15 shirts a week

[theonlygirl]

DS2 starts big school in September, meaning there will be 15 shirts in the laundry each week. DH 5, DS1 5, DS2 5.
no issue washing and drying them but it will be a cold day in hell before I stand ironing their shirts. I don't use a tumbledryer so they all definitely need ironing.

Option 1 - make them iron their own.
Option 2 - drycleaners

Curious to know what others do

Of course, that is a terrible option and I agree cereal is better than that.
Not a race to the bottom though is it re poor quality meals, and relinquishing parenting roles as early as possible.

Completely disagree. Encouraging a child to establish a routine by doing an essential task day in day out is exactly what is needed.
To allow children to do things only when they feel like it is very poor preparation for adulthood where meeting your responsibilities consistently is important.
You say your children did the chores because they wanted to, and you wouldn't have minded if they hadn't. But that's not going to work well if as grown men they carry that forward, as who will mow the lawn and tidy the house on the days they don't feel like it?

I'd get them all to be doing their own. At 10 I was ironing my own school uniform and that of my younger siblings. I'd put music on and do it at my own pace which got me out of other chores on a Sunday. It's not slave labour.

@theonlygirl

you have options

a) do they really need a clean shirt everyday? Pretty sure lots of kids won’t have clean on everyday. Do your kids not wash and use anti-perspirant? Why does your husband need a clean one everyday?

b) don’t iron them. Again lots of kids won’t have ironed shirts. Who cares?

c) teach them to do it themselves. Not that you should have to teach a grown man to iron but hey ho. If none of them can’t be arsed then evidently having an ironed shirt isn’t that important to them.

there you go, lots of options which don’t include you being a mummy Martyr. You’re welcome.

I didn’t say they did it because they wanted to.
I said they weren’t essential tasks, but they were expected to help out this weekend.

Having your shirted ready for school, aged 11, is essential. That’s a young child then doing something until no longer needed because mum doesn’t want to!

Daily food preparation is essential.

Cutting grass, dog walking yesterday were not essential, but them helping was expected and they know it. Hence they did it.

@Quincythequince

what do you suggest that teens do have for breakfast then?

@JetTail

“I also, weirdly, loved preparing their uniforms! Maybe I'm just a weirdo. I also worked full time. I would be up at 6, bread in the oven, a laundry load on and hung out by 7. While they were on I'd have taken a shower, and done my makeup. Out of the oven with the bread, and washing hung on line by 7.30. Then I woke the dead lol. Porridge (the microwave handy shit from Lidl). A battle always ensued about brushing teeth and getting dressed lol. But that was just it. That's just being a Mum?”

I don’t believe a word of this. The timings are all over the place. Go back to sleep
@JetTail you’re In a dreamworld

There was a Great list posted earlier in thread. Various things from that, including cereal/milk occasionally.

For Some of the other stuff, it would be nice for parent to prep for them, as it’s more time consuming on a busy week day.

But it sounds like most people here who have taken umbrage at that, just do cereal/milk for breakfast.

If that’s always been considered acceptable and nutritious day in/day out, not much chance of change there.

@JetTail

lol how can you love it?

I mean if you genuinely do “love it” you’d wanna get a life!!

Timings are doable.
I naturally wake early and can get plenty done before kids are up.

@Quincythequince

yeah you still haven’t actually answered my question.
can you give me an example of what you see a suitable nutritious breakfast for a teen?

@Quincythequince

no one can have a shower, do their makeup, sort bread, and put washing out in less than half an hour.

If you can I’d love to see the state of your makeup!!

@Quincythequince - you have been rude and you've had at least one post on this thread deleted for breaking posting guidelines. I didn't get to read that peach of a post, but you've described the parenting of others as shitty and lazy and called another poster a plank in some of your other posts.

Well, yeah I have, but here goes.

-eggs, beans, toast

-greek yoghurt, banana, honey, oats,

-porridge with fruit and nuts

-grain bread with grilled meats (veggies options where needed), cheeses, chutneys

-cereal, milk, fruit, yoghurt

-rice pudding

There’s just a few…

Coco pops and milk, fine once in a while. Toast and jam, fine once in a while.

Not day in, day out because that’s all there is abs all there’s time for.

There is no difference between expecting a child to do essential and non essential tasks in that the child, not the parent, is doing the task, so I don't see why one is lazy and the other is not.
It's better for a child to see that the chore they're being asked to do is important and not doing it has consequences. (Obviously with a younger child a parent would check it had been done so the consequences were not too dire)
I think as parents who love parenting, it can be difficult at times to balance the parents own need to do the things they 'love doing' for their children, plus the need for validation of the importance of their role, with the need to foster independence.

The poster who was a plank insulted a 17 year old boy for no good reason.

So yeah, she’s a plank!

And I have new repeatedly called names and insulted, I just don’t go boo hoo’ing about it to the mods.

*been (not new)

We don't have a tumble dryer either, and only dd2 has worn shirts, even then not a new one every day and they are non iron and most of the time I haven't bothered ironing.
In your position, if it's important that they all have pristine shirts every day, I'd either use an ironing service if I could afford it, or buy non iron shirts and then they'll only need a quick skim over with an iron if at all - it's the washing and drying I'd have a problem with.

I think yours is a very sensible post, I really do.

I just know that my children have busy lives with extracurricular stuff, school sports, homework, clubs, volunteering, various chores at weekends here, and just being a kid of course and having fun, just chilling out and doing nothing, and the school day (whilst it’s always been this way) is ill suited to teen circadian rhythm’s, so they aren’t at their best in the morning.

I help out and take the load off where I can. This lessens when they age of course, but whilst they’re here, they Bevan still rely on me to help them. Mine are capable and taught to do things (and do help out) but, whilst they young (I.e. 11) it wouldn’t give them something as important as being solely responsible for their shirt-ironing.

There you go again....

For clarity @Quincythequince, I referring to your posts of 11:18.

And then there’s ensuring a decent, balanced packed lunch too.

We have a major health and weight problem in my his country and poor food is a major part of that.

Lockdown stats for kids make for a saddening read in many respects, not just MH.

LOL. Come back to the case in point.
That poster made completely unnecessary and unkind comments about a 17 year old boy who had a genuine grievance.

What would you call her?

Plank is relatively inoffensive in the grand scheme of things.

@Quincythequince

the teens can make that stuff if they like. fine. None of that is beyond their culinary capacity.

Most teens I would imagine can’t be arsed. But it’s wrong to expect working mothers to stand in a kitchen making eggs, bacon and beans on a morning before work.

Ain’t nobody got time for that!