SacMomsClub.com

My 10 year old step daughter is showing some really great interest in fitness lately.  She recently found the kids fitness section on demand, and has been doing the Denise Austin workout every morning.  She also wants me to wake her up early so she can go on walks with me and our dog, Buddy.  Then yesterday she really wanted to go for a jog.  She was actually a little mopey because my husband said he was too tired and didn't want to go. 

So I laced up my running shoes, and we headed out the door with the intention of just a small jog around the neighborhood.  I honestly thought it was going to be just a 12 minute excursion.  We started out towards her school, then took a detour onto the running trail by our house.  We took a couple 1 minute walk breaks, but ran the rest of the time at a pretty comfortable pace.  It turned out to be a 2 mile run.  For our first time out.  She said she had fun, felt good, and wanted to do it again.  I am so impressed with her!

I guess I'm a little extra happy about her interest in fitness, considering that I'm a Physical Education teacher.  I'm so used to hearing kids complain about running the mile, and here she is, 10 years old, and just ran TWO!  She has set a goal to run the school district 5K in October.  It will be her first race, so it should be pretty exciting for her.

Yes, I'm excited that she's so enthusiastic about fitness and physical activity, but it's also really nice to have a little partner to go on a short run with.  And a walking partner to walk the Buddy boy.  The walks with Buddy are a great opportunity to get some good talk time in, too.  I get to hear everything that's going on at school, with her friends, what's going on in her head.  Pretty good insight.  When you're walking for 45 minutes or longer, you find out some good stuff.  It's a great way to keep communication open.  I just hope this continues over the coming years!

I've always loved my sleep time.  Early to bed, early to rise is my motto.  I'm usually under the covers and sleeping away every night by 9:30.  My 10 year old step daughter and I are pretty much on the same page sleep wise.  We'll even "race" each other to see who can be ready in bed first.:  "Have you brushed your teeth yet?  I'm done washing my face, I'm almost ready," she'll say in that sing songy way of telling me she's going to win the in bed first competition.

My 14 year old step son is a different story.  He stays up later and later, and my husband stays up with him until he goes to bed.  During school he would try to be in bed by 10:00, but it usually was more like 10:30ish.  And Fridays he would stay up until whenever, using the "It's Friday, no school tomorrow" reasoning.

Well, now it's summer, and every day is Friday.  We have the kids every other week, and I like to plan full days of activities when they're with us.  That means wake up early so we can be the first ones at the amusement park  to avoid the lines.  Wake up early so we can catch the free 10:00 movie at the movie theater.  Wake up early so we can avoid the traffic going into the city.  Wake up early so we can be outside for a little bit before the 110 degree weather kicks in.  Basically, I like to have us all out of the house by 9:00. 

My 14 year old would sleep in until 11:00 or even noon if we let him.  Probably because he's stays up until 11:00 watching movies with my husband. 

Here is my question:  What time is a good time for early teenagers to go to bed in the summer?