By: Katherine

Katherine — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 02:14:50 +0000

Sorry to hear that you were also affected by Hurricane Ida. I live in Hammond, Louisiana where my community was greatly impacted by the storm. I’m actually using a hotspot from my husband’s work phone to access my email since we do not have power or internet service. We lost power on the evening of 08/29. We do have a gas generator that we use off and on throughout the day to power the fridge and a window unit for some relief from the heat. While we have damage to the house (tree fell on roof above my youngest son Andrew’s bedroom), many downed trees strewn all over the yard, and limited communication, we are blessed that no one was hurt and things will be repaired eventually. We are hoping electricity will be restored in the next day or two. Thankfully, we can remain in the house while the roof and Andrew’s room is repaired. I remain hopeful and look forward to getting back on my regular schedule. Life is truly an adventure!

By: Seppie

Seppie — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 11:37:48 +0000

You will probably find that an earlier bedtime doesn’t really help teens get more sleep, because of the shift in circadian rhythms. At some point each of our four kids expressed something along the lines of, “it’s stupid to make me lie in bed awake for three hours if I can’t actually fall asleep.”
We just did our best to prevent screen use after 8 or 9 (not entirely successfully – we would literally lock phones up in a box at night, and at least one of them responded by buying a secret burner phone; we set the internet to turn off, they hacked in and reprogrammed it…your kids may be more compliant than mine were, but they do say now that they appreciate our efforts in retrospect, despite the years of mighty and vociferous objections we endured!)
Our district began working on changing school start times when my oldest was in middle school, and it happened in time for my youngest’s senior year of high school, so it took 7 years. It might be possible to set things up so he doesn’t have a first hour class, effectively creating your own late start.
If I were in your shoes, I would try to keep consistency and plan to drive (or have your nanny drive) every day. It would be better for kids to start later, better for the climate to incentivize the bus, and it’s unfortunate that the system is not set up for either.

Comments on: Friday miscellany: Slow starts

By: Katherine

By: Seppie