Anyone else’s teenagers turning night into day?

[candle18]

DS is 19 and has always tended to go to bed very late but it’s now getting a bit ridiculous since we went into lockdown. I don’t think he’s going to sleep till 4 or 5 am, sometimes later then sleeping till early afternoon. I’ve tried talking to him about importance of good sleep patterns, wakening him up early etc but doesn’t seem to work. Should I just leave him to it? I’m a very light sleeper so he’s often going to the toilet about 5am and will say he’s woke up for the toilet but he’s actually just going to bed. Arrrgggg

This is a really good explanation for it:

Another one here - DS16. As DS13 is heading the same way, although not as extremely.

Rather relieved that mine aren't the only ones.

I'm still doing it at 34 🤣 took me most of my adult life to realise this is the way I'm wired, and since coronavirus I've had no clients either, so have shifted into 2pm start and 3-4am bed, it's bloody lovely 🥰

Yes! And I am as well. We are all natural night owls. We made Easter eggs, baked, did prep for Easter dinner, played Cluedo. Fuck it.

I’ve done this

I’m always a night person naturally and am never sleepy before 3am.

There’s enough stress going on without trying to fight your body clock.

@CtrlU me too! Asleep by about 3am and waking up at 12/1pm. I feel like my body is finally getting all the hours of sleep it needs now that I’m not working.

Well we don't have kids and we are doing this. We are both night owls

Dd 19 gets up at 3pm now. I say nothing about it. I make sure there is food she can heat up when she is hungry for dinner. She is happy.

Yes I have three teenaged ds's and one teenage dd. DS1 ( aged 20) has always been up half the night, but his sleep pattern has become ridiculous with him sometimes up until 7am then sleeping all day. Ds2 is always up early walking the dog, Ds3 not getting up until 2pm and DD sleeping in late also.

Hi I know this post is a couple of months old now, it has helped to know I'm not alone, my DD 17 is up till 3am and sleeps in till 2pm. But she has online lessons that she isn't attending at college. She has said that she catches up online afterward. When I have woken her for a morning lesson at say 9.30 she has been crying and angry. I get a lot of parents are just leaving them to it if there isnt anything to get up for but just wondered if anyone else had this situation? She has been pretty good with lockdown and hardly been out when a lot of her friends have totally ignored rules. I also know that it wont be the end of the world if she has to repeat a year at college. It is really hard at this age as she is still technically a child but obviously needs to start taking responsibility as by next year will be able considered an adult. I also feel that if too much pressure is put on them they are likely to say f*ck it, which I can remember at that age.

Ds 18 doing the same. Going to bed at 2 or 3am, getting up at 2 or 3pm. Really messed up his sleeping pattern.

I've been like this since lockdown and I'm 46 with a job I have to do every day.

Tootsey11,
Mine is on her phone is your son same ? I'm worried as someone else has said about vitamin D! She doesn't even sit in garden for 10 minutes. Turning into a vampire

I woke at 2am this morning and told dd (16) to switch her light off and go to sleep. Light went off dutifully but can't guarantee she went to sleep!

I have bought vitamin D for my 2 as they barely leave the house

@ohthegoats I couldn't cope with that myself I'm knackered if I'm up till 11pm but I guess everyone different. Is worry keeping you awake ? I think it is different to make that decision as a 46 years old adult and fully understand the consequences. Are you managing to do what you need to?

My 2 Teens are up between 8 and 9 and start schoolwork straight away, so later than normal but not much so. We are all going to bed an hour or so later. How do all your teens manage school, mine are at state School and the school is now really ramping up live online lessons ( until a few weeks back most work was set on show my homework, a lot still is), but live lessons would be missed with those hours.

@dementedpixie vit D tablets are a good idea thank you. I take them myself. I do the and same tell DD to get to bed and light usually goes off but like you say you cant guarantee they go to sleep! My husband was getting up for work at 4am one day and she had just gone to bed! She is starting to look like an extra from Twilight

@MilkRunningOutAgain mine is at college doing A levels and usually I don't have to get involved most homework she did at college in her free periods. She is very bright but lazy! But yes she is missing online lessons. They apparently video most of them so they can catch up after. She has got quite behind though now. I've suggested to her to do a bit each day even at weekends. It is very hard at this age to know how much to get involved.

Mine never had live lessons from school so it was never an issue. They are now in the school summer holidays as we are in Scotland

Teenagers are prone to this, and I'm struggling not to do the same.

@NannyOgg66 no he never looks at a phone, he's a gamer though, it's all GTA 5. He has informed me he has not slept at all last night and gotten up at 7am this morning. Trying to reset himself. As for vitamin d, he never sees daylight.

I did this myself at 17, possibly a right of passage but this didn't have the extended period of time that we have had to do it!

I've managed to keep my own DS who is nearly 17 to not go to bed later than 1am/2am as I think this is reasonable. We have a younger child that needs something of a routine still so all need to be on the same kind of hours.

I have bought a timer for our WiFi that if I need to use will go off 1am - 8.30am. That then rules out staying up on games with friends and reduces the youtube streaming and chatting on phone as mobile data won't last long on these things.

I agent had to use it yet as we're winning the battle with him but if it slips again to him pushing later and later I'll be getting the plug in...!

As long as he's up by 11am each day, in a decent mood and doesn't look like a zombie then I think he's doing well!

As a household our 5 y/o doesn't sleep until 9.30/10.00 then sleeps in until about half 9. It's interesting how we settle into these new patterns when we don't have to be up and out, I wonder if it's opportunistic or instinctive!? The biggest thing for me is that I enjoy that quiet time at night which pushes my bedtime later with her sleeping so late.

That was an interesting clip and I'm glad it's just not my kids doing this.
My 3 teenagers are all still in bed. One is now completely nocturnal. He's also dyslexic so I'm wondering whether his brain is just wired the wrong way around.😂 Two have finished school so that's fine. But one still has some online talks at school this week.
I'm another one, who's a very light sleeper being woken up in the middle of the night. It's driving me bonkers.

Mine has, often sleeping from 6-8am till early evening. I'm going to bed about 2am and waking about noon at present.

These are exceptional circumstances and my child has SEN and is struggling being stuck at home so I'll let them do what ever helps protect their mental health for now.