"No reading at the breakfast table"

While there have been so many upsides to simplifying our schedule , on reflection, I've found that it has been quite draining for me.  What I've discovered is that by us having more time to be together, share life together, and by me being more available and less busy, I hear more of what's going on for the kids.  Not just rushing from activity to activity, we have more time to chat about their days.  I see them more, so they share more (or in some cases, less 'sharing' and more 'hurling' of words as they unfurl their frustrations on me). So that's all lovely.  And what I was hoping we'd have more time for. But with five kids, I can be going on and off for five hours of these debriefs. As children stumble in through the door throughout the afternoon.  As they finish their assignment and decide NOW they're  on for a chat.  As they remember something AFTER I've turned the lights off (this is common, and being honest, my least favourit...

Tweens are kids between the ages of 9-13.  I almost have three children in this age group. Why do I like this age? They aren't teenagers yet and desperate to get away from their parents and family.  They aren't grumpy and moody all the time. But they aren't toddlers and can do so much for themselves.  They can get themselves dressed.  They can get food for themselves. They can take themselves to the toilet.  You don't have to watch what they're up to every 5 seconds.  You can have a conversation with them about something that is real.  They can pack their own bag to go away.  They can make a salad when you're desperate for help at dinner time.  You can laugh about things together.  You can talk about things you're interested in together.  They are funny and entertaining. So when I went to a conference for work on tweens I was disappointed at how negative other children's librarians were about this age group.  They'd lik...