Shouldn’t You Be Sleeping?
A midnight bathroom run reveals your teen’s light is still on and you can hear the clicking of their cell phone as they text their way into the night. It finally dawns on you why your teen is always so tired even though they seem to be in bed on time. You think, “Darn, I really should’ve made that a phone rule before I got her the phone.”
Sleep is so important. Your teen should be getting on average nine to nine and a half hours of sleep daily. Your teen is going to have a tough time sleeping if the pre-bedtime conversation they had with you is rough and tumble how much more a conversation that may decide their social standing in school the next day. Their brain keeps thinking long after they’ve stopped texting making it difficult for them to fall asleep. This can add to the moodiness you get the next day.
It most certainly is a good idea to put this in the “Cell Phone Rules” before you get your teen a cell phone, but more importantly it is wise to consider rules for all types of social media before bedtime. Texting or IMing unlike walking in on your teen when a friend is visiting may not be very obvious to you so consider when approaching your teen, surveying their environment. When they seem distracted or particularly moody, don’t always take it personally, they may have some other social thing going on. If you think the time spent on the phone is creeping into important sleep or down time, add these rules to the preexisting “No texting at the table or in front of adults like grandma rules.” Remember some teens are good enough to text without even looking at their phone so a lot of “Hmmms” and “Uh-huhs” can mean they’re distracted.
Cells phones are an important communication device, but everything needs a limit. Being aware is one of the first things you can do to anticipate what might be a problem with your teen having a cell phone.
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