A Super (Bowl) late night dilemma: Should my child stay up to watch the Panthers in the big game?

My son wants to watch the entire Super Bowl, even if — wait, no — especially if that means blowing right past bedtime.

As much as he wants to see the Panthers defeat the Broncos, Sunday is a school night. 

Now I face perhaps the first-worldliest of first-world problems: Should I let my 10-year-old son Benjamin stay up for the whole game? Part of me immediately says, “No way. Sleep is way more important than any football game.” The other part says, “Hey, this a special team. A special year. Once in a while isn’t going to hurt him.”

My son is excited about sports in a way specific to 10-year-olds and grown men who are still 10 years old in their minds. His excitement rooting for the team adds to the thrill of the big day and that excitement may help offset any tiredness that could come from staying up late.

“Banking on a Panthers win, the adrenaline and excitement on Monday will be very high,” said Sarah Crist, elementary counseling specialist for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

But considering the outcome isn’t set and that my son is happier and better in school with a consistent bedtime and enough sleep, how much will one late night throw him off?

Dr. Jennifer Squires, a pediatrician with Novant Health Elizabeth Pediatrics, says kids in elementary school need about 9 to 12 hours of sleep a night. In middle school, it’s a little less: about 9 to 10 hours. Staying up will cause some crankiness and tired kids, sort of an elementary version of a case of the Mondays. 

“You could be paying for it for the next couple of days,” she said.

Crist warns that children who haven’t gotten enough sleep are often more emotional and can be less attentive.

But both said the effects of a late night would wear off by Wednesday or Thursday.

However, Squires suggests setting parameters for allowing my son to stay up late before the big day. A nap on Sunday afternoon would help, if he’ll take one, and my son should be aware he will need to go to bed earlier Monday and Tuesday as a condition of permission to watch every minute of the game.

If he does stay up for the game, how late will that be?

The kickoff is 6:30 p.m. and the teams typically play about 3 ½ hours. Plus there’s that half hour of halftime show. And the commercials. Everyone loves the commercials.

In 50 years, no Super Bowl has ever gone into overtime. If that holds true Sunday, that’s a 10:30 p.m. bedtime, at the earliest.

Ultimately, this is a choice parents will have to make on their own, Crist and Squires said. You know your kid the best. If your child would appreciate the significance of why they are staying up, then it’s OK for an occasion as special as the Super Bowl.

The hometown team doesn’t make it to the Super Bowl every year. The last time was 2004 when the Panthers lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

That was almost two years before my son was born. If the team goes 12 years until its next Super Bowl appearance (we all hope not!), it’ll be 2028 and my son will be 22 and old enough to make his own decisions on when to go to bed.

OK. I’m convinced. He’ll get to stay up; Benjamin will be so pleased.

“We support allowing them to stay up and watch the Super Bowl,” Crist said. “This is a part of Charlotte history. We have so much Panther pride it will be felt throughout the city.”

Cover image from Parker Anderson via Flickr