How old should my daughter be to be able to make her own lunch?
88941
6 is a good age to start.
1142716
it depends what she's expected to do with the money... fun stuff only?  or is she expcted to buy school lunches?  clothes?  movies?\n\nwill you still buy the child books or treats? or is he on his own?  \n\nAt age 8, I started my kid at $2/week, and she got a $.50 raise at age 9 and again at age 10.  I expect that she'll be up to $5 by age 12.  Anyway she is not expected to contribute her allowance toward any regular expenses, and can spend her allowance pretty much how she chooses, within my guidelines.  \n\nGood luck!
976338
its very reasonable ,maybe you can offer to get her some cooking classes as a way to have some her time with out the kids then she will cook for you to try them out everybody wins.
1115610
Eating issues top the list of stresses in a lot of parents of 3 year olds.  A child will NOT starve themselves, so start by making food a "non-issue"  Offer her food, if she doesn't eat, put it away and offer it again later.  Don't beg, plead or bribe her to eat.  Stick with healthy foods in a variety of textures, colors, shapes and from all food groups.  She will not likely sit still long for meal times, so offer small meals throughout the day.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 3 snacks are appropriate for her age and health concerns.  Keep the portion sizes small.  If she is drinking a lot of juice, even if it is diluted with water, it contains enough sugar to make a small body think they aren't hungry.  A small amount of juice diluted with water served at one snack per day is plenty.  Stick with water and milk, which should probably be whole milk based on her need for calorie intake.  Avoid the empty calorie foods like chips and cookies.  Ice cream in small amounts, again as part of a snack or meal, can help with calcium intake.  I would suggest starting the day by serving breakfast, let her eat what she wants.  Then remove the food and let her play.  When she asks for something to eat, offer her a small plate of healthy bite size snacks such as string cheese cut into pieces, grapes cut in 1/2, mini Ritz crackers (whole wheat is good for her).  If she won't eat that, let it sit on the table and when she is hungry she will.  It is so tempting and normal to bribe her to eat with promises of sweet treats, but that is only developing some bad eating habits for her.  Experiment with veggies in a variety of ways such as carrots can be raw, steamed, or stir fried.  Her doctor should be made aware of her poor eating and may want to examine her to rule out any type of illness and may recommend a supplement such as pedia-sure, but most kids do not need that.  A nutritionist can also be consulted who can help design a meal plan specifically geared to help with weight gain.
231101
only give her water in the bottle and anything esle will have to go in the sippy cup dont force her to eat kids will eat when they are hungry if you are still worried see a doctor
697229
it depends on her age. In Michigan If she is a 15-16 she is required a 15 min. break every 2.5 hours. If she is 16/17 she is required to have a 30 minute break every 4.5 hours. If they are an adult the rule of thumb is after 4.5 but there is none.
736265
Kids need to eat what adults are SUPPOSED to eat.  Several servings of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, meat or other protein-rich foods, and dairy.  "Empty calories" and fat should be limited.\n\nFor breakfast, a bowl of cereal and milk is good.  \n\nFor snacks, keep it relatively small and simple, but try to work in as many various healthy foods as you can.  For example, apple slices (probably around five), sliced cheese (about five or six pieces sliced thin) and wheat crackers (five or so) is a good snack.  It shouldn't turn into a mini-meal (or a regular-sized one).\n\nFor dinner, smaller portions of what you have is probably fine.  Once again, try to get as many food groups as you can in there.  Also, we get a lot of the Kid Cuisines (or the Banquet frozen dinner), then give them a glass of milk.\n\nWhen giving him veggies, try to get as many colors as possible, since the various colors provide different nutrients.  Give him orange veggies (carrots, sweet potatoes), yellow ones (squash), purple ones (eggplant, turnips), and green leafy veggies (dark lettuce - iceburg lettuce carries almost no nutritional value - spinach, broccoli.)\n\nWhite bread, like iceberg lettuce, is virtually useless.  Start him on whole grain bread and cereal now, to set a preference.for the healthy stuff.\n\nThere are some excellent cookbooks for healthy meals and snacks for kids.\n\nNow, so far, you've only given him the food (veggies and all), and the real work begins:  getting him to eat it.  Play up the benefits.  For a 5-year-old, he'll understand that milk gives him strong bones (just like Spider-man or any other physical hero).  It'll help him get big and strong (just like Daddy!).  Make it visually appealing (make grilled cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread, then use a cookie cutter to make them into shapes.  you'll wanna use fairly large cookie cutters, large enough to match up very close to the size of the sandwich itself.)\n\nMake sure he gets lots of water through the day.  Three glasses of milk is the goal.  Give juice sparingly (it's still sugary).  Juice "drinks" (Capri Sun, fruit punch) have high fructose corn syrup (straight up sugar - the same stuff sodas have).  Sodas (even Sprite and root beer, which have no caffiene) aren't good.  Tea is okay, but you don't want to sugar it up too much (like white-or-wheat bread preferances are the result of what you had growing up, unsweet tea is the same thing.  I live in the South.  The one thing that convinces me I don't belong is that I, and my sisters, and my parents, will only drink unsweet tea.)  He should have lowfat milk, but not skim.  The fat from the milk helps with their development.\n\nI may be wrong, but you're using the word diet to just refer to what he eats, not "diet" to attempt to lose weight, right?
258826
Well, at three years old, she should be off the bottle.  Try switching her to a sippy cup, and I think that you will find that the fewer bottles she has, the more she will be willing to eat.  Being on the bottle at her age can damage her teeth.  Just be positive with her, "I think you're ready to be a big girl now, aren't you?  But, big girls don't drink from bottles.  They drink from cups."  And show her other ways to be a big girl, like maybe teaching her to write her name, reading, having her own chores, etc.  Make it something fun for her.  (BTW, I know chores don't sound like fun, but toddlers like helping, especially if the job isn't to difficult for them.)
199909
You are no longer responsible for your daughter if she is 18 years old or older.  Legally, she is on her own.  You no longer have to provide food, clothing or shelter for her.  It's unfortunate for everyone around her, that she has a drug habbit.  I'm sure she is putting a lot of stress on you.  You are not able to live your own life.  \n\nPrayer seems like the only answer....
133444
I would be glad if our schools went to something like that, at least I would know they were getting something healthy. Right now, if they want to eat a fried chicken sandwhich everyday they can, and when you are 6 years old it's a pretty yummy choice, I think that offerring the healthy versions of food will help kids get into the habit of eating things that are good for them which in the long run will help with weight issues. Kids should not be coming home to all out binge on whatever junk they want either, this type of eating can also lead to life long struggles with weight. There are also alot of kids out there that don't get healthy meals at home either, so at least now they will be getting 5 a week.
815350
Anything that is going to make her use her imagination and is not going to get chucked into the back of her closet after a couple of minutes.  At that age, I would have loved a scrap booking kit.  Wal-Mart sells quite a few aimed at that age group that vary in price.  I don't know what the price limit is, but a scrap-booking kit and an inexpensive digital camera is something that she could use for quite some time.  Also a boxed set of books from her favorite genre.  The Chronicles of Narnia are popular.  Does she still play with toys?  Board games are something fun that she can enjoy with people of all ages. "Sorry", "Clue", and "Monopoly" are great games.
219270
as soon as possible, id say at the latest age 8, a young lady should have her own space and room! i would have been embaressed to bring friends over too if i shared space with my brother
224480
This might sound really cruel but if it were me.  I'd let him go hungry to a ceirtain extent.  I have a 10 yr old who would did not start eating regularly until after 2 yrs old and for years he didn't want to eat a lot of things.  My strategy was and still is 1) Honey I won't make you eat anything I wouldn't eat myself.  2)I wouldn't make you eat something I don't think tastes good. 3)Please have only a couple of bites to make me happy and if you still don't like it you don't have to have anymore.  This was a very, very successful method for me.  My son eats almost anything today after refusing almost everything at first.  When all else fails tell him that this is what we have today, you don't have to eat it now but there is nothing else so when you are ready you can eat it then.  Don't force him.  Try rewards though, "please eat this", and when he's finished with that give him something he really enjoys but not until he has eaten what you want him to eat,  at first try at least three bites and increase the portions as you go.  Balance it out and be firm.  He may be a picky eater nonetheless, but you still have to teach him to eat well until he moves out.  Good luck
186926
Don't resort to the internet for your daughter's activities. It's great that she's an avid reader - keep checking out library books for her. Check out or buy good videos, as well. You could get her some basic art supplies and she can sketch and paint. She can learn to bake bread, and cook meals, using cookbooks. She can learn to knit or do needlepoint. Get her involved with learning an instrument - piano is ideal, but a flute or violin would be great, too. If you have the financial means, hire a language tutor to teach her a different language - Spanish or Chinese would be useful choices for her future. You sound like a good parent!
988929
I think it depends more on the maturity level of the child rather than the age, though, you might want to check the laws regarding what age a child can be left home alone and for how long.  If this child behaves responibly, has another adult in the area they can call or get to in a hurry if there is an emergency, understands and can perform basic first aid and is trustworthy, it may be okay.  I would ease her into it, like aloow her to be in charge of the child while I did yard work, painting, etc.  Something where I was still in the house to observe how she handled things.  if this goes well, try no more than 15 -20 min while you go to a neighbors house to chat or run to the local grocery.  When you are fully comfortable I would not leave her for more than an hour or two to be responsible for another child and I would only do it if there were another adult close by that you knew she could call on.  My 13 yo babysits for a friend but only if I am home- I am right down the street so she can call me if there is a problem.  Babysitting is a big responsibility and both her and the person she is babysitting for need to understand that.  I would not have let my girls babysit at 11 and I don't think I would have ever asked an 11 yo to babysit for me- but this has to be your decision based on the girls capabilities, maturity and situation.
255161
it depends on how mature the child is. of course there are laws that have required age limits on things like that.
113002
she isn't ready. to make her would be a bad idea    have patience    she will do it in her own time when she is ready. also depends on how old she is  over 3 is to old to not be trained.