What do you do at weekends if you re on your own with an only child

[BroomstickBicycle]

Just that. Child (7) doesn't do any clubs, other families are busy having family time so play dates not an option. I feel like we've done all the usual local activities. Cycling options locally are limited. DC has low attention span (possible ADHD) so doesn't spend long sitting on their own doing an activity. It's exhausting. And must be very lonely for DC. Any suggestions?

Geocaching?
Make pancakes?
Do you have an Ikea near you? Put him in the creche for an hour or so?

Why not clubs?

I send mine to football club - exercise, positive Male environment and a chance to socialise outside school with others.

Other than that we like walking (live near various country parks) monthly big outing somewhere, having a nice lunch occasionally and we have a film night too with a fake-away. They still enjoy going to the park - always meet other children.

My son was doing rugby tots but he decided he didn’t like it, so that’s now a no.

We do soft play most saturdays (there at the moment) we also spend time playing at the park on the walk home, then when we get home we do something like lego, make playdough, short tele time, lets pretend (which i dread) and hairdressers (which i also dread as it should be called make dad look like a twat).

Between different play activities I do demand at least ten minutes to myself for my own sanity.

Get him enrolled in some clubs?? Good for both of you.

Thanks for the ideas.

Probably too old for a crèche. I've tried lots of clubs but she's lost interest after the first couple of times. Some clubs she just refused to go to full stop.

It's the constant demand to play on her terms. Looks like the weather is clearing up so we may go out for a walk.

When Dd was younger I had the odd day on my own with her - mainly school holidays but sometimes the odd weekend.

We didn't choose to do clubs at weekends as we were often away or out as a family.

We just got out and about: park, walk, geocaching, zoo, a paid for attraction place, local free museums, town for browsing and lunch, etc. Or we'd meet up with friends or family.

If staying in : film, cooking or baking, craft, etc.

Divide the day up into sections.

Morning:
Make pancakes or something fancy for breakfast
Go for a walk
Go to the library, a sports club if he's interested, or a museum.

Midday:
Have a picnic
Quiet time - reading or playing quietly
Play a board game
Play video games together (or online with friends)
Facetime friends and family

Afternoon:
Chores/cleaning
Cook dinner together
Bake/make dessert - maybe go to the shop for ingredients
Do you have any relatives you could visit?

Evening:
Dinner
Bath
Tidying up
Reading
Movie

For outings:
Swimming
Take a train to somewhere you've not been before
Find your nearest forest/beach/lake
Can you volunteer somewhere together. Maybe something conservation or animal related?
Are any local care homes looking for befrienders?
Have you tried looking for people in a similar situation on FB or one of those friend finder apps. I'm sure you are not the only one free on weekends. In my area there are quite a few weekend activities listed on the Hoop app.

I rarely did 'playing' with dolls and teddies etc. I'd be in the other end if some role play she did like 'cafes' etc. But that wasn't for long.

Maybe teach her the foolproof method for making a great cake? Weigh your eggs, then the same weight of sugar, flour and butter. It's the best science lesson in the world. A perfect equation. And it ends with cake.

More great ideas! Thank you. I think I just need to get better at planning ahead (not my strength). Love the idea of volunteering at an animal related place, that would kill two birds with one stone (not literally) as she wants a pet which isn't practical for various reasons.

I'd concentrate on improving her attention span so that she can entertain herself some of the day. Perhaps say that you are going to clean the kitchen (or some other boring job) so either she helps or can go and read book/lego/colour until you're done.

Also, look again at clubs. As a single parent its important for your sanity and will give you a much needed break. A club on a weekend morning will make the whole weekend seem less daunting. Then maybe you could create a routine for Sunday afternoon, a nice walk before popcorn and a film together? Or swimming every week?

I used to do adventure walks with my grandchildren. Before the walk make a list together of things you have to see and tick off the list when you have seen or collected them. i.e. 4 red cars, 5 slugs, 7 black stones, 4 brown dogs, 5 red bikes . A small prize if all completed.

Also treasure hunts in the house or garden. Make clues - the first clue they get given and it states a riddle leading to where the next clue is hidden and so on until the final place has a small prize.

Has she tried Girlguiding? If she did Brownies she could work on badges on the weekends. She would possibly have day trips, sleepovers and Brownie holidays on some weekends to keep her occupied.

What are her interests? You could do gardening, baking, cooking, arts and crafts, science experiments, history projects. If she doesn’t have any particular interests, you could do anything and see what develops. She does also need to learn to occupy herself, even if it’s for short periods. I’m an only child and my parents both worked (mum worked from home) so I had to entertain myself a lot during the school holidays. I loved doing craft projects - my favourite was making a mosaic where I had to make my own tiles. I also loved painting by numbers. My mum is a dressmaker, so I also did a lot of sewing projects while she was working.

Pretty much in same position, DC now 12. Luckily we live in an area with lots going on. (I think had we stayed in the area we used to live I'd have been hard pushed to find anything). I've always enrolled her in something on a Saturday morning; started off with a music club then when that finished she started climbing. Then we had the afternoon free to go to a local festival (always a free one on here) or the museum, or swimming, or the park.

Sometimes things aren't advertised very well and you have to really look hard. We've found some fabulous events almost by accident. A wizarding event held at the local Uni was a highlight.

We joined National Trust and English Heritage, and took out annual membership to various places (one at a time). With a membership you can pop in an hour before closing and not feel you've wasted loads of money, plus you get to see the place at different times of year.

She started at a drama group a couple of years ago, which is frustratingly on Saturday afternoon, so now we have a mad day racing from one activity to another and it means we miss out on a lot, but then she is getting too big for a lot of the events we previously enjoyed.

Sundays I catch up with laundry and internet and she spends it wandering around demanding food and whining that she is bored . If it's nice we have a whole day to go somewhere farther away , like the beach.

Mine is dx ADHD so I had to make the effort to do something, since she won't amuse herself at all. I did laugh at

I'd concentrate on improving her attention span so that she can entertain herself some of the day. Perhaps say that you are going to clean the kitchen ......so either she helps or can go and read book/lego/colour until you're done.

I assume this poster doesn't have experience of a child with ADHD? Good luck with that. Mine has been over to show me her dragon avatars 3 times while I've been writing this one post, and then back " for a hug" which involves lying across me so I can't do anything else. It is full-on, non stop. (Hence why we go out).