Bagged Lunches

[diznygirl]

So, I'm reading thinking how cute this is... aww, such a nice mommy... then BAM! He's 16! Ma'am, do your son a favor and step away from the markers!!!

 

[si-am]

This!

You know better than anyone else how far you can go in teasing your kids. If you are confident that your son will really tell you to stop, and that he's actually enjoying it even if he says he isn't, then by all means carry right on making cute lunches. Maybe he's getting positive attention from the girls in his class.

My 13yo son carries on about it being "embarrassing" when girls run up to pat or tug at his curly hair, but it's obvious he's enjoying himself at the same time. He gets all pink and smiley when he's talking about it.

"I hate it!" he says with half a smile.

"Really, you HATE being chased by girls."

"They're awful! I tell them to stop, but they don't." (Yeah, I can just see this. "Don't. Stop.")

"Then why don't you cut your hair?"

"Maybe I will!" But he never does.

That's different than Mom running up and pulling on his curly hair.

 

[Magpie]

Lets give this mom a break...how judgemental can you be...suggest she's cruel, suggest she should stop making her kid lunch. Wow. I make 5 lunches a day two of them are for college students. Why do I do it? I love them, they work, go to school, have homework, keep their rooms clean, are good kids who appreciate my efforts. Oh yah, and one of them (the eldest) loves the Winnie the pooh lunch box purchased at age 17 at WDW..actually is strong minded enough to take the ribbing from friends and ask them what their issue is. After five kids I can assure you that if the OP's son was really embarrsassed mom would know without doubt. Lighten up people it is a bagged lunch.

Hey, MY son got that same lunch box from WDW! He used it constantly until it broke (he's hard on his stuff), and that was in Middle School, no less!

He's still got it sitting on his bedroom shelf, in plain view of all his friends.

I make everyone's lunches, too. Including my husband's. But since I'm also making breakfasts in the morning, I've never had time to put anything cute in them. Maybe I should... I could surprise them all on Valentine's Day!

 

[mas5]

My kids like those fortune teller things you make out of paper with age appropriate fortunes written in and valentine m&m bobberheads..if you are looking for ideas.

 

[Magpie]

That's different than Mom running up and pulling on his curly hair.

My point is, you didn't HEAR her kid say it was embarrassing. So you don't know how he really feels about it. Kids say one thing, sometimes they mean another.

He might be really sad, if his mom suddenly stopped making his lunches. It might be a fun little bit of his childhood that he's hanging onto, even as he pretends to protest it. It all comes down to HOW he says it, and I trust his mom to know the difference.

There are a lot of things my son says he doesn't like, but we know he still likes them very much. It's just his way of preserving his masculine image, while still getting to enjoy the "little boy" stuff. "Ew, mom! Don't kiss me!" But the kid's still got his cheek tilted toward me expectantly, and he's pushing it closer, grinning. "Oh, yuck! Mom kissed me! I've got mom cooties!"

 

[castmemberb4]

He's your son, don't you have any communication?
Just ask him if he wants you to stop.

 

[Alesia]

This!

You know better than anyone else how far you can go in teasing your kids. If you are confident that your son will really tell you to stop, and that he's actually enjoying it even if he says he isn't, then by all means carry right on making cute lunches. Maybe he's getting positive attention from the girls in his class.

My 13yo son carries on about it being "embarrassing" when girls run up to pat or tug at his curly hair, but it's obvious he's enjoying himself at the same time. He gets all pink and smiley when he's talking about it.

"I hate it!" he says with half a smile.

"Really, you HATE being chased by girls."

"They're awful! I tell them to stop, but they don't." (Yeah, I can just see this. "Don't. Stop.")

"Then why don't you cut your hair?"

"Maybe I will!" But he never does.

There's a pretty big difference between a 13 year old getting chased by girls his own age and a 16 year od getting public love notes from his mom. Good lord, I'm embarrassed for the kid.

OP, maybe he doesn't want to hurt your feelings by outright asking you to stop. Why not just ask him point blank if he wants you stop? Then if he says yes, respect that and stop.

 

[bellebud]

So, I'm reading thinking how cute this is... aww, such a nice mommy... then BAM! He's 16! Ma'am, do your son a favor and step away from the markers!!!

this was me! Then I immediately think it's a joke, or a troll. But w/ how many posts you have, nope.

How about this... make his lunch items, and let him put them in the bag. If he then brings you the bag to do the cute drawings, ok, do them.

I don't think it's odd you 'making' his lunch - it's fine. We all do different things for our children, our dh's, our pets, ourselves even.

I honestly find the drawings odd, but I'm sure people find things I do odd too, so to each his own. But... I don't know... I still think maybe you're joking????

 

[RadioNate]

16? Wow. My 9 year old would be mortified.

Listen mom, he IS telling you to stop. He just isn't using the word "STOP." Seems to me he is obviously a good kid trying not to hurt his mom by outright telling her to knock it off.

Take the hint. Really.

If you insist on doing something 'special' put a note INSIDE the bag.

 

[allison443]

OP, maybe he doesn't want to hurt your feelings by outright asking you to stop. Why not just ask him point blank if he wants you stop? Then if he says yes, respect that and stop.

I agree with this. Son says he's embarrassed, so why does mom keep doing it? Does she think he's lying about being embarrassed? Does she think he actually likes being embarrassed?
Waiting for him to say the actual words "please stop" sounds silly. When he says he's embarrassed, mom could say, do you want me to stop?

Look at it from the kid's perspective. He's told his mom numerous times that something embarrasses him, but she keeps on doing it, knowing it embarrasses him. Maybe he thinks she won't stop even if he asks.

Also why does a high schooler need his name written on the bag?

 

[BCV513]

Actually, when I was a girl I knew a guy who wore a hand-knitted teddy-bear hat with matching mitts (on a string!) that his mommy had made for him. I thought he was *incredibly* cute and I would have dated him in a heartbeat. He could also dance like... OMG. Sex on a stick.
My friends and I had pictures of mostly-naked men in short-shorts holding kittens and babies and stuff like that plastered all over our bedrooms.

As long as the boy is otherwise a manly sort (tall, athletic, good looking, great dancer, whatever), girls will find a his mommy lunches adorable. In fact, they'll probably be impressed by his obvious self-confidence.

I can't believe we can't say the name of the guy who starred in Mary Poppins, but we can say that.

 

[jeepgirl30]

So, I'm reading thinking how cute this is... aww, such a nice mommy... then BAM! He's 16! Ma'am, do your son a favor and step away from the markers!!!

Yea me too! Then i reread and think "mommy gene" um mommy to a 16 yr old boy? Not so much.

DS8 liked the rice krispie treats you can write on but said to please only do it for special occassions and not all the time. I stopped.

it is nice to show your kids you love them and they are special but pink kisses??? maybe inside the bag for just him but it seems more like you are trying to show others and not just him.

 

[disneyjunkie]

16???? Isn't time to cut the strings? Maybe your son isn't asking you to stop because he doesn't want to hurt your feelings. Why can't a 16 year old pack his own lunch???

 

[AKL_Megs]

Why, just WHY are you doing this to a 16 year old young man? My friends six year old would be embarrassed!!!

You love your son. If you like doing these things, but they embarrass him, why can't you do them in the privacy of your HOME? An after school heart-shaped PB&J, a note on his pillow...? Even THOSE things are sort of weird, but less embarrassing.

Why do you think it's acceptable to send pink kiss drawings on a 16 year olds lunch bag? Why does he even need his NAME on the bag? Doesn't he have a locker?

 

[luvsJack]

No I don't think it is over dramatized.

IMO when someone does something to another person to embarrass them purposefully it is cruel.

the Young man and he is a young man not a little child has said it is embarrassing and she continues to do it then it is on purpose to embarrass him and is cruel.

Yes he is a young man. He is also her son and I think she probably knows him just a tad bit better than you do.


This maybe just one of those cute little things that creates a little joke between mom and son and gives him a laugh at lunch everyday.

He MAY have a bit more confidence than he is being given credit for and just lets stuff roll off his back.

And, you know, there may be a couple of kids that said "wow! I wish MY mom would make MY lunch" and so now even though he says its embarrassing, in secret he is also just a bit proud that HIS mom does this for him.

 

[luvmythree]

I have a 17 *almost 18* yr old and a newly turned 16 yr old and I cannot imagine doing that on their lunch sacks. I have made their lunches for them when they are running late or whatever but to draw kisses on their lunch sack is too juvenile TO ME! My kids never write their names on their lunches because they go into their locker or stay in their backpack.

If I did something like that to my kids they'd never come right out and say STOP but they would sure hope I'd get the hint that it was embarrassing them.

I do understand YMMV however.

 

[Magic Mom]

I make my DS a lunch to take to school most days. He decided this year that a lunch box (soft sided one like an adult would take to work) was too much work for him to bring home. So, we're using brown bags.

So, my creative Mommy gene comes out, and I started drawing something under his name each day to denote the season. Now, I'm not much of an artist, but I can draw simple things. Plus, inside his bag, his sandwiches have been in themed baggies. I find those at The Christmas Tree Shop.

He'll be 16 next month and he comes home all the time telling me how embarassing it is when his friends see his lunch bags. Never once has he asked me to stop, though.

I think he likes the attention, but he also likes that his friends know that his mother makes his lunch for him and that I think enough of him to try to make it special.

Today's bag had kisses drawn on it. His name was written in blue. The kisses were pink.

To me this screams sweet kid who doesn't want to hurt mom's feelings, but is desperately hinting for her to stop decorating his lunch bag like he was in kindergarten, because it is humiliating.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

My guess( and I hope I'm right) is that he doesn't even carry your decorated lunchbag into the cafeteria. He probably takes everything out of the bag, carries his food, and leaves the empty bag in his locker to throw away later. You are just wasting your time drawing. Meals on Wheels and nursing homes are always looking for decorated paper placemats and table favors, so maybe you should look into helping with that.

 

[melissapealo]

So, I'm reading thinking how cute this is... aww, such a nice mommy... then BAM! He's 16! Ma'am, do your son a favor and step away from the markers!!!

lol....I was thinking the same things... until he's 16.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I can't believe we can't say the name of the guy who starred in Mary Poppins, but we can say that.[/QU Which word are you talking about?