what do your kids get up to on a typical day at home in the summer holidays?

[beclev24]

Just curious really what most peoples' kids do with themselves all day in the summer- how much screen time? How much playing? What kinds of things do they play?

So far today my 5 year old has gone to the zoo with his friend and family and my nearly 9 year old has read a bit and spent quite a bit of time watching tv (he has a sprained ankle and usually more active)

What about others? (this is partly motivated by guilt that they aren't really doing much that is constructive)

Mine are 5 and nearly 8. They occupy themselves most the time doing:
Scooting around the road and alleyways (cul de sac)
Drawing
Pretend play with dragons etc
Lego
Wooden railway set
Dancing to music
Watching DVD or specific programmes (depending on ds current obsession)

I often feel guilty that I'm not interacting with them but they seem happy enough!

My 11 year old spent the morning watching tv and playing computer games and the afternoon having a pitched nerf gun battle in the garden with 3 friends who turned up. The nice thing about older kids and living in a village is that they organise their own play dates

My 14 year old emerged from his room in his dressing gown at lunch time, loaded up a plate with carbs and disappeared into his room again

My 17 year old is returning from one festival at 9:30 tonight and I’m taking her to another one tomorrow morning.

When they were little, a “day at home” did not happen. We had to go out somewhere every day or WWIII would break out. I planned, carefully!

12-15 hrs of screen time. Games, Social media, TV.
In a typical week they will probably be outdoors maybe combined 10-13 hrs.
age 11-17.
I work FT, btw.

We have to get out of the house each day. Like our dog, DS goes slightly wild cooped up. Mornings are typically lazy, late breakfast and xbox/youtube/netflix. I get all of my jobs done before we go out, usually after lunch(great incentive for DC to help if we're going somewhere interesting).

They have up to an hour or so screen time when they get up (7.30am), then breakfast and dressed and they go off and play in the house or garden til about 10 while we do housework and prep a picnic.

Out for either the day or a good few hours at the park/splash pad/farm/beach with the picnic.
Home around 4, they have more screen time while we unpack/prep dinner/laundry etc.
Dinner.
Baths.
Movie or game or books or whatever They want to do.
Bed at 8.

We sometimes meet up with friends, sometimes go out earlier and come home for lunch.

Got to go out though. I'd go insane kept in all day.

They are 5 and 7.

My ds2 (9) plays out all day with his friends from round the streets. They are usually on their bikes or playing football. When he finally comes in he might watch a bit of tv or goes on the pc.

I go insane if I stay in all day - but the kids seem to love a home day!

My 15yo got up at about 9am, watched a film in his pj’s, walked the dog, watched another film, spent an hour with me tidying up and cleaning, and has spent most of the evening watching something on his laptop.

Other days he’s got up, walked the dog and then gone out with friends all day.

We go out most days and my screen time rules are lax for tv but strict for gaming. No more than 2 hrs per day.
They also do chores every morning and evening. Nothing major just make their beds, put recycling out, deal with dirty and clean laundry and tidy up.
Some days we have a day out and some, we just go to the library or supermarket.
When at home, they’ll mess around, play in the garden, do some drawing and crafts, baking and cooking and watch films.

Mine are also 9 and 5 (and a toddler).

Today they wanted a pyjama/home day so they played on their tablets for a bit this morning while having breakfast, played with lego, played on the wii, had lunch, watched TV, played in the garden, had tea, watched more TV, read comics in their rooms before bed.

Yesterday was a bit busier so they played on tablets again in the morning, then we cycled to the park for a couple of hours, home for lunch. They watched TV while the toddler napped, then we went to the library, 9yo played out on his scooter with kids in the street until tea time and younger two played at home. More TV after tea until bed.

thanks! so envious of those whose kids play nicely together. Mine just fight like crazy. DS1 is great at entertaining himself for hours with action figures/ lego etc making up little stories and acting out scenes etc. But as soon as DS2 and toddler DS3 are around all hell breaks loose and they all wind each other up massively and I have to intervene constantly. Today it's a rare day of peace with just DS1 at home- he's played independently pretty much the whole day.

2 dc aged 7&8.
From 8a.m. or after breakfast if they get up a bit later they watch TV. They also use this time to play in the house with whatever toys they choose or to read their books. We have also been doing crafts such as sewing and knitting.

They've only been getting dressed at about dinner time.

Dinner is usually sandwiches and an apple or yoghurt 'cos I can't be cooking 2-3x a day.

After dinner they usually play in the garden or go & call for their friends and play either in their gardens or in the street. If it's raining then they stay in and more of whatever they did in the morning.

Today they were grounded because they fell out and started hitting each other.

We have had a few trips out to local museums, the library, the park and some local EH/NT places as well as to town to run some errands.

Tea time is around 5 p.m. and then there's in for the night from around 6-6.30 p.m.

My 14 year old emerged from his room in his dressing gown at lunch time, loaded up a plate with carbs and disappeared into his room again

I’ve been taking mine swimming every day due to general lack of imagination on my part ...

Play dough, slime, digging in the garden 😬, TV, fighting, wrestling, tearing up the house, park, baking, cutting up apples from the tree with various garden implements, fighting, wrestling, computer coding, trampolining, fighting, v tech toot toot track building, TV.

I've been trying to guess genders of kids from these posts.

@sheshootssheimplores i'm guessing boys for you?

@speedyshutters I'm guessing you have girls?

Am probably totally wrong!

Ha ha yes!! 🤣💩🙈

15 yo has been lying on her bed, Snapchatting, and wittering on about what outfit to wear for the forthcoming music festival. She has looked at a loaded fridge and huffed dramatically about there being nothing to eat. All her friends have better fridges, apparently.

17 yo has been for a run and written an essay. He also accompanied me to the Tip.

They also had a huge row at lunchtime about nothing at all.

I only have my DD so I'm her sole playmate. She has ASD so she needs constant stimulation...yes my living room does look like Toys R Us dropped their last load in there. We go out almost everyday as she loves to shop and ride the buses. We visit with my sisters and their kiddies. Days at home are chilled with films, snacks, crafts, drawing, practising her writing, dancing in the kitchen to Whigfield lol and she has tablet time when she likes. All in all this has probably been the best summer we've had together since she was 1.

Guitar
Breakfast
Guitar
Homework / computer time
Snack
Guitar
Bass guitar
Lunch
Guitar
Mooch about
Guitar
Snack
Guitar
Homework / computer
Guitar
Bass guitar
Dinner
Mooch about
Guitar
Bass guitar

DS is channelling his inner "Summer of '69"- it's the neighbours I feel sorry for

Took my 14 year old to mainland for lunch as she fancied sushi and I’ve been spending a lot of time with her brother recently. As this involved a ferry took five hours. She then came home read and then fell asleep. Typically though she emerges from her room about noon and if not planning to meet up with friends mooches about, might go for a swim, and then we make dinner and watch a movie or box set together.
My 16 year old had his girlfriend over most of the day. Was supposed to go to rugby practise tonight but was out all last night so was tired and fell asleep. Typically he’d walk the dogs, maybe go to the gym and either meet up with girlfriend or his mates and generally goes out in the evening. That’s the advantage of teens they plan their own days!

Mine is an older teen

Gets up around 10.30, raid fridge, do two hours of his A level project, eat lunch with me while watching very crap tv most days.

Then a combination of seeing his GF/friends watching you tube, doing admin and stuff for his cadet corp. Playing on his Xbox, we have teamed up a few times together. Goes out for an evening run most days. Has cadets two evenings per week as well.

He has been away for a week and a long weekend on cadet training camps. Volunteers at park run every week for his DofE.

We are flying to Chicago later afternoon today for two weeks for a holiday/family wedding.

these are actually making me look forward to the teenage years. It just feels exhausting at the moment and so much bickering / whining/ so many strops etc (in between nice stuff too of course)