My 12 year old is a planner and a lover of severe weather. He's ready for the bus with time to spare every day. He stresses out about being late. He harasses his sister to "get going so we won't be late".
Guess what new skill he's mastered this week, in our 28 degree mornings without a garage???
He takes his extra 5 minutes and starts my car, turns on the defroster and seat warmers and scrapes the ice off the windshield!
And he LOVES it.
He’s learning a new skill, outside in the elements he loves, doing something for his family. I call that a win!
Bonus for him: If he has extra time, he tests the ice in various places and has a good time looking for icicles.