Schoolwork? Or Sports? – Parade

Katrin Mulligan in St. Louis, Missouri, writes:

My children’s school district has been switching to online textbooks for many of their classes. I understand some of their reasons (up-to-date information, added videos, never “forgetting book at school,” less weight to carry around, etc.) but struggle nightly with my kids to quit using electronics an hour before bedtime (to get a good night’s rest, less eye strain, etc.). I can’t get them to start homework earlier because they play sports and don’t get home before 6 pm. Should I have them just get up a little earlier in the morning to read or allow them to go to bed even later?

Marilyn responds:

I think you have more choices (for example, cut back on the after-school sports and cut back on quitting electronics an hour before bedtime), but among them, I would rank getting the kids up earlier to do schoolwork last! Instead, I suggest you reduce the amount of time they spend using devices for non-school-related activities, enough so they finish their homework an hour before bedtime. You could tell them that if this doesn’t work, they may need to reduce their after-school sports activities. That should scare them into compliance! (And if they never use their devices for non-school-related activities on school nights, they could still gain half an hour by turning off their devices thirty minutes ahead of bedtime instead of the current one-hour limit.)