Is It Normal for Teens to Sleep Until 3 p.m.?

Hi, friends, here's another good parenting question about teenagers. When our kids are little, we beg them to sleep in just once. With teens, we find ourselves wondering when on earth they'll finally drag themselves out of bed. Our reader Ulrike would love to hear what you think.

How long do your teens sleep?

I have three kids. My oldest is 12, so she's just at the beginning of the teen years. My friends' kids are older, though, and I keep hearing that their teens don't get up until 2 or 3 in the afternoon on weekends and during school breaks, and then of course they don't fall asleep until late at night. And I wonder: why?

I totally get that teens want to sleep in on weekends, and I know it from my own life: back when I was going out to clubs, I slept in too. But teens at 14, 15, or 16 aren't out that late yet, are they? Not so late that they'd need to sleep until 2 p.m. Or am I missing something?

It makes me sad when teens only crawl out of bed in the afternoon. Half the day is wasted, and switching back to getting up at a normal time during the week is brutally hard.

I thought back to what it was like for me at 14 or 15. My parents ran their own business and often had to be up early on weekends too, but they always woke us up around 9:30 or 10, just so the weekend wouldn't be frittered away. I can't remember ever sleeping until 3 p.m. (not even during my club days).

I know a lot of moms of teens read along here, and I'd like to get a little prepared for what's coming. So I'd really love to hear from you. How late do your teens stay up on weekends, and when do they get up? If they sleep that long, do you think it's fine, or is it kind of a shame? Thanks for sharing your experiences.