School's Facebook post on kids' bedtimes goes viral
A Wisconsin elementary school posted a chart to its Facebook page outlining exactly what time children should go to bed depending on their age and time they need to wake up.
The post from Wilson Elementary -- featuring notably early bedtimes -- has generated a great deal of attention, both positive and negative, including thousands of comments and nearly 400,000 shares.
Reactions from parents to the early bedtime recommendations have been mixed.
Some say the guidelines are unrealistic, with commenters asking ,"On what planet?!" or sarcastically quipping, "Yeah, good luck with that."
"I guess no one following this chart does any after school activities or sports or has time for dinner or homework," one woman commented. "When do they have time to play or spend time with family?" another mom asked.
But other parents said that the chart is spot-on and a schedule they'd been following with their kids for years. "Glad to see this chart justify the exact [bed] times we have already set!" one parent commented.
Some parents simply thanked the school for the guidance and said they will try to implement these bedtimes moving forward.
One mom wrote: "This is a joke in my house right now, but I plan to try to adhere to a like schedule soon. I know it's beneficial to do so for the kids AND parents sake in so many ways. Praying it works."
According to the National Sleep Foundation, children ages 3 to 5 typically need 11 to 13 hours of sleep each night, while kids ages 6 to 13 should get 9 to 11 hours of shuteye. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also says school-aged children need at least 10 hours of sleep per day.
While national guidelines do not specify bedtimes down to such precise 15-minute intervals, the school's chart is within the recommended amounts of sleep kids need.
As one parent put it, "Everyone has their own schedules and yes every family is different, this is a meant to only be a guideline, no one meant for it to be gospel."
