What are your weekday mornings like with a Middle Schooler?

Anonymous
My youngest is in Kingergarten and makes her own lunch the night before....
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You can definitely start working towards this independence early. My kids have been getting their own breakfasts (generally cereal or toasting a waffle) since early elementary. Around 1-3rd grade we had charts for them to go through their morning responsibilities -- dress, wash, feed pets, make bed, brush hair, etc. They are in 5th and 7th now and it's been years since we had to do anything in the a.m. other than review what they have completed.

If they bring lunch, that gets discussed/packed the night before with me, but mostly they prefer to buy at school so the lunch packing is more a summer camp thing.


My issue is that I want my kids to have a big, healthy breakfast... so that means I am stuck cooking the oats, making the pancake/waffle batter, frying the eggs and sausages, dishing out the yogurt and granola. If I gave them the choice to make their own breakfasts, they would just eat a bowl of plain cereal and milk every. single. morning. Luckily, I don't have to leave for work until 8:30, so it is easy for me to make breakfast and pack lunches. Everything else, the kids can do on their own... they know they have to be downstairs and ready for breakfast around 8am. Once we finish up, I leave for work at 8:30, and they go outside and shoot baskets or something for about 15 minutes before heading off to school on their bikes at 8:45.

They are in 4th and 5th grade (both boys).




Many of us grew up eating cereal every single morning so what's the big deal?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You can definitely start working towards this independence early. My kids have been getting their own breakfasts (generally cereal or toasting a waffle) since early elementary. Around 1-3rd grade we had charts for them to go through their morning responsibilities -- dress, wash, feed pets, make bed, brush hair, etc. They are in 5th and 7th now and it's been years since we had to do anything in the a.m. other than review what they have completed.

If they bring lunch, that gets discussed/packed the night before with me, but mostly they prefer to buy at school so the lunch packing is more a summer camp thing.


My issue is that I want my kids to have a big, healthy breakfast... so that means I am stuck cooking the oats, making the pancake/waffle batter, frying the eggs and sausages, dishing out the yogurt and granola. If I gave them the choice to make their own breakfasts, they would just eat a bowl of plain cereal and milk every. single. morning. Luckily, I don't have to leave for work until 8:30, so it is easy for me to make breakfast and pack lunches. Everything else, the kids can do on their own... they know they have to be downstairs and ready for breakfast around 8am. Once we finish up, I leave for work at 8:30, and they go outside and shoot baskets or something for about 15 minutes before heading off to school on their bikes at 8:45.

They are in 4th and 5th grade (both boys).



You could make most of thes things on the weekend and stick them in the refrigerator for your kids to reheat each morning.
Anonymous
Yes, but I think my kids would make different choices if given free reign in the kitchen. They would not make pancakes when they could just grab a bowl of cereal. They certainly would not choose steel-cut oats over a frozen waffle! But when I make it for them, they happily eat it all. It might have to do with how I was raised... my mom made me breakfast almost every single morning until I went off to college. (She also packed my lunch through high school ) So, it is just what I am used to. I like making sure they have an excellent diet for as long as I can.
Anonymous
My kids are very active after school so big breakfast is a must and I really enjoy doing it. They hate cereal and imo that is a good thing. So I make them eggs, and turkey bacon, toast,mix it up, sometimes real bacon, fruit, waffles. Basically, very filling breakfast. I had a couple of weeks off and wanted to rest and sleep in, and kids still had school, and they got up on their own and made their own breakfast, so they can do it and were happy to do it, but during the week when I work, I do it all. I pack them lunches as they won't touch any school food, again their preference, but I am glad they won't eat it, they are in public schools, so I don't know if private schools here would have healthier food. It is really busy for me in the morning, but I know time goes by so fast and this might be more for me than for them.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:My youngest is in Kingergarten and makes her own lunch the night before....


Why?
Anonymous

Many of us grew up eating cereal every single morning so what's the big deal?

Better question to ask if, do you have heart problems? You will if you don't, are your parents healthy? Would you eat 4,5 teaspoons of sugar on its own? Because you are feeding your kids that much sugar in a cup of cereal. It has been proven that sugar, rather than fat, has a greater effect on increasing bad cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. I keep posting and posting about how there is no sugar percentage on the labels, even cereal, so when you give your kid cereal if it said sugar per one serving, one cup contains 60% of recommended daily sugar intake, would you still think that is ok? Average American eats about 22 teaspoons of sugar per day, 7 is highest recommended.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Yes, but I think my kids would make different choices if given free reign in the kitchen. They would not make pancakes when they could just grab a bowl of cereal. They certainly would not choose steel-cut oats over a frozen waffle! But when I make it for them, they happily eat it all. It might have to do with how I was raised... my mom made me breakfast almost every single morning until I went off to college. (She also packed my lunch through high school ) So, it is just what I am used to. I like making sure they have an excellent diet for as long as I can.


+1 This is what we are used to in my house as well. I still make breakfast for my middle schooler and high schooler. I never ate cereal growing because my hippie mother thought the amount of sugar was evil. Nowadays, there are plenty of good cereal options, with low sugar and whole grains. But even though I serve my kids cereal with a fruit topping (berries, bananas,etc.) sometimes, I only do it about once or twice a week because I think variety is important. So I expect this part of our morning routine will continue until they graduate and leave home.

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My youngest is in Kingergarten and makes her own lunch the night before....


Why?


1). Because she is able.
2). Because the morning is rushed
Anonymous
My middle schooler wakes up early (naturally) and is self-sufficient. I do get up and help make lunch and say goodbye, but I'm not really necessary to the process.

My younger child tends to sleep in later, so I think I might need to be more involved once middle school hits.
Anonymous
My 6th grade DD needs to be woken up. She likes us to get her breakfast, but it is 50-50 if we'll do it or not. After her sibling leaves for school, we leave, and DD is alone for about 30-45 minutes, at which point she leaves for school.

She sometimes puts her dishes in the dishwasher, most often just in the sink. She always takes care of the dog before she leaves, and makes sure to lock the door.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Many of us grew up eating cereal every single morning so what's the big deal?


Better question to ask if, do you have heart problems? You will if you don't, are your parents healthy? Would you eat 4,5 teaspoons of sugar on its own? Because you are feeding your kids that much sugar in a cup of cereal. It has been proven that sugar, rather than fat, has a greater effect on increasing bad cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. I keep posting and posting about how there is no sugar percentage on the labels, even cereal, so when you give your kid cereal if it said sugar per one serving, one cup contains 60% of recommended daily sugar intake, would you still think that is ok? Average American eats about 22 teaspoons of sugar per day, 7 is highest recommended.


My mother is healthy at age 69 and so is my grandmother at age 92. No heart problems in our family. My dad died in a car accident at age 65 but he was healthy. My kid loves plain Cheerios and plain oatmeal. I prefer flavored oatmeal and Raisin Bran. I have no desire to overthink everything I put in my mouth.
Anonymous
yall are hilarious DCUM

growing up I did everything starting in 3rd grade

Guess what my third grader does everything now too including makings eggs waffles pancakes etc and he is a boy

it's really not hard people quit coddling and helicoptoring
Anonymous
Not a middle schooler, but I have a 4th grader who does for himself. I'm in Loudoun county so school starts at 730. 3 mornings a week I go to the gym and arrive home at 645. My son gets himself up via alarm, gets dressed.l, microwaves himself a sausage, egg and cheese breakfast burrito, eats it, brushes teeth and bikes himself a mile to school at 725.

We make the burritos Sunday nights and have them ready for the week. We make lunch the night before and make sure the backpack is packed.

I find it very strange that a middle schooler isn't already taking care of themselves in the morning. However, as a working mom, my kids have had to learn to do a lot on their own.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:You can definitely start working towards this independence early. My kids have been getting their own breakfasts (generally cereal or toasting a waffle) since early elementary. Around 1-3rd grade we had charts for them to go through their morning responsibilities -- dress, wash, feed pets, make bed, brush hair, etc. They are in 5th and 7th now and it's been years since we had to do anything in the a.m. other than review what they have completed.

If they bring lunch, that gets discussed/packed the night before with me, but mostly they prefer to buy at school so the lunch packing is more a summer camp thing.


My issue is that I want my kids to have a big, healthy breakfast... so that means I am stuck cooking the oats, making the pancake/waffle batter, frying the eggs and sausages, dishing out the yogurt and granola. If I gave them the choice to make their own breakfasts, they would just eat a bowl of plain cereal and milk every. single. morning. Luckily, I don't have to leave for work until 8:30, so it is easy for me to make breakfast and pack lunches. Everything else, the kids can do on their own... they know they have to be downstairs and ready for breakfast around 8am. Once we finish up, I leave for work at 8:30, and they go outside and shoot baskets or something for about 15 minutes before heading off to school on their bikes at 8:45.

They are in 4th and 5th grade (both boys).



So do i, that is why I make breakfast burritos Sunday nights. I also pre make yogurt parfait...berries on the bottom, whole milk plain yogurt, and then topped with granola.

I don't have time to play IHOP in the morning.
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