Do you think school should be shifted to a later start time for teenagers?

My sister's high-school starts at 8:30 and she prefers it a lot more than when she went to the one that started at 7:20

My kindergartener starts at 7:45 and I think it’s so early. I think 8:30 would be better. 🥲

I've never heard of a high school starting around 7.30! My daughters school gates open at 8am if anyone wants to go in early, breakfast ect, but you've got to be in class to actually start between 8:30-8:40 latest.

Yes, as a former high school teacher, I can tell you first (and sometimes second) period was a waste. Those kids were so exhausted 😩!

It is here. Middle school starts at 9:15 and high school starts at 8:30

@R 🪬 in the US, the "average" start time is 8, but many districts are 7:30, 7:40 ish. California pushed their time back a couple years ago & started a big debate

My high school started at 7:30 we got to school at 7 and the bell rang to go to class at 7:20 sophomore year they had the entire high school take a poll on if we wanted to start earlier or later and it was 70/30 70% wanting to stick to the earlier time so (getting out of school at 2:40) so they can have the rest of the day to do what they want rather than have less time in the day once they get out of school

I worked at a high school that started at 9am. They were late. We moved the start time earlier, they were late. We moved it back another year, surprise surprise, they were still late. We never saw any significant changes when we moved the start time later. The children were also up later and had to be out extremely late for sporting events that had to start later and it wasn’t as safe. My HS started at 7:15am. The school I am at now starts at 7:50am.

My last two yrs in high school started at 9:15am and they were so much better

I never understood why school would start so early?? Isn't school to prepare the youth for working 9-5??? School should start at 9! Shoot school should be from 10-3 actually 🤷🏽‍♀️

I mean they should prepare you for the real world. College classes start at 8. They won't change the time for you. Some jobs start at 6 and they won't change the time for you. You need to get used to getting up early. Go to bed at a decent time. I know they are teens but make them have a bedtime. Even if they don't sleep right away. They will learn to when they are so tired. They have weekends to catch up on sleep as well the real world won't change the time because you're too tired. I have to be at work at 7:30. My husband has to be to work at 6. A friend of mine has to be to work by 8. There's not many jobs that work 9-5 anymore.

This post has made me appreciate that my son starts school at 9. He struggles with 9 as it is! Plus he goes to an sen school so takes him an hour by taxi. Also most colleges/unis start at 9.

In the uk they start at 8:30 -9

Schools here start at 8.30-9 never earlier than that. And usually the first 15-20m is “home group” for attendance and news and announcements, it’s not the first period

Not a single school in our area starts before 8. Most start 8.30 onwards

My school started at 9 I think that’s a fine time

Schools in Australia start around 8.45

I honestly think school should be like 9-2 or 10-3 for all students. No more is necessary. It's crazy. They are already living their day like they have a full-time job.

There are studies that show how important sleep is at that age for development. And we all know teenagers aren't going to go to bed early, are they. I think start later and less hours required in general, so much of school is 'filler'

@ incognito Wow okay, I think that's so bad for a 7.30 am start for schools, what time do those districts finish then?

@Andréa 100%!!! Me and my daughter were having this conversation not to long ago funnily enough.

Is this an American thing? I’ve never heard of a school starting that early where I live. It’s all between 8.30-9ish

No teenagers need to learn to get up in the morning . Teaches them discipline x

@Courtney discipline for what exactly?

@Andréa discipline for life , Sometimes you have to get up in the morning when you don’t want to. When they get a job later on in life they need to know they have to do it

@Courtney not everyone works in the morning. If that were the case, the world wouldn't go round quite the same. So, what exactly are they learning discipline for? Someone else's expected standards? Every child will have plenty of time to decide what they want to do with their life. That may not include early morning rising. Giving them more time to learn and practice life skills, enjoy quality time with family, rest, do everyday chores, and have practical moments within their own home is much more valuable and productive than an alarm clock and an extra Algebra assignment where less than 20% of students ever use it again as an adult.

Yeah I do. My oldest is in high school and he takes the school bus. He’s usually up by 5:45 to get ready and catch the bus by 6:30. He starts at 7:30. It was the same for middle school too. I have always thought it was too damn early for a teenager lol.

For those saying teenagers need to get up early, keep in mind, during the teenage years, their circadian rhythm naturally shifts to make it hard for them to go to bed before 11pm and hard to wake up before roughly 8:30/9am. When they reach adulthood (so when they'd be working as people keep mentioning) it shifts to being able to sleep early, sleep less, and wake up earlier. Younger children also naturally go to bed early and wake up early. So if we want to do what's naturally best and healthy for teens, it would be start school later 🤷‍♀️

@Andréa I stated my opinion and what I will teach my children. You don’t need to like it or understand it, or be offended. Self discipline is a good skill to have. It teaches you to control yourself and work hard even when you don’t want to. It’s about showing up for yourself as well as others

When i was in school we started at 9

@Alyssa I have to Respectfully disagree! In a Good way tho. All Our Lives, school tries to drill in our heads College won't allow this, College is like that. HA! That was all complete Rubbish! I scheduled ALL My College classes to start 10am or later! And I made it my mission to Never have a job where I work mornings! I always had an Evening shift or even a Night shift. I knew the 'system' lol was lying when My mother as a nurse worked over night shifts. I was young when I realized the 'You'll have to wake up early for work' propaganda was utter bs. The world doesn't start/end at a specific time.

@Courtney I don't think @Andréa didn't understand it, she's just pointing out waking up early isn't necessary for self discipline, because the real world varies in different ways. I never worked a morning job and I never had Early morning College classes. Getting up early as a child did not benefit me in any way.

@Courtney I'm not illiterate. I do understand the concept. The last thing I am is offended. That's a silly assumption. You get to teach your children whatever you want. We all know that. But what is best for children at that age and their fundamental development (physical brain, physical body, & mental health) is not the current standardized expectation. Self- discipline comes in many forms, and early morning rising isn't the only option teaching that for goodness sakes. And like I mentioned, not everyone is going to fit that mold in adulthood anyhow. There are millions of people working their butt off while early risers sleep, keeping the world thriving. And there are so many honorable, vital jobs that require a person to have self-discipline that have nothing to do with what time of day they woke up.

@Courtney Also, and most importantly, school starting later doesn't prevent you from waking your children up early. And waking up children early doesn't guarantee they'll grow into a self-disciplined adult. I'm pretty sure that's proven factual since school has started early for generations and yet the world is full of undisciplined humans. Parent how you prefer.

@Kellie the school I worked at moved "home room" to later in the day (between 2nd & 3rd hour classes) because everyone was always late & missed it... 🙃 Apparently they thought home room announcements were more important than 1st hour class lol

@R 🪬 around 2:40 - that I've seen at least

@Abbie yes

It should be 9:30 with an option for earlier drop-off for those who need it. Sleep deprivation is a real problem for teens.

No, I think it should stay because they are closer to being out in the real world where getting up early might be required for work. I mean they could make it 830...

Honestly they need a lot of sleep. What kids are even paying attention at 7:30? Most having skipped breakfast, no protein, just a half asleep body lol.

I think early wake up time will prepare them for the future ( coming from a 17 yr old)

@Andréa it’s not just about getting up in the morning. It’s the principle of doing something maybe you find difficult but getting on with it anyway. Never said it was the only option. Sometimes you have to just get on

@Olivia early bird gets the worm

It's a logistical thing. They have to be able to pick up the kids by bus and districts wouldn't be able to do all ages at once so they have to split them. Would it be better to have the little kids get on the bus earlier, sometimes in the dark? Nope. So the older kids have to go first. There is no where near enough before-school care programs where I live so pushing the little kid school start to 9 or later would be a disaster for a lot of households.

@Courtney yes, being prior military, again, I understand the concept A LOT. And yet, I still find other things are a bigger priority than this "act of discipline" for overall growth. I will die on this hill.

In Australia home room starts at 8:30 and classes officially start at 9. When I learned that American kids had to get there at 7 I was shook 😂 thanked the lucky stars I didn't live there lmao. 8:30 felt too early as it was! I also agree with other commenters here. I had a lot of discipline without needing early starts. Always took pride in my work and submitted everything on time, got good grades. None of my uni classes were so early, nor my job. I now work from home and own my own business, and the earliest wake up is 8:30. I love my life ❤️