My kids start school in the dark at 7:50 a.m. They ride the bus to school for about an hour. They arrive home at 4 p.m., or, if they have after-school activities, 6 p.m.

They eat dinner.

They have homework.

They have piano lessons.

Six of them are under the age of 14 and a miserable bunch are they. They bicker and have circles under their eyes, and the atmosphere of peace and sharing that should characterize the dinner table is so combative you could cut it with a knife.

I can’t blame them. These kids are sleep-deprived and so am I.

Although we do the right thing, and they aren’t allowed to watch TV on school nights, they do sometimes use the computer (a bit), chat on the telephone (a bit) and listen to music and read (a bit) after their chores and schoolwork are finished.

A tiny bit of life is all they can have.

All of our kids who live at home are asleep by 9 p.m. – even the one college guy who goes to school in our town.

That time, 9 p.m., seems fair and reasonable. But the alarm goes off at ten minutes to six. Dress, gather up their belongings and try to grab a mouthful of food. Somebody always forgets something. It is three-ring hysteria.

Kids need more than eight hours of sleep. They need eleven. I need more than six hours of sleep. I need seven or eight.

But I need to get up before they do to sort out breakfast, hairdos and everything else that goes with a day. And even when I get that all finished, I feel drained before my day begins. My kids do, too.

Why?

I mean, really, why?

I just finished reading Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and, with a shock of recognition, it studied evidence from research that showed school children performed hugely, even measurably better with only an extra half-hour of sleep. With an extra hour, they could save France. “Symptoms” for various disorders – acting surly, inattentive and bored -- were the same symptoms as those of sleep deprivation.

Some schools have tried a later start time with amazing results, according to Bronson’s book. Kids score higher on tests. There are fewer incidents. There are fewer absences.

The reality of life is that most parents have to be at work early. But some schools have tried making the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. hours a huge study hall, instrument practice and homework-prep period. Those parents who are able to let their kids start later should have the option to do that – just as those parents who can figure out a way to have half-day kindergarten for five-year-olds should be able to do that, too.

The kids would do better. We would do better. Life would be better.

But it’s not really going to happen. Just as it’s not really necessary for interns to suffer through 36-hour shifts that leave them groggy and unprepared – that could probably lead to medical accidents – there’s no reason for school, which is stuffed with study halls, to begin so early. It’s tradition and it’s punishing.

Maybe that’s the point.