It's time to wake up .. it's time to wake up .. it's time to wake up in the mooooorrrrnnniiinnnggg...." - seriously .. I really wanted to throw something at him. NO ONE should be that cheerful in the morning!

My Mom did the same thing. Only her version was "It's time to get up.. it's time to get up.. it's time to get up in the mooooorrrrrnnnnniiiinnnnggg..." This would be after flicking on the light and ripping off my covers. Ahhhh. Good times. This was only when I was little though. Once I got old enough to want to beat my older sister to the shower, I set my own alarm.

[LVShoeFan2]

Originally Posted by mockinglee

You could always get them one of these: http://www.hammacher.com/publish/741...romo=el_clocks

OMG that thing is brilliant!!

I gave my mother hell in the mornings when I was in HS. She finally bought me an alarm clock and placed it across my bedroom so I'd have to get up to turn it off. To this day, I hate getting up in the morning. I get my little girls off to school and go back to bed -- and I get to sleep 'til almost noon on the weekends. My DH is a morning person and I swear to God sometimes I just wanna smack that peppy smile off his face early in the morning.

Just curious -- what are the consequences at school if your son doesn't show up? Does he need a note from home to excuse him? Because that could be a good deterrent -- tell him you will NOT excuse him from being tardy or absent from school. He'll end up with suspension and quite a record which will be problematic when he applies to college.

[purly]

Originally Posted by HauteMama

At what age did this start? Right now my kids are 8, 6 and 4 and the younger two would be up by 5 am everyday if I let them. They get up around that time every morning and I have to force them back to bed. Sometimes my 6 year old never goes back to sleep. They are all awake by 6:30 am, and they don't even take a bus to school. I'd LOVE for them to sleep later! That said, kids live up to the expectations placed on them. My kids have responsibilities, even at their ages, and as they get older getting up in time to get ready for school will be one of those. There will never be a question in this house that they will be up in time for school and that they will get up themselves. There was never a question when I was growing up (though my mother had to vacuum up the stairs at noon to try to wake me on weekends!), and the same will be true in my house.

It started around the age of 14 for me. I really believe it's biological, since I was an early riser prior to my teens. I'm fine now, but back then it was always difficult.

[Pursegrrl]

Originally Posted by nooch

My mom stopped waking me up for school when I was eight. She celebrated by buying me an alarm clock. Result: I am never late for anything.

DITTO!! I guess I'm old school but I cannot believe it's necessary to do this into a kid's tween/teen years.

You snooze, you lose. That's how it works in the real world and the sooner tweens/teens learn this the better. I guess I didn't have it quite as difficult at that age because I used to take after my Dad who is an early riser so it was not an issue for me, but as I got older I turned into more of a night owl.

[lilian]

I was going to post this in the thread in health as well, but I wanted to add it here too. I'm also one of those people that can't wake up even though I did have to wake myself up in the morning. I still have to wake up at 7 most mornings, but it was so hard that I would have to set the alarm for 6 and hit snooze every 10 minutes for an hour until I could gradually wake up. I'm sure it has something to do with my body, but I've never bothered to look into it. Instead, and I'm begging everyone to at least try not to laugh, but I had to resort to getting this thing, and it has actually saved me:



The way it works is that the alarm goes off and the top explodes, sending 4 puzzle pieces flying. You can't turn off the alarm any way you try. You can't even take out the batteries because you need a screwdriver to do it. Your only choice for shutting that thing up is to physically get up, look for the puzzle pieces, put the puzzle together, press it down and while you're pressing it down press the off button. The idea is that by the time you get together the motor skills and concentration to do this, you will be awake enough to not go back to sleep.

It's almost embarassing how much I know about *ahem* "alternative" alarm clocks, but Clocky (the run away one that someone posted up there) doesn't actually run far enough, so I don't think it's worth it. There is also another alternative that gradually lights up the room so that you are naturally awake by the time the alarm goes off, but it's over $100 and I don't think it would work. If you're a heavy sleeper like I am, someone could turn a spotlight on over you and you wouldn't even flinch.