What do SAHMs with school age children do?

[Ahbahbahbah]

I’ve been SAHM for 7 years, and my youngest starts school next term (didn’t start in September due to covid).

DH is happy for to just relax/take up a hobby etc - and certainly after the last year of homeschooling I will do that for a while! Financially I don’t need to work.

But how will I actually fill my days? I feel like I have no idea what I would do or who I am without my children constantly needing me.

Can any SAHMs with school age children tell me how they fill their days? What should I be thinking about?

I’m in the same boat so watching with interest! I’ve been feeling like I’m going crazy this last year.

I have just become a SAHM to a child at school. I quit work due to stress and anxiety so spend an hour a day working on my therapy and doing yoga. I am also doing a massive tidy of the house after a year of us being stuck in it 24/7. DH is working from home so I cook us both a nice lunch everyday and we are doing C25K together in DH's lunch hour which is nice. I am also reading again for the first time in a long time.

Tbh the days go so quickly! Once the house and garden are sorted I plan to start volunteering and also learning Welsh as my DS is at a Welsh medium school. DH and I also want to start swimming together once the pools reopen.

what do you enjoy/think you might enjoy? What do you want to get out of it. I'm not a SAHM but have recently left my job and thinking the same. Hobbies so far are an allotment (I like gardening/eating/being outside), I'm volunteering one day a week (exercise/social/being outside), i've joined a leisure centre for yoga and some other classes and then i'm not sure.....maybe art. and i walk a load as i have a dog.

posting partly so i can see what other ideas people come up with

2 things I’ve done - started a vegetable garden and taken up running ... I also do all the household chores / food shopping while the kids are at school , occasionally see friends for lunch or coffee . In all fairness I don’t often have free time . All it really does is mean that we have free time at the weekend as a family without needing to do the boring stuff. I intended to start a course last year with a view to going back to work but Covid stopped me . My youngest starts Secondary in September and my aim is to get some sort of work then ... my advice would be to have more of a plan than me as I anticipate having too much time come September

I work part time so have Thursday/Friday off and tbh the school day is so short by the time I've walked to and from school for the morning, done a couple of jobs round the house, had a brew it's time to walk back and pick her up 🤣

I listened to readers and got a little part time job at DS's school. Also joined the PTA, got a dog for lots of dog walking and company. Also took the opportunity to do some redecorating and gardening x

Following. My eldest starts school in September but youngest isn’t yet at nursery. Not sure I can do another 2.5 years of this without losing the plot!!

Personally I’d look for at least few hours of part time work. It’s good to have a bit of financial independence regardless of whether you need to at this current time.

PTA?

sorry forgot....i also keep bees

Yes I am really getting into gardening and growing fruit, veg and flowers :)

I not a SAHM myself but know quite a few. Some things they do:

• Get involved with the school, eg governor or PTA, or parent helper at school
• Volunteer at the Citizens Advice Bureau or a charity shop/food bank
• Ditch their cleaners and save the money by doing it themselves
• Take up a hobby
• Join a gym and go most days

I work part-time now but also volunteer as a school governor and with other organisations.

The SAHMs I know go the gym, visit family and socialise with other SAHP. Other than that they devote more time to things like cleaning, decorating, doing clear outs, selling unwanted stuff online, researching bargains and out of school activities.

Forgot something - I did as much volunteering in class as they wanted - listening to readers , helping with races cooking etc - it’s really useful to get to know the staff so they’re not on the defensive the minute you ask a question ( the result of some very stroppy parents) . It’s also useful to get to know a bit about friendships .

Accidentally became a SAHM about 6 years ago, just as we moved to a new big house that needed doing up. I'm quite handy, and have relaid all the floors, decorated most of the house, tiled new kitchen, replaced skirting and door frames... also got into gardening and have a big dog that needs exercise. With that and all the housework and washing I'm never bored or unoccupied!

I am a sahm with a 7 year old and a 3 year old. While ds2 is not yet at school, I do volunteer with my local children’s centres, homestart and in the covid vaccination centre around dh work shifts. I have been volunteering for nearly 3 years now. I think for me it’s important to have something for myself and I wanted to show that I have been working on different skills while also being a sahm. I do hope to get employment when ds2 starts nursery this year but don’t know how well that will go with the current employment climate.

Typical week...

Mon. Cleaning day, I get through all the washing and everything is put away.

Tue. Life admin day. Update the accounts, budget, file paperwork, organise the meal plan for the week, organise the calendars on the fridge including kids meals at school and appointments, tick off jobs on the to do list.

Wed. A day out of the house perhaps. Shopping, market, post office, long walk

Thu. Online shop arrives and needs putting away. Midweek clean and tidy. Either visit or call family or friends.

Fri. Exercise day, batch cooking

Oh my goodness the 6 hours that DC are at school fly by so fast, I feel like I don’t have a spare moment and wish I had more time!

DH working insane hours building a business so I kind of look after everything on the home front. I know I’m lucky and this is a privilege. But my days (not even factoring in homeschooling which is thankfully almost over) are filled with:
I’m on the board of a charity, am a school governor, am still (well, was still pre-Covid) running a toddler play group and helping look after an elderly relative. (1-2 hrs/day)
Cooking lunch each day as well as dinner as we try to eat healthily and low carb, so can’t just make a sandwich every day. (30 mins)
Trying hard to keep fit - but exercise or a run plus shower and drying hair seems to take up half the day (1-2hrs). Plus all housework and gardening. (1-2 hrs)
Add in the 25 min walk to and from school twice a day and there’s fuck all time to sit around watching tv or reading a book - both of which I’d love to do ...

Housework, netflix, walking, exercising, meeting friends, reading. Whatever you like! I love it.

I still have one preschooler but I don’t know how I would fit in a job tbh. I am in awe of the women in my life who do it all! I don’t understand how being bored is possible really.

I spend my days doing (pre covid mainly):

House projects (redecorating, DIY, garden)
Hobbies - singing lessons, crafts, painting
Exercising daily
Seeing friends - walks, coffee, lunch
Volunteering once a week
And of course house work stuff

The school day is short!

I suppose technically I'm still a sahm, my youngest is 17 older ones left years ago.

Hobbies, interests. I'm an activist and campaigner for human rights.
Belong to many groups and organisations.

You could volunteer, something from home. Take online courses to retrain or for CPD. Or learn for fun.

The sky is the limit, gardening, an interest through youtube. Learn an instrument, read, write stories or poetry.
Gardening, practical things like making something.
Painting, craftwork,

PP made a really good point actually about self care/therapy/sorting out issues/personal development. I’ve had two lots of therapy in the past year and have supplemented that with meditation/mindfulness etc and have been consciously grateful that I have the luxury of time to do just that.

Hmm.

I’m reading these and realising the problem is partly I have no idea what I enjoy or want to do.

Had an intense professional job straight out of uni, then have been SAHM. If no clients or small children are demanding things constantly then I’m not sure what I would choose to do.