Teenage sleep deprivation? Not in our house!

We don't need to worry about teenage sleep deprivation in our house. My son sets his own clock. He's a practical thinker. One of those 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' type. He chooses his own bedtime and most days I don't see him stir out of his room until well after noontime, unless we have something on our agenda for the day. Now that our son is a teenager and his sister is 21 with her own car and schedule, our days aren't rushed like they were when my children were younger.

We crammed our days with activities and outings in our children's early years. So afraid, were we, of missing any opportunity for learning or socializing, we'd pile into the car nearly every day to run errands, go shopping, visit libraries, museums, attend performances or whatever, returning home completely exhausted. Both we and the car was usually out of gas by the end of each day. As I look back now I think we could have relaxed about this homeschooling thing just a little more.

My son and I still enjoy outings together, which normally consists of dump runs or grocery shopping these days, but if I need to run somewhere in the mornings and his help isn't needed he stays home, under the covers fast asleep. When he needs to readjust his clock for early morning piano lessons or community college classes I figure he will. He's very capable and responsible. For now, he's a teenager, it's winter and much of nature is hibernating, so why shouldn't he.