My bus came at 6:27 am all of junior high and high school. Yeah, I was still valedictorian, but I sure as f(*7 brought a pillow with me and slept through the bus ride and sometimes first period.

So no sports or after school clubs?

8pm bedtime is great with no other obligations, but I was regularly at school events past then (lacrosse games, robotics, quiz bowl, etc.), so that schedule would have prevented me from doing a lot of things I enjoyed in high school

The youngest at 6 has Chess 3 times a week and soccer 3 times a week. The oldest has soccer 3 times a week and is not home until 7 in the evening. They also have homework.

So they have plenty of obligations we are just very strict with when they go to bed which means that in general we don't have an issue with getting them to sleep.

How do you handle the family logistics that facilitate going to bed by 8pm?

Just don't break the chain. Kids are all about consistency in my experience.

Putting the kids to sleep at 8 doesn't mean going to bed at 8pm myself.

Again we keep a strict schedule. Dinner at 6, bedtime reading at 7.30, light out at 8.00.

Weekends we are a little less strict yet they normally wake up at 6 anyway because they are used to it.

All it requires is the same kind of prioritization and effort we put into so many other things we care about.

Are most people like this? I’ve always struggled with having myself fall asleep before 10:00pm even as a preteen. I once tried putting myself on a schedule for two months, but I’d just lie awake until later at night when I’d finally doze off.

The moment I got into university and could move my schedule my GPA went up two grades.

No, I went to bed at 8pm sharp every night in elementary school and I was never, ever up at 6-6:30am naturally! It was a struggle to get to school for a 7am start time.

Depending on the school district 7am start times means busses are going to start their pickups much earlier, sometimes as early as 6am for some students.

Kids going to bed at 8pm is absolutely unrealistic because of mismatch with the adults day cycle, the parents likely would not have even finished dinner by 8pm.