To not want to spend my staycation watching tv

Can’t you just do some things separately?

we’ve done everything there is to do here.
If you live in a beautiful area, surely you can and want to enjoy walking in it/visiting beaches/woods/whatever the nice things are in your area more than once?

We are the same but we’ve realised that if we go out and do anything other then a walk, we seem to spend ££££ on hardly anything. Days out even locally are so expensive. We are mixing it up with some lazy days and some organised day trips eg visit a nearby city on a train and visit a large zoo. But the price of even just having tea, coffee and cake out is now astronomical for a family. But how many local walks and beauty spots can we do? We live in a beautiful area with a fair few tourists and we’ve done everything there is to do here.

I do understand your frustration and the feeling like it’s time wasted I have a friend who’s exactly the same. For me though, if I do too many things on my time off I go back to work feeling like I haven’t even had a break at all.

It’s not wrong to want to see something other than your living room though I just think people’s needs / energy levels are different.

Have a chat with DH see if you can mix it up a bit

If he's engaged with the family while he's doing what he does on PC, good for him, although it seems unlikely.

But if you don't have a problem with that, what's the problem?

I wouldn't no, but I'd take myself off and do the things you want to by myself.

I'd probably also be having a talk with DH re what his lack of engagement in family life means for our marriage.

We don't have kids, but DP and I will sometimes spend a day off at home pretty much on screens and reading books. It still feels like 'us time'.
But I do like to break it up with a morning walk to a nice park and/or somewhere to have or pick up lunch or a treat. And if it's longer than a day I like to intersperse quiet indoors time with days out.
I think it basically sounds OK, but have you suggested that you all do something that involves going out together even on quiet days? Like a walk on a nice morning or an afternoon trip out for ice cream.

I think time off at home looks different for everyone. Personally I’d hate your idea of being out at some point every day. I want my time off to be relaxed and not with enforced outings.

If you need to be busier that’s completely fine, crack on and plan some activities but it’s not fair for you to assume that everyone should join in.

The OP has said they haven't been out of the house since Sunday. I mean yes, with the latest update if the child (children) are playing with friends, that's a bit different. Sitting in watching TV for three days not quite so good IMO. I mean, I get what you are saying as I am never bored and was never bored as a kid with my own company but I did have a tendency to watch too much TV. My parents would then realise it's not great and take me to an Art gallery, museum, theatre or a half a day forest, beach, landmark walk. But they were quite random and my Dad did things spontaneously so it was a bit of anti- climax when back to the mundane.

If your husband CBA, just you go out with the children. Don't let him force you to stay in all the time just because he CBA.

Surely an 8 year old wants to be doing things? Are you NT/EH/HH members? Plan days out. Is your child into Pokémon. They have Pokémon things at NT places this summer. 8 is old enough to hike or go for a decent bike ride. I took my 8 year old up Meall a'Bhuaaille this time last year (obviously wouldn't do that this year what with the wildfires!). It was such an achievement for him!

I would just plan things in and let DH know what you are doing and it's up to him then if he wants to join in with family activities or sit on his own shut up inside, missing out on summer and time with his family.

The heatwave is over and it's just perfect pleasant sunshine now, mild enough to go out and be active. I would be so sad to miss these last few weeks before the weather turns for the worse.

OP says they have plans to go away for a few days, and that they've gone to the beach and to local attractions several times as well. Unless they're already right at the end of the three weeks, that all sounds very normal?

Yeah its a bit shit. Life is for living. Especially in this weather

For days but a week or three? It's supposed to be a staycation as a family, it's a bit sad that there is no desire for that from the Dad and actually as a parent you need to engage with your children attending to their needs, actively parenting them involves providing opportunities to broaden their horizons, they cannot do that for themselves at eight, unlike teenagers and IME that is what cherishing your children looks like.

When I was 8, I could happily spend days at home entertaining myself - computer games, reading, playing in the garden, riding my bike, board or card games, baking etc.

Surely depends on the 'nothing'. At 8 if it's playing, reading, drawing, bit of TV perhaps but I would argue only for a day, seems unnatural and a waste of childhood for an eight year old child to be lounging around like an 18 year old student in halls all week!

Yes, teens are hard to rally if family thing IME unless on holiday where things are a new experience. Locally they would only motivated by friend meet ups which are usually mid to late afternoon- evening!

If I had 3 weeks at home I'd have made a plan ages ago, mapping out days out, friends over, visiting people etc, otherwise my lazy lot would just be lolling about in their undies watching screens. You know for next year that you will need to be more proactive in planning a nice summer I guess.

I find my children a bit feral if they are inside all day and especially if they have lots of screen time. DH and I have been alternating days off due to annual leave rather than time off together but we make sure to get the kids out of the house once a day. This week I took them for a day out of Monday, to somewhere they could play all day basically, yesterday I took them into local city on the train in the morning and we went around the museum (free) and they did a craft there (£3 each) today they spent 2 hours at the park and I met my mum there so she could see them. Tomorrow and Friday DH has them and they will do something cheap as well. So no I wouldn’t be happy to spend all day inside.

Sometimes doing nothing is not a waste of time if that’s what you want to do.
We’re all different and like to spend our time doing different things.
If you want to be out and about more, then you can do but you can’t force everyone else to because it’s not their preference.