As a school counselor and mom of two, I spend my days during the school year helping other families find calm in the chaos—and when summer hits, I need some of that structure myself! Summer break is a gift, but let’s be real: the long, unstructured days can get overwhelming fast.
This summer, I’m leaning into something that’s making our days smoother: kid-powered meal planning. We started this towards the end of summer last year, and I wish I would have done it the entire time!
Why Meal Planning Works for Us
Without the school routine, our days can quickly turn into a blur of snack requests, “What’s for lunch?” whines, and me staring into the fridge with no clue what to make. I realized I needed a plan—and my kids could actually help make it happen.
Instead of making a rigid menu, we started with a list of choices. I asked my kids to help me brainstorm their favorites for:
- Breakfasts
- Lunches
- Snacks
Once we had our big list, we printed it out and stuck it to the fridge. Now, each weekend, they sit down and pick what they want for the week—with a few boundaries (because no, you can’t pick donuts for breakfast every day). Their choices help us create the shopping list, and everyone feels a little more in control. It helps add to the buy-in so they are excited to eat the meals THEY picked, which leads to fewer food battles, and more “I picked this!” pride.
How We Do It
Here’s our basic system:
- Create a “Favorites” List
We made a list together of 5–10 breakfast ideas, 5–10 lunch options, and a dozen or so snack ideas. We keep it realistic, simple, and somewhat healthy. My son loves to buy school lunch, so we looked at old lunch menus to help give us some ideas. - Weekly Pick & Plan
Every Sunday, the kids pick 3-4 breakfasts, 3–4 lunches, and a few snacks from the list. That’s our base for the week. They do also offer some suggestions for dinners, but dad and I have a bit more say in that. - Shopping List Magic
I use their choices to build our grocery list. It saves me time, money, and reduces waste because I’m only buying what we know we’ll use. This has been HUGE for us, as we do this every single week, not just during the summer.
Example: Our Go-To Lists
Breakfasts:
- Bagels
- Cereal
- Toast
- Pancakes
Lunches:
- Chicken nuggets
- Pizza rolls
- Hot dogs
- Quesadilla
Snacks:
- Cucumbers
- Fruit strips
- Trail mix
- Cheese sticks
You can grab some other ideas from our Pinterest Board
Why I Love It
- The kids feel involved, which cuts down on complaints.
- It’s teaching them decision-making, planning, and a little responsibility.
- I spend less time scrambling and more time enjoying summer with them.
- It’s a system we can easily tweak week to week depending on cravings or schedules.
So, if you’re a fellow parent looking to bring some structure to the summer madness, let the kids help with meal planning!
I have included our Favorites List, and if you pop it into Canva, you can customize it yourself! Hopefully this can become one of your favorite sanity-saving rituals too.
Looking for summertime activities? Check out our post