Staying up late

Why wont my parents let me stay up late?

– Mike G, Tampa FL

Thank you for bringing this question to my attention Mike. Back when I was a young boy I often complained at how mean my parents were for not letting me stay up late to watch TV or play video games.

Back then video games were no where near as much fun as what we have today. The video game console in my house was Pong. That’s right it was Pong and it only played Pong! As for TV, you had to adjust the rabbit ears or watch what was on the one “over the air” cable channel that you had a box and a funny antenna on the roof for.

Back then there was not much worth staying up for. Today we have far more interesting (and fun) video games, a 24 hour Cartoon Network and the Internet. If I was a kid today I would put up a much bigger fight than I did back when I was a kid simply because of all the stuff to do!

In fact, one of my friends recently commented that if Pokemon existed when we were kids we would never have been so diligent in school. We would have wasted far too much time catching them all and ignored our studies.

Now that I am a father I better understand why my parents made me go to bed early. It’s not that they are trying to be mean to you but that they love you and know you.

Reasons to go to bed early
• 1. A growing body needs rest - You do most of your growing while you are sleeping. Ever wonder why you make up in the morning and your legs and feet hurt? It’s because you did some growing last night! Without adequate amounts of sleep you body will not be able to grow properly.
  
  

• 2. A tired kid is a cranky kid - Too many times I have accidentally kept my kids up too late because we got home late. The next day those kids were shot! They were tired and cranky and all together useless for anything other than sitting on the couch watching TV.
  
  

• 3. Parents need time to be alone with each other - As much as we love out kids we also love each other. Mom and dad need some time alone with each other to keep their relationship alive.

Have a question for dad? Send it in!

Sleepy Subway Days used under Creative Commons License from flickr user T. Keller