AIBU to refuse a Year 9 staying up for the 1am match?

[BlackTulipss]

Is this unreasonable?
Apparently "every other mum" is letting their school year 9 kid watch the 1am match tonight and phone in sick to school tomorrow morning then go in at lunch.
I've said no to staying up to watch it. Starts at 1am, it will go on till 3:30am, or later if extra time!
DS has to get up at 6:30 for school.
DH says let him, keeps going on about once every 4 years experience, it's only 1 night, etc. And he says it will be the final England match - they'll be knocked out by Mexico tonight so there will be no other England games to watch after tonight.
DS badly needs his sleep and at 14 he still needs a solid 11 hours to function.
Is anyone else letting their DC watch it live tonight?
AIBU?

Actually university term would have ended anyway so it would not matter at all.

Let’s say instead that he’ll be at work in 3-4 years when he’s 18. Then it would be his choice whether to stay up and turn up tired to work, or call in sick. Have to hope he doesn’t drive that day though as no sleep makes someone as safe as a drunk.

You’re missing the point. He’ll be 18 in a few years and will be an adult in control of his own life.

This will be good practice for him.

Just like the cool mums let their kids practice drinking and smoking!

My year 9 has gone to bed and is getting up to watch then hopefully going back to sleep again. He’s just realised he also has some English homework he’d forgotten about, so he says he’s doing that in the morning as well 😬.

I just remembered, a similar thing I did was getting up to watch the 100m final at the Seoul Olympics in 88. I was mad about that sort of thing, still am. A particularly memorable year in light of the drama of that race. I was the same age, 14.

We’re letting my nearly 9 year old do the same. We also have a 17 year old whom we can’t stop obviously, he’s nearly an adult and he’s finished his exams, so the younger one is going to hear enough to wake him up anyway. I or DH will get up first to check whether it’s delayed for storms, then wake them up as and when. A bit of me thinks we must be a bit crazy, but actually it will probably be fine.

Is this a joke? I seriously hope it is.

You’re missing the point that he is not that age now. Just like an 10 year old is not a 14 year old.

And even if he were 18, he’d have to weigh up the pros and cons given whatever life he has then. He might have a job where it mattered to not be tired, or matter if he did not turn up the next morning.

He also aged 18 might be taking drugs to stay up or tge next day.

Actually, if nothing important is happening at school or another activity this week it wouldn’t matter. If he does have something important coming up though, imo no sleep for a night might have a knock on effect.

Do you understand the concept of freedom of choice? You can stick to your ice cream and tracking your kids until they are 60

for lots of people, male and female, the World Cup is a big deal

stay in your own lane

It's a bit of a joke. But some people are acting like their kids will be permanently damaged if they don't stay up. I've never meet anyone who hates their parents cause they weren't allowed to stay up to watch England lose to Brazil in 2002.

Can I just find out if he’s watching it or not?

I'm just supporting the OP! What on earth are you talking about tracking kids? Anyway I'm off to bed. Hopefully in the morning all this nonsense will be over.

Good luck forcing a 14 year old boy out of bed after three hours' sleep, particularly when it's for school purposes.

Well if they don't make it in they will have to face the consequences with school - detentions presumably. It's a life lesson!

What’s a 9 year old doing with a smartphone, and if he has one, why would he be allowed to have it in his room at that time anyway?

For everyone who says it's not a big deal to let a child lose sleep and hinder his education.Guess what's not a big deal.
Football.
And anything and everything that has to do with football. Also, your children's education per your opinions.

It's entirely possible to value education while recognizing that social development matters too. This isn't a random weekly match; it’s a major tournament knockout game. Tomorrow, the classroom and the playground will revolve entirely around what happened tonight.Forcing a child to bed means actively choosing to socially isolate them from their peers during a massive shared cultural moment. Belonging and peer bonding are vital parts of growing up. We are talking about one single late night—unless we make the final, this isn't a recurring habit. One tired Monday has zero impact on their long-term education, but the memory of sharing a historic game with family and friends lasts a lifetime.
I say this as a mun whi has no interest in football and had two children who never missed a day from secondary school.

I'd be more concerned about dad being knackered tomorrow, I could cope with all nighters until I got to 30!!

My 14, 13 and 11 year olds have all taken themselves to bed. I'm waking them up at 5am to watch on catch up before school. We only have one tv in the lounge downstairs and I don't want them shouting and waking us up or their younger siblings. They didn't argue at all. They don't have phones in their rooms overnight so its not like they're going to somehow find out the scores by accident.

Wasn’t this an early morning game? I remember going in to school early to watch it at school

it was one of the most memorable games as a result

That question has not been answered!

Year 9 not a 9 year old!

He is year nine, aged fourteen. Look again.

I know, but at this stage it is the only answer I have the energy left to care about 😂

Maybe I’ll just come back later for the denouement

Yes I realise OP’s boy is14 ! I was referring to a poster I thought was talking about a 9 year old. IMO I’d let thekids watch, if they fall asleep before the winning goal - hard luck!

All of these kids staying awake/waking up at 1am for a football match (not even the final) is a bit bonkers to me, but I guess I'm in the minority.

I’d let him stay up and go in at lunch/have the day off.

We’re Scottish and my 9 year old had the day off after one of our games… however that might be once in a lifetime for us 🤣

I have a Y9 dd and if she wanted to watch the match, I'd let her. She's old enough to understand the consequences (feeling very tired the next day) and would go to school and battle through it grumpily, I believe (based on how she is with lack of sleep).

I'm not watching any of the matches and don't particularly like football, but I understand it's a big deal to a lot of people and watching it live would be a special memory - and shared with many others.

As a 14yo, if I'd wanted to do this, I'd have probably just gone ahead and do it it without waking my parents!