Ha! There's Research to Back Me Up

Sometimes it is so nice to receive random bits of information that validate what you are doing as a parent. Especially when there are times that some people look at you like you are crazy for some of your parenting strategies and so said strategies at times cause your children to cringe in embarrassment. Last week the school nurse specialist sent me a link to a research artilce on adolescent depression and bedtimes. The study found that adolescents whose parents let them stay up past 10 p.m. had a statistically significant increase in depression when compared to same aged peers whose bedtimes were before 10 p.m. Guess when my children go to bed. 9 p.m. during the school year. That's right. Somehow, we have managed to get our 16 year old and almost 14 year old to adhere to the same bedtime since they were about 10. We sometimes make a few allowances during the summer, allowing a bedtime of 10 p.m. So gratifying to know that we are doing something right in this parenting adventure.