Although Tyler is too young for me to have to worry about a curfew, I’m always interested in hearing what other parents have to say about them. When I was younger I didn’t have a curfew. Not because I was allowed to run around at my own discretion. No, my mother was strict and we weren’t allowed to go hardly anywhere. No dances, or parties, or movies or school events. I attended maybe a dozen such events during my middle and high school years. That was the extent of my social life.
I hear many parents and kids complaining about curfew. Most parents feel the time they set is adequate but of course the kids feel they need more time. And how many kids adhere to curfew anyway?
So what’s a parent to do, not set a curfew at all? One solution is to have an event by event curfew. Rather than setting curfew at say, 11:00, the parent sets the curfew based on where the child is going. If there’s a school dance, for instance, that ends at 12:30 the parent can set curfew for 1:00. Or better yet, 12:30. This gives your child time to enjoy the event and still make it home at a reasonable time. There’s no reason why they should have to stay until the very last minute. This idea came from a parent who uses this method with here daughter. She says it has worked well and what’s great is all of the parents of the kids that her daughter hangs out with use the same method. So there’s no peer pressure since everyone understands that they will have to be home at the same time. I’m sure it’s easier for kids to adhere to curfew when they all have the same time rather than when your child has to be home at 11:00 and the rest of his friends can stay out until 1.