To feel I wasted the 6 weeks holiday

P.S Looking back I couldn’t tell you what I did with my parents over the 6 weeks holidays when I was younger so really, I wouldn’t worry about this year being a duff one

A lot of parents work full time over the school holidays.. You can’t sit there regretting not doing this that and the other with them, what does it change? Nothing.

You have every weekend to do something with them so why don’t you plan something nice for the next few weeks on the weekend instead of moping about not having done much over the school holiday.

Hold your head high move on and plan some nice day trips for September weekends

Op I'm a teacher and honestly the first two weeks I could barely function! I had 3 hospital stays last year too and did end up on antibiotics for those first two weeks with a nasty infection.

Week 3 we started to do a bit more then week 4 my children each went away with family (one at a time).

Then it was week 5 so we did a few days out and ended this week with a few days away at a caravan park!

So I feel you! I feel completely unprepared for the new school year, my house is a tip and I've still school shoes to get!

But healthwise I feel so much better and tbh I think we needed a quieter summer!

We went away first week had to leave due to illness had Covid the entire 6 weeks nightmare taking ages for my autistic son to recover so can’t go far and I’m a single parent I feel awful for them tooo they seem to be happy though

OP I have been berating myself that DC haven’t really had any play dates because we’ve been travelling so much! You can’t win as a parent - sometimes we feel guilty whatever we do (or don’t do)

Another one here who thinks you are being too hard on yourself. My favourite memories of summer as a child are of playing in the paddling pool in the garden. I'm sure your DCs have enjoyed the lack of a school routine, and spending time with you.

Sometimes kids are happiest just playing with their friends! I have great memories of my own childhood just playing in the garden/street/park. I used to do quite a lot with mine but they also loved having a play date or just going to the local play park with their wee friends!
And if you're ill you’re ill you can’t help that! No point in beating yourself up about it!

DH and I have both worked crazy hours, so my kids have spent a lot of time at home alone.

We had a holiday the first 10 days, which seems like a distant memory already.

I can't feel guilty, we were working to keep a roof over their heads and my kids are massive homebodies anyway so happiest at home, sleeping in till noon.

Kindly - what the hell are you worrying about?! Your kids saw friends and saw family and chilled out and please stop being sucked into the hackneyed, oppressive, comparison-is-the-thief-of-joy insta-fuelled self recrimination! Your holidays sound fine - apart from the illness which is out of your control - please give yourself a break!

You can't help being sick, and I'm sure the kids really enjoyed the first few weeks of play dates and seeing family. That sounds lovely.
We had the other extreme. My kids have just spent 5 weeks travelling around Asia. Obviously, this was amazing, and I'm very thankful we had this experience. However, it was often too hot or too wet (monsoon) to do anything. It was all quite intense and exhausting. The kids haven't really had any downtime at all and are now about to go back to school. So there are pros and cons.
You can plan a more adventurous summer for next year, if you'd like to.

Please don’t beat yourself up over this. Like you I’ve been ill for nearly four weeks of the holidays and am still on antibiotics and steroids. I feel exhausted too . I’m just so grateful that I’m safe at home, relaxing and not having to get up for work.
My daughter has told me that she’s really enjoyed this holiday. We normally spend a small fortune going abroad and it all gets so stressful.

My best childhood summer holiday memories are the lazy days, playing in the garden and everything just being more relaxed so don’t beat yourself up. Also you don’t get to decide what ‘makes a memory’; you could do amazing days out with your kids and in a a year or 2 or 5 years they’ll remember the time they fell over in the garden or playing with a specific friend etc and not those days out

Then don't waste any more days! You don't need to wait for the school holidays. And so what if they don't have amazing stories to tell their friends?

Kids are funny little beings and you can take them round the entire world and the one thing they’ll remember is the shitty one euro toy they bought in a newsagents.

This. My son’s favourite childhood memory? Going with a bunch of adults to strip an orchard. Best day ever apparently.

Same. I am utterly utterly sick of playgrounds now. Playgrounds and play dates. And screen time. I don’t know WHY I ever thought I’d have MORE time to get thin and get prepared for my new job either. What the hell was I thinking. It’s been relentless survival.

plan ahead for sickness??? That would be a good trick. Schools are being asked not to do the what I did on holidays thing because of the kids whose parents can't afford to do anything special.

When do they go back? Hopefully you have a couple of days to get things ready so you take it slowly.

Whats done is done now. I agree with you about playdates. I tended to one or 2 during the holidays but used the time mostly for doing things myself with the children. There is half term in October. That includes Halloween. Start planning a few things to do just you and the children that will be fun.

I am sure your children still enjoyed their holidays. It’s just not quite what you hoped for. There will be other opportunities.

I find it a bit strange you’d find that claustrophobic. Maybe a weekend beach trip would help you?

October half term will be here before you know it, can you plan something fun for then?

I’ve done very little. No DC to entertain a few a days out here and there but that’s it. No holiday as it’s too expensive over the summer. I love the chance to reset.

We did a weeks caravan in Cornwall, but very little otherwise. Lots of days at the park for us this year. Sometimes we all just need to relax and unwind.

We haven't done much. Week holiday in caravan for first week, trip to theme park but last two weeks we have ran out of money so lots of park trips and staying home watching movies and gaming.. kids have seemed happy enough but lots of mum guilt. Just can do our best

I think often with things like this, you can have great plans, butthe reality of it is it day trips are very expensive.

You really need to stop beating yourself up. Play dates would have been fun for the DC. You can't help that everyone got sick. It sounds like as a family you needed some down time. That can be just as important as "making memories "

There are many cities which have so many things to do that you can have a perfectly fulfilled holiday without having to set foot outside it. It's really not that strange, but a bit of a rude thing to say when there are so many families that cannot afford to go on a holiday away, especially in a cost of living crisis. The beach weekend suggestion is 😂

OP, you haven't wasted your holidays. Term-time only staff often get ill during the holidays because their bodies need the rest; it's just unfortunate that it happened to all of you one after another. As others have said, if you feel you lost out there are other holidays to come. Don't worryabout others, they most likely don't even listen properly when they hear the answer to "how was your holiday?".