Is bed a suitable place to do revision / homework?

[user1494670108]

Dd insists on doing homework and now revision tucked up in bed. She has a desk in her room, another in the attic (v quiet) and could use the dining room table but she insists she's fine doing it in bed.
It feels wrong to me not to mention the fact she also has her phone right there but I'm struggling to explain why I think she'd be better sat at a desk and wondering whether it really does matter

[which1]

It really doesn't.
If she intends to concentrate, she will do so whether under the duvet or sitting at the desk.
Likewise if she intends to fiddle with her phone...

[Titsywoo]

It doesn't really matter but it's hard to write neatly if you're sat in bed!

[Neolara]

Is this really worth making an issue of? The more you push, the more likely she is to reject anything you say. Imo, just let it go.

[Pipandmum]

As long as she’s actually doing work I wouldn’t care where it’s done.

[WheelDecide]

My DD has just got onto a competitive uni course having done a huge chunk of GCSEs and A level work in bed!

[jelly79]

Let her choose if she is working then she should be comfy

[Boobiliboobiliboo]

I did all of my school work on my bed. Now in my 40s and do the same when I work from home. Desks are so restricting.

[Walkingdeadfangirl]

fine by me

[ShirleyPhallus]

My mum was like this It’s sooo much more comfortable on the bed than sat at a hard chair and desk

When I WFH now I mostly do so in / on the bed. Much comfier

[EyeDrops]

I did all of my homework and revision in bed or on the floor/sofa. Had excellent results and a very good degree from a good university. It really doesn't matter. I was more comfortable there and so could concentrate better. Even now I get distracted and fidgety doing anything at a desk or table! She'll be more productive where she's comfortable. I wouldn't make an issue of it.

[Nillynally]

Absolutely nothing wrong if she's comfy.. however, I did all my work on my bed as a teenager and at uni. It would take me hours and hours to shut off at night and fall asleep. It was only when I left uni and moved into a house where I only used my bed to sleep in that I could drop off straight away so I'm cautious about how I use my bed now.

[user1494670108]

Thanks all, I suspected that might be the response iabu! I'll keep my thoughts to myself then

[runoutofnamechanges]

Well, it's probably better for her back to sit at a desk if she's hunched over making notes and definitely better for her handwriting.

There have been plenty of studies that conclude that it's best to revise under exam conditions as close as possible. So in silence, at a desk. It's also best not to be distracted by a phone or anything else. I believe the optimal revision strategy is 20 minutes studying followed by a 10 minute break but you should totally switch off for that 10 minutes and not look at phones, emails, the internet, just zone out. But...

I did all my revision listening to Wham on cassette tape and DC did all their revision in bed or lying on the sofa next to their phones and we all did more than fine. Sitting at a desk might help a tiny bit, maybe even as much as 1%, but just studying is the most important thing. If she's comfortable and getting on with things, leave her to it. Making her do something she doesn't feel comfortable with or want to do is more likely to have a greater negative effect than anything she'll gain.

The only exception is doing past papers under exam conditions later in the year. That does help prepare psychologically.

[YobaOljazUwaque]

It doesn't matter for homework but it matters for revision. For homework, if the job gets done then who cares how or where. For revision, the while point is exam preparation, obviously. The human brain is a funny old thing and forms neural pathways in ways you don't always expect, and is very affected by sensory experience. Smell, sound and posture all make a difference and the key thing is that when you need to remember what you have learned, you are most likely to remember it when your circumstances are as similar as possible to the conditions you were in when you learned it. So for best results revision should always be done sitting at a desk in a quiet room because that is what exams are like. If you revise the structure of the kidney while tucked up in bed or while lying on a picnic rug in the garden listening to your favorite music you may find you can't access those memories easily while sitting in the exam room.

So (a) that revision time was wasted and (b) after the exam when you were sitting there sweating because you couldn't remember the facts about the structure of the kidney or whatever, you then find that every time you are tucked up in bed or lying on a picnic rug in the garden listening to your favorite music, you do remember everything you tried to learn about the structure of the kidney and how awful it felt not being able to recall what you needed. It then spoils those experiences that should be relaxing for many years to come.

[supermommyof4]

Id say aslong as she is doing the work then let her do it how she is comfortable. My daughter does this sits in her bed with the laptop and pencil and paper. She is nearly 18 and has excelled at college, so shes obviously doing something right. He work is also to high standard and tbh she gets more peace in her bed..we have a busy hoyse with 2 other younger children here.

[BertrandRussell]

Bit of mine did most of their revision in our bed! Only condition they tidied and remade it when we wanted it.

[00deed1988]

I have just completed my degree in midwifery with a 2:1 and used my desk approximately 3 times in 3 years. Rest of the time I was in bed. Pillows and duvet around me. Door closed. My whole dissertation was done snuggled up with my laptop. I was much more comfortable that way. I do have some back problems so sitting on the chair at the desk would aggravate that but where ever is most comfy.

Someone will study if they want to regardless of where they are.

[MrsPellegrinoPetrichor]

Ds has a huge desk,comfy chair and light- still always chose to revise on/in bed. He did really well so obviously it was ok

[corythatwas]

If you have a strong imagination you shouldn't find it difficult to retrieve memories while seated in a different situation to those in which you acquired them. In fact, I use that as a memnonic technique; associating things I read with different places, so that I can then use my imagination to get back in that place when I need to recall it. I can easily sit in an exam and use sensory memories of a road or garden to recall something I have read. I find it very difficult to learn at a desk because it is both too uncomfortable and too clinical: there is nothing to hang my memories on.
I have 2 BAs (both Firsts) and a PhD, so haven't done too badly on that score.