Do you wake your teens up for school?
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My stepson is in high school and his mom still wakes him up for school. When he is here he is expected to wake himself up. I have teens and I haven't waken them up in years. I expect them to be able to do this on their own by this age. It's gets frustrating because DH had to wake him up again today. Do you still wake your high schoolers up??
Get the loudest alarm clock
Get the loudest alarm clock that you can find and put it way out of reach (top of a wardrope, maybe) so that he HAS to get out of bed to stop it.
Lol!!! Good idea.
Lol!!! Good idea.
My mom would wake us up if we
My mom would wake us up if we didn't get up on our own. We did have alarms.. but back then I think mine was the wind up big ben. This was way before cell phones...so no phone alarm.
I think most kids have phones these days and would have the ability to set those alarms.
And.. yeah.. a teen should start to be more self sufficient and get up on their own..but, I still think that a parent should be a backup to make sure they are up. I have known a few young people that have had real issues getting up.. despite setting alarms and even I have slept through alarms in the past. So, I think it's ok to be a backup as a parent.
I mean... I know eventually, parents won't be there to do it. But, I would still do it for them as a backup and remind them to set the alarm.
Edit to add... I just realized this was you posting.
In your case, I think he needs to do this given BM's HC nature. The last thing he needs is the kids being late on his watch. Should they do it themselves more independently? probably.. but in your case, he doesn't have the luxury of letting them fail and suffer consequences because of his EX.
Oh he does. That's what
Oh he does. That's what frustrates him. Because if he doesn't and they are late of course it's not going to be the special little man child's fault. So, DH does it but we are both frustrated because we want to raise self sufficient, independent adults and she wants to keep them children to fill her own needs. So, we are left in the position to either let him have consequences (which in a normal situation is what we would do) and looking bad if he's late OR wake him up and feel like it's the wrong thing to do.
just to be clear, I'm not talking like this is a once in a while thing. We ALL can sleep through the alarm or forget to set out alarm. My kids have had a morning or two like that. We are understanding in those situations. But this situation is every single week because his mom still gets him up, packs his linch etc.. which is why it's frustrating. Because it's not just a mistake or a once in a while issue. It's an everyday issue.
It took us about a year but he is FINALLY getting in the habit of doing his own laundry. Something else mommy does for him. Ugh!! He complained that his sheets hadn't been washed in a while. I said "who's responsible is that?" He was like "Oh, ok I'll wash them" like.....realllly!!???
He couldn't even pour himself juice when I came into the picture. He was 10 when DH and I started to date and he was probably 11 at this point. He literally couldn't pour a drink! I was like "welp, you are learning today bud" lol!!!
Yeah.. he shouldn't have to..
Yeah.. he shouldn't have to.. but in this case.. he "has to".. I guess he could start reminding his kid to set his alarm at night? but beyond that, the bottom line is he knows he can't let his kid miss or be late for things.
My DD13
My DD13 has had her own alarm set for school for a couple of years now. I did not tell her to do that, she made that decision on her own. She sets her alarm for 6:00 a.m., makes me coffee in the morning, and chills until her second alarm goes off for the bus and then she runs out to it. As for my SD12, her mom wakes her up for school, at our house, I have told her to set an alarm and she never does. My DD13 will run and wake her up or I will before I have to leave for work. SD13 has missed the bus 3 times already this year because she takes over any hour to do anything. I have told DBF that she needs to learn to be more responsible and start setting her alarm for school each morning, has she done it? No. There will be once in a blue moon that she will be up and around before I leave for work but it's very rare.
I hear ya!!! I have girls
I hear ya!!! I have girls myself too. My youngest takes foooooorever. Lol. After a couple times of her scrambling to get out the door on time and getting stressed out, she figured out that if she sets her alarm a little earlier she doesn't have to rush. When she was rushing I said "yeah, that csb definitely get stressful, do you have any ideas on how you can fix that??" She said "well I should probably get up a little earlier so I have more time" I was like "bingo!!" lol. It's funny. I think one of my worst fears is that my kids won't be able to function without me so I really try to give them space ti make mistakes, learn and figure things out on their own with my supporting their decisions but I think HCBM's worst fear is that her kids won't need her so she does literally everything for them. She thinks that is what it means to be a good mom. Yeah, maybe when they are 3,4,5 years old. But NOT when they are in high school!! Lol .
PS- that is so sweet that she makes your coffee.
Aren't girls
Aren'r girls fun haha. My DD13 isn't perfect, but when it comes to getting up in the morning to get ready for school, she's awesome. SD12, not so much. I have suggested that SD12 get up when DD13 does, (they share the same room), and she refuses because she said it's too early for her to wake up. So she will sometimes get up at 7 am and then showers, eats her breakfast, and winds up missing the bus. They have to be responsible for catching the bus, as I leave around 7:15 for work, and their bus gets there around 7:30-7:35 ish. So what ever happens when I leave, it's their responsibility. If the miss the bus, the end up calling my DBF who leaves for work at 5:30, to drive them to school, when sometimes he can't leave work to do so. So it does give me anxiety when we have SD12 on some of the week days, because I just never know if she made the bus on time. I am hoping that she does start setting alarms rather than rely on me and DD13 to wake her.
And thank you! DD13 has been doing that for about a year now. It saves me some time, and most of the time she makes it right. I just appreciate her being so thoughtful.
Those are good techniques that you posted for sure. Maybe I should try this with SD12, but I will still probably get an eyeroll...haha Kids/Young Adults, etc...; will always need us in some manner. That's what she needs to realize.
I don't wake my kids up,
I don't wake my kids up, however there are cues... DD usually gets in the shower about 10mins after me, if the water pressure never changes, I do stick my head in to make sure she is up. She only missed her alarm once, the others times she had showered the night before. I also yell up the stairs as I am walking out the door for DS16- Love you bye! That is his OH CRAP! I should have been in the shower by now!
This kid has to be a functional adult
One day. It's important for him to get up and out by himself on time. To make himself breakfast, lunch, wash his clothes ect. Iys never too early to start teaching, parenting, him on this . In a few years he may be a sleep away college. No one is going to wake him up there, either he gets up early enough for breakfast or he doesn't eat.
I don't know what is normal
I was woken by nuns ringing bells to tell us it was time to get up. Wouldn't recommend it.
No, My SS was extremely
No, My SS was extremely responsible about getting up and catching the school bus. I can recall only once, maybe twice, that he missed the bus at our stop. On those occassions he would run through the woods to the next neighborhood and catch the bus there.
I on the otherhand, was not quite as diligent though i walked to school which was only a few hundred yards from our home. Mom was not tender about waking me up if I overslept. Ice water or banging pans together were her prefered methods. Very effective for getting a teen out of bed for school.
No, she wakes me up for work
No, she wakes me up for work lol (she has to get up earlier than i do and often wakes me up.) My son woke up on his own by junior high and even my SO's kids wake themselves up.
Interesting
My Ss's Bm insisted on waking him up too. He had an alarm clock at our house.
For the longest time she refused to let Ss get an alarm clock. Weird stuff!!
Both SDs were pretty good at
Both SDs were pretty good at getting up, setting alarms and all. We would both sometimes be gone before the bus came and they KNEW they had to get out - luckily the bus stop was close too. OSD had more issues and would sometimes forget to set her alarm or sleep over it (she of course was addicted to her phone and she could keep up untl 3 am - bragging to DH about it).
YSDalmost16 has had her own alarm clock for years and she uses it. She extremely picky about being "on time" and what time means to her is to the mintute (she doesn't get "I'll be there around 6:30" or "at a quarter till"). She also uses her alarm on the weekends which I think is nuts. It goes off at 7:00 - 7:30 on weekends here. And we KNOW she sleeps in late at BMs.
I just don't get involved, she's managing it just fine and as she wants to.
Omg this drives me nuts. SD14
Omg this drives me nuts. SD14 gets woken up by mommy and daddy...DH and SD plan it all out the night before about what time she should be woken. Then he has to go in her room 5 times before she gets up...it's this huge ordeal. It's so so weird.
i have 2 teens at home who haven't had to be woken up in years....I am not waking up high school students...they are big girls. But SD14 is treated like a toddler so.....I guess if she can't even pour her own drink into a glass I don't know why she'd be able to get up in the morning without daddy waking her.
Ice water and an air horn.
End of this crap.