My mom is a morning person. I am not. She was awful to me in the mornings when I was a teen. I stayed up till one am doing homework on a regular basis, and would come downstairs sleep deprived, just wanting to eat cereal and read the Washington post. She would bombard me with logistical questions and get irritated when I couldn't answer her well. She should have just left me alone with nothing more than a "good morning"!

Give her a set period of time where she can "have space" and not have to talk to anyone else if she doesn't want to.

This worked really well for my younger brother growing up. He would get dressed, come down, eat breakfast while trying his best to be civilized, make sure that he had everything ready for the bus, and then he could camp out on the couch by himself and zone out in front of the TV until it was time to go.

Knowing he would have that "alone time" before the bus seemed to help a lot. If nothing else, it motivated him to get his act together quickly so he could disappear for a bit.

By the way, now that he's an adult, coffee seems to help a lot. Or so my sister-in-law says.

If my kids make our mornings miserable, they don't earn screen time after school. It works if I stick to it. They have to have good attitudes and cooperate in getting us all out the door. Good attitudes count toward earning screen time; bad attitudes or dilly-dallying loses screen time.

I still have mine at 44. I have never been a morning person.

My youngest--6--has it. His is definitely low blood sugar issue. He gets that way when he hasn't eaten/missed a meal. Once he sucks down his milk and has some breakfast he is sweet as molasses. He now will get his own horizon milk box out of the pantry--it's like his morning coffee. I worry about his teen years. I remember my brother was almost violent when my mom would try to rouse him early in the morning for HS. He would barely remember it.

Anonymous wrote:Get food into her as soon as possible.

Absolutely.

And beyond that:
a) don't ask much of her that first half hour (my mom used to ask me upon waking what I wanted for dinner)
b) after you hand her the food, teach her that she doesn't have to be cheerful, but she does have to be civil. Let her read at the table and just "be in her own zone."

She may never be perky upon waking, but she can learn to be acceptable.

On DCUM, apparently never.

It will only be your problem for the next 11 years.

I'm nearly 40 and I've never been a morning person. My mom says she would come get me out of my crib when I was a baby and say, "Good morning!" and then I would burst into tears. I can answer simple questions in the morning but not carry on any type of conversation.

Anonymous wrote:Get food into her as soon as possible.

THIS! My DS is a super-active kid with a fast metabolism and an early bedtime. There was a point (age 5ish) that I would go up to DS's room with a cup of milk (sometimes chocolate milk!) with a lid and straw about 20m before he needed to get up and get him to drink it when he was half asleep. I would then come back later to tell him to get out of bed and he was SO much more pleasant and would usually be much more cooperative with the morning routine. I'm not a morning person myself, so I totally sympathize with him. I need a good 20m laying in bed thinking about getting up before I actually motivate to do it! DH and DD on the other hand pop up instantly, smiling, cheerful and ready to chat. So annoying to us slow risers!

Get food into her as soon as possible.

OP, I'm not much of a morning person myself, so I get where your DD is coming from, but I also think you can turn this around by making this behavior unacceptable. Tell her that she doesn't have to be a chatterbox in the morning, but she does have to, say, respond to questions/ comments in a civil manner, or tell everyone "good morning." Much of this is just habit. Make her straighten up! She will thank you later.

Mine are morning people. So I was forced to become a morning person.

At 9 pm, they are like Gremlins fed after midnight.

I'm 34 and I still am horrible to be around in the morning, sorry. I have learned to keep my mouth shut until I'm less crabby, though.

DD is only seven! Talk about drama! No matter what I say, can't simmer her.