Have we got a starting Secondary School Support thread?

Thanks for the sympathy.
Basically he got attacked by a group of boys and because they said roughly the same (blaming him) they decided he must be lying. So questioned him several times and because he added when they asked about specific bits apparently "confirmed" he was lying.
This despite saying from the start one of them assaulted him first.

Bedtime here is 9pm during the week. Lights go off then and he's always asleep by 9.15 and he has an alarm set for 7.30am. I won't be changing that anytime soon

Weekends i allow until 10pm ish

mine has lights out 9pm weekends 10.30

up to date with homework so none this weekend

Aww, @elkiedee, mine used to do Woodcraft Folk as well, but he left a couple of years ago because we got stuck with a useless grumpy group leader who sucked all the fun out of it. It was a shame because he'd loved it at first. Our battle is partly because he likes a big long-drawn-out performance at bedtime with me reading and then climbing up into his loft-bed with him for a chat and then him reading for half an hour or so, which all takes about an hour and a half, none of which I would mind doing if I hadn't had an hour-long battle to get him upstairs in the first place.

After-school snacks tend to be anything that's not nailed down, on top of whatever he's bought in the Co-op on his way home. He had a banana and a couple of chocolates today and then told me he'd bought a flapjack. He has hollow legs though and does a very physical sport twice a week after school.

Whatever everyone claims at school, I very much doubt that they are all allowed to stay up until 11 every night. Bedtime here varies a bit as both my boys have Woodcraft Folk on Tuesday and DS1's group is after DS2's - usually 7.30 until 8.30 but 9 pm last Tuesday, and it's a couple of miles away, with usually a short bus journey and a longer walk, so they aren't both home much before 9.30 normally. On Wednesday DS1 has football and DP and the boys come home after that with a takeaway at about 8.30. Tonight they will go upstairs between 8.30 and 9. DS1 does read for ages in bed, DS2 sometimes reads for a bit but on late bedtime evenings he often just crashes out and is fast asleep really quickly.

To be honest I don't remember having a bedtime from about 8 or 9 and didn't at all by 11, but at the beginning of my third year at middle school (equivalent to Year 7) my mum and stepdad had a 3 year old and a new baby and I suspect I was left to read or do my homework while they dealt with getting my brother and sister into bed.

I think it's normal for kids to be hungry when they get home, and there's some good ideas here for better snacks that they could have. Probably too often they just end up with biscuits and crisps, and apart from being unhealthy I don't think either are that effective at quelling hunger pangs.

Oh witchend, how frustrating! Do you think there is any way the school can make a better impression on your DS now?

DD goes to sleep quite late but she always has tbh. She is tired though! Never seems to sleep in even on the weekends, unfortunately.

Not too much homework for this weekend luckily, so it's going to be a good one!

My DS often has toast. Doesn't eat many different things, at the moment when DH goes to takeaway DS always says surprise me but he only eats 2 meals there. 😳 DH did surprise him with a third one and he wouldn't eat it. He eats lots of fruit, ham sandwiches, Pringles for snacks.

Sorry Witchend missed your post in a world of my own here. 😎

Hope you manage to get that sorted quickly. DS is getting a bit close to school refusal too though did manage today.

@redsummershoes

Re snacks - my year 7 DS is always starving when he comes home

He has ..

Wraps with a variety of fillings - chicken or ham or halloumi and salad

Toasted cheese bagels with fruit

Fish finger sandwich and crisps

We also have apples, carrots, nuts, cheese sticks, chocolate covered rice cakes, toast

Actually he just eats everything

Oh no, witchend - that doesn't sound good at all :(

Titsywoo Hope your DH isn't like mine and will just leave you to deal with the fallout from that.

Asked DS what happened to his detention today, well I had to miss it as I got another one at the same time. 😂

Rumours that we've all just been drinking coke and eating wispas are untrue. 😱 We've only been eating carrot sticks and grapes.

what do you all do for afternoon snack?
dc is home half an hour/hour before the rest of us.
mugshots and potnoodles feature heavily. not the best I know!
will try to make our own next week with lots of veg.

Well done your DH Titsywoo !
Bedtime here is 8.30, 9 at latest except Fridays when a Scouts doesn’t finish until 9 so it’s often nearly 10.

Oh dear just got an email saying DS has a detention on Monday lunchtime. Due to persistant lateness (he was last by a couple of minutes on Monday and Tuesday due to his sister being a slow-arse in the morning). DH emailed the school back asking if DD could be put it detention too since it was her fault (she gets away with not being on time as she helps set up for assembly every morning and someone else signs in for her). Neither of them are going to be very impressed when they get home! Thank god it's the weekend!

Ds had a big blip this week due to an incident on Tuesday which the school have handled very badly.
So now we're back to hating school, not wanting to do homework and not wanting to be there.
I'm furious, and even dh, who tends to take a more pragmatic approach has agreed this could very easily effect his education permanently. We are complaining loudly.

DS loves his sleep and has always taken himself off to bed normally around 9pm and he sleeps through to 7.45am. He also needs his sleep but loves giant soft toys so loves to sleep cuddling them or under them.

DD is a nightmare to get to sleep but she generally makes better with less sleep. Last year it amused me her phone was going at all hours with messages from the grammar school girls who all have strict parents - I suspect they didn't know they were messaging at 11pm or 6am. I also got the everyone else does it and trouble was from her phone could tell it was true for a fair few of them. My parents put me in bed at 8pm at this age.

If he's struggling at school though then think you just have to be tough on it, but I have been in tears a lot recently so I symphathise.

dc is very tired and usually asleep before 9.
we allow 1 hour of screentime a day and dc has to chose if they want to play or watch tv...

What time are all your Y7s going to bed? We are having the most horrible bedtimes because DS is clearly exhausted but 'everyone else' is allowed to stay up until 11 (and most of them are still on bloody Fortnite when I drag him off at 8.30). He needs to be asleep by 9.30 or he's a disaster the next day but he's having none of it. Huge horrible tantrum last night that ended up with both of us in tears.

That's why i wondered if the blazer stand off teacher was inexperienced. He may have been worried if he backed down he'd lose control. I think a more experienced teacher probably would have been more discerning about which battles they picked!

Thanks penguins I'll take a look at that. DS2's idea hinges on the metal being blue. They didn't cover the topic in class as the teacher got distracted telling them about Yr9/10 work but they'd drawn their idea first.

I've ordered DS2 a bigger backpack Sassitude. DS1's is perfect but they don't seem to make it anymore. I know DS2 will moan like hell about it hurting on PE days but the FB parent page is full of lost kit pleas. He barely has any books to carry but he has hypermobile shoulders.

DS2's French teacher has renamed him. initially got his name wrong, now knows what it is but is sticking with it. It's also my FIL's name! DS2 doesn't mind and I think it is meant kindly IYKWIM. Just hope the other pupils don't start calling him it though.

Ah Penguin, as someone married to an engineer I know your pain Obviously the school trust your judgement on the children/parent thing a little more than they trust your DD's.

DD is still tired, but doing OK here. The homework is taking a LOT longer though, so I feel like I'm constantly nagging her to do a bit but it's so it's not too overwhelming in one session.

I think we should have got a larger backpack, it is stuffed! Not helped by her carrying about three reading books with her each day, really heavy as well.

God penguins they aren't even giving him a chance to get himself sorted are they...

That blazer stand off us just ridiculous. How is there even time for that shit.

Thanks Frayed My DH has a PhD in that area of son's homework. I think its things like testing what metals / materials are best for aeroplanes / nuclear power stations / cars etc. Its to see things like can they withstand heat, will they crack under pressure, how heavy are they, how strong are they, life span. This is a page on advantages of composite (more than 1 metal combined) but gives idea of what they might want:

compositeslab.com/benefits-of-composites

I only understand it basically and not sure what level they go to in y7 but these are the interesting type of things DH can discuss for 2 hours. 😎

Hope DS is o.k. today penguins. Glad DD is improving, hope it continues.

That is a rather bizarre stand off Colonel, sounds like some dominance at play. If it had been my DS1 the teacher would still be there now, as he never removes his blazer (apart from PE).

DS2 is already dreading Monday as in science they will have to speak in front of the class, selling a metal they've invented. This really is not his thing and I'm expecting all kinds of ailments on Sunday night. He has at least made a start on the work, but it seems the idea he came up with in class isn't that easy to actually achieve. I got an F in Science so I am not of any help at all!