Grab a pencil and put your thinking cap on:

  • How many hours of sleep do teens need each night? ________
  • ________ % of teens not getting the recommended (needed) amount of sleep?
  • Time kids spend doing homework has increased ________ % since 1981.
  • How much does doing homework add to achievement?

Before I share the answers, I want to talk about a feature of the teenage years that often goes unnoticed. Stress among young people begins as early as 3rd grade and increases into high school and college. It’s often unnoticed because parents often think, “What does a teenager have to worry about? I’m taking care of him/her.” When I look at my own teenagers, I see that they don’t have to worry about working, paying bills, or any of those worries. (I look back and wish that I wasn’t so eager to be an adult.) Heck, they even get chauffeured around . . . by me and my husband!
Recent research showed that teenagers were most stressed about–academics/grades, testing, and college admissions! They were more stressed about academics than they were about bullying or family problems.

Let’s return to our pop quiz above as we turn to discussing what parents can do. One of the signs of stress among teens is lack of sleep. For teens as well as adults, lack of sleep impacts attention, memory, and cognitive functions. Teens need 9.25 hours of sleep each night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. A whopping 80% of teens are not getting the needed amount of sleep. Sometimes, teens have other activities which extend their school day and mean that they have to stay up late to study. Other times, their sleep may be interrupted by technology, especially cell phones. The average teenage girl actually sends 4,050 texts per month, while the average teenage boy sends 2,628 texts. I’ll bet some of those texts are being sent at night . . . wouldn’t you agree? This is where parents can set limits on technology after 10 pm to ensure that their teenager is getting ample rest.

Due to lack of sleep, 28% of teenagers fall asleep in school and 22% fall asleep while doing homework. Homework loads continue to increase, especially as more schools extend their college-level course loads. Homework time has increased by 51% since 1981. Interestingly, homework has been found to have almost no correlation to achievement. A 2006 research study found that if middle school students do more than one hour of homework, there is no correlation to added achievement. As middle schoolers advance into high school, the homework load is even more demanding.

Families can help with the stress that’s placed on our teenagers. Suggestions for today’s busy family include:

  • Help, without doing
  • Avoid over-scheduling
  • Discipline and set boundaries

Although families may find it difficult to fit into their schedule, family meals should become routine. Research has shown that the strongest predictor of academic achievement and reduced behavioral problems is family meals.