According to Yahoo! Parenting, a sleep guide for children published by Wilson Elementary School in Wisconsin is stirring up debate among parents across the country.
The chart, posted last week by Wilson Elementary School in Wisconsin, seems innocent enough: It says what time kids of different ages should go to bed at night and wake up in the morning. But it’s been hotly debated online, with well over 385,000 shares and more than 8,400 comments. Many of the parents who have shared and commented on the post say it’s totally unrealistic to expect a 12-year-old who has to be up at 6 a.m. to go to bed by 8:15 p.m., or that a 5-year-old who has to get up at 7 a.m. can’t possibly be expected to have a bedtime of 7:30 p.m.
Some parents have commented that the chart is impractical for working moms and dads. “Tell that to a mother who doesn’t get home until 6:15 most nights and still has to prepare dinner, check homework, and get baths,” writes Crystal Roberts.
Others pointed out that this schedule leaves little time for after-school activities such as sports or band and homework, let alone quality family time. Mom-of-5 Jacklyn Brooks says that her children aren’t done with soccer and cheerleading practice until between 7 and 8 p.m. “Then we have to go home, shower, get clothes laid out and everything ready for school the next day,” she writes. “All five of my kids go to sleep at 9, and I have no problem waking up the four kids that go to school in the morning at 7. This chart is unrealistic.”
