Major difficulty waking teenagers for school

[Hokaplan]

I'm on strike! I don't think I need to or should have to go in kid's bedrooms 5 or 6 times to wake up for school. Am I a "meanie" if I quit and make them get uo themselves with an alarm clock? I got up on my own at age 12. There was so much backtalk and attitude this morning upon waking them up at 7:00 AM. I woke up at 5:00 AM, did two loads of laundry, packed lunches, walked dog, straightened up, etc. Do you wake your teenage children up for school?

[leothelnss]

I wouldn't wake them up. If they miss the bus, they miss school & should be grounded for the day. The next day they should wake themselves up.
You don't want to be the person waking up your 18 year old for work!

[venetiakim]

I'm not a mum but I sympathize you... I used to torture my mum too... She used to come in the room drastically and uncover use off the blankets (in the winter this is cruel but sure waked me up) and opened the windows for fresh air. But during the last years of school I used to wake up on my own though. Good luck with this. It's a tough matter.

[i_wona]

^LOL same here! Aaah, another mother from the old school!

I think you should take the "cruel to be kind" route... I only say this because my BF's mum stopped trying to get him out of bed when he was 15. Her belief was that there was no point forcing the issue and that if he didn't want to get up, he was old enough to decide for himself.

Fast forward 15 years and he really regrets that his mum didn't force him - he ended up doing what every 15 year old would do given that much freedom: he started skipping school days, then ended up dropping out in year 12. He really regrets now that he wasn't more studious and is trying to catch up his education at age 30.

You are the parent here - nagging is your right and tough love is your entitlement, if you choose to take it. Teenagers are notoriously difficult but it's up to you as their parent how you deal with them during this period - trust me, they might be awful now, but everyone evens out to be a nice enough adult in the end! My mum shouted, nagged, then resorted to coming in without saying a word and yanking the covers off the bed. As grumpy as that made me at the time, I knew she was in charge.

I am now grateful for her tough parenting!

[Charles]

Well, do you plan on waking them up when they go to college? Work too??

[i_wona]

I just reread leothelnss' post - this is good advice too... I think there really does need to be a balance between letting them learn their lesson and maintaining parental supervision - after all, teenagers still do need supervision, even if they think they know it all!

I agree with leothelnss - if you're going to let them sleep in and miss the bus on purpose to teach them a lesson, there has to be a consequence: grounding, halt to pocket money, whatever. Good luck!

[rendodan110]

Originally Posted by Hokaplan

I'm on strike! I don't think I need to or should have to go in kid's bedrooms 5 or 6 times to wake up for school. Am I a "meanie" if I quit and make them get uo themselves with an alarm clock? I got up on my own at age 12. There was so much backtalk and attitude this morning upon waking them up at 7:00 AM. I woke up at 5:00 AM, did two loads of laundry, packed lunches, walked dog, straightened up, etc. Do you wake your teenage children up for school?

it sounds like we have the same kids!!!!!!!
my 18 yr old I have to wake up 4-8 times each morning and each time he yells IM GETTING UP GO AWAY. yeah sure he is!! its atleast another several times before he finally gets up he isnt in school anymore, he graduated this year but now he has a job to get up for.
my daughter gets herself up (I should've have 4 of her instead of the 3 boys)
my 16yr old son gets up but falls back asleep doesnt hear alarm so I have to wake him up, my 11 yr old son will only wake up to my voice DH has tried and he doesnt even budge, he will get up put pants on fall asleep, i wake him up he puts his shirt on falls back asleep etc etc. when I was their age I had an alarm clock and a mother who didnt even get up to see us off to school.

I want to find an alarm clock that is loud and if they dont wake up it starts jumping on their head or something!!!!



and charles I am afraid I will have to drive over to wake them up where ever they live including college, the boys cannot hear an alarm clock I have tried!!!

[rendodan110]

Originally Posted by leothelnss

I wouldn't wake them up. If they miss the bus, they miss school & should be grounded for the day. The next day they should wake themselves up. You don't want to be the person waking up your 18 year old for work!

NO YOU DONT WANT TO BE THAT PERSON I am that person, he (18 yr old son) will not wake up to anything but my voice.... I need an alarm i can record my voice on and he might get up ......after several snooze button hits. I really wish I didnt have to do that it is hard because I always get screamed at when I wake him up.

[VuittonsLover]

It is your responbility to get them to school though.

My mom could never get me up either... even now.. its tough.

[Peeking_Around]

We have our teens set their alarm but with the oldest, we have to physically make sure that he's up ... like this morning - DH and I decided to sleep in another half hour - woke up, went downstairs to start the coffee and noticed sons bookbag still laying there. Ran upstairs and sure enough - he's still asleep - said he did wake up when his alarm went off ... but laid back down to close his eyes for ONE minute ... yeah, that worked out well.

He's 17 - we've tried the grounding thing if he misses school, etc. It doesn't work. We've done the making sure his alarm is set ... but if he lays back down ... well it's history then.

I feel like at this age - we shouldn't even have to go and make sure he's up. I remember growing up - and my dad never came in to wake me up - I got up and made sure my brother was up ... dad was usually gone by that time.

[lcterp]

When I was in high school my younger sister was a pain to wake up (she was in middle/or high school as well, can't remember) and my mother got so fed up that one morning she threw ice cubes on her (not a lot, just a few), and well, she got up. :)

[IntlSet]

Do your kids have an alarm clock? I had a very, very devoted SAHM but she never woke me up for school.

If your teens are having that much trouble getting up early, maybe you should start enforcing an early bedtime.

Past the age of 12, there is no reason a mother should have to drag her child out of bed. By that age, a human-being should recognize cause and effect enough to understand the importance of getting to school on time.

[Alice From Italy]

I'm not a mom but I can imagine your efforts! How old are they? I think that if they are over 12 y.o. they must wake up on their own, no excuses accepted. If they are younger it depends. Do they want to stay in bed because they hate school or because they go to bed too late in the evening? I would say them: "Well guys, you never wake up alone in the morning. That's because you go to bed too late. From today you go to bed at 8 p.m. o'clock. If you want to stay up as long as you will, you must wake up on your own".
One day you could make them a nasty joke ihihih! Take a lot of alarm clock and set them very close, in example one at 6.55, the other at 7.00, 7.05 etc at a certain point there will be too much noise and they will get up to close the alarm clocks!

[LadyLouboutin08]

I'm not a mom, but I started getting up on my own at around 13. Doing those sorts of things proved to my father I was responsible, which gave me more leeway. I think leothelnss advice is pretty good. You can't wake them up for ever.

[heartnaspade]

There are too many kids who get to college and miss class all the time because they don't even have the basic ability to wake themselves up in the morning. Your kids need to start taking responsibility for themselves at this point.