How are you affording the school holidays?

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I believe we are very much a middle ground income family. Not a high income (i bloody wish) and not low either so we don't get help with much - although DS does get DLA but that is not income based. Also get maintenance from ds's dad. Dp is the main earner and I'm not working at this time.

we are struggling financially ad many people are, I know it's not just us!

I am just not sure how I'm going to do it. My kids don't do well staying in (one has autism, anxiety and adhd and the other has some degree of sen too). We live in a village where there's nothing to do, a tiny little park they get bored of, no decent or safe walking routes so everything involves driving - used to cost me £50 to fill my car, now about £80. A full tank lasts 2 weeks in the holidays!

we have passes to a local theme park but they get bored if we go too much and it's so busy in the holidays!

it's the cost of food too. I usually spend £100 PW. I've booked a slot and it's already £150! Ds is picky with food, Dp needs plenty of work food (he is doing 12 hour days atm), they eat non stop. Dd was getting free lunches being an infant... DS usually goes school dinners (paid for with his DLA), he's so fussy and I found he would try more at school so it was worth the cost. I'm spending more than I would on his dinners in the holidays now!

how are you managing it?

Dp is going try get some OT in for some extra £££ but I feel guilty he'll be tired from all the extra hours! I am not working at the mo!

so many of my friends are going on holidays, weekends away, I don't want to do this but it seems we can't afford food, let alone holidays or expensive days out.

DH and I have just worked out that it'll be cheaper to take our son to Asda's cafe for a £1 lunch than it would be to feed him lunch and snacks at home. That's because he always seems happier to eat at school or when out, whereas at home he grazes and can reject what's offered ... Eating out will be good behavioural practice too!

Being a bit bored is good for children. Otherwise they never learn to entertain themselves. Constant stimulation does them no favours.

Thank you. I have managed to book one activity day but there doesn't seem to much around here! Very limited here!

there is another day I could book but parents and siblings can't come and j don't think he would let me leave him. He's very clingy 😩

he does have an EHCP, but we've not had direct payments. It is something I want to look in to though.

We do 1 more expensive outing every two weeks and the rest we try and keep as cheap as possible.

So we have three outings scheduled:

• local cheapish theme park (11 quid tickets, we can go there by bike)
• beach (more expensive as would have to hire a car)
• steam train followed by castle visit and mini golf.

We try and cycle everywhere and take food from home. By keeping it scheduled like this it helps us prioritise.

The rest of the time we go to the local forest playground, petting zoo, swimming pool etc. The other day my DD wanted to go to a playground she had never been to before. So she spent some time cycling with my DH to find one.

I don't know how old yours are? My DD is 5 so still relatively easily entertained.

I missed that you have a child entitled to DLA/EHCP. Search t'internet for your local council's "local offer" and see whether they have any free SEND activities over the summer break. For example, ours has sessions in a sensory room, free trampoline sessions, day trips, that kind of thing.

Have you any friends in the village/nearby that you could offer to petsit for? That would kill a bit of time and earn them some money
Or maybe a spot of dog walking.

Make them earn pocket money to pay for treats. There might be a few tantrums, but it will help them when they are older.

Looking back, I spent a lot of my pre-teen childhood in the garden or in the field behind our house building dens.

Do you have shells on your nearby beach or pebbles? Maybe DD could glue shells onto a pot or box or paint some pebbles and write letters on them?

I'd get them to help you make dinner/breakfast (perhaps take turns in case they start bickering).

Just roll with the devices if it works for your family. We've let the kids have a fair amount of device time if they can do something vaguely educational too. I've also played two player with them in some hope that they're learning some sort of team skills!!

Sorry not sure if I’ve missed this but do you get carers allowance? If the DLA is middle or high rate then you can claim that. Prob not in time for the summer but long term it will help.

I have a child with Down Syndrome so know how hard it is to find things all the kids can access. We love park picnics and outdoor/nature scavenger hunts as they can all join in and cost us nothing. Blackberry picking then making a crumble is also a fave if you have any wild bushes near you.

Just take it one day at a time, it’s hard but we will get through it!

I'm not, scraping pennies. We have a caravan holiday booked on Monday and I feel sick wondering how I'm going to afford it. Some activities are booked and paid for in advance but even a Lidl shop to eat and the petrol to get there is going to be an issue. I do get paid on the 2nd last day of the holiday but there's not really any spare spends in that anyway and it also has to somehow cover new uniform and school shoes too. I had a second job that paid weekly but shifts have been dropped suddenly right at the start of the holidays (we've been broken up since July 1st)

I'm getting a part time job. I'll be working weekends so DH can care for kids.

Make the mundane an outing. Dentist, optician, new school shoes shopping etc are all separate days out. Mine used to love IKEA, plus you can get a cheap lunch. There’s a list doing the rounds on Facebook of places where kids eat for free or £1.

Challenges, google a Lego challenge, do a photography challenge where they have to take a picture on my phone of ten random things. Give the, a paint brush and pot of water and ask them to “paint” a wall or fence. Chalk on the pavement. Make french skips out of elastic bands, make a den with blankets, allow them to wash the dishes (non breakable Tupperware and plates etc), make playdoh with cornflour and fabric conditioner, craft with the recycling,

We walk lots, as you have to drive to places drive to a country or woodland walk rather than tourist attractions.

Check if the local trampoline parks, leisure centres do an 6 weeks pass, many close to me do and I’m not in a well connected place. Library does a reading challenge. Ask them to research a topic on the internet that they are interested in and make a presentation, put on a play, invite someone to tea, make invitations for it and placemats, name cards etc. Movie day with popcorn and hotdogs. Cheap cinema trips to kids morning screenings.

I'm getting my ds to write to the Queen at Buckingham Palace. They will reply.
We're doing a reading challenge at the library, where the library hand out medals on completion.
Doing a free maths course for families at a local community centre.
Cheap cinema trips
Making the most of local museums and art galleries.
Maths and English workbooks
Board games and painting

The 6 weeks holiday is such an expensive time. My local council do a holiday program which is free for kids who meet certain criteria. This is the government link to the programme www.gov.uk/government/publications/holiday-activities-and-food-programme/holiday-activities-and-food-programme-2021 . You then should be able to find your local programme, if your children are eligible then you'd be able to book some activities for them.

As helpful as this is on a thread about entertaining them in the school holidays,it's actually really hard to find a job around dropping your child off and picking them up if you have no outside help. It leaves. Job for about 09.30 to 14.30 (if it's close enough to the school) and the OP has clearly explained why she can't.

OP please stay of social media most of it is a load of tosh, you don't need to be out "doing things" everyday to be a good mum.

OP I think it was on the Martin Lewis site where he states all places where kids can eat for cheap, bring autistic I'm not sure of eating out is in the cards, but in some cases it may work out cheaper and a bit of a change of scenery for you to eat out.

You can get free print out/downloads for spotting animals, birds, insects etc on little walks.
You can get free downloads for craft ideas.

I'm sorry I missed the age of your children but chalk is a good one for younger ones to draw on the floor, you can use the back of cereal boxes to make masks, decorations or general painting crafty bits.

It sounds like you are doing really well in what sounds like a slightly complex set up and I'm sure others will have some great ideas, but again please get off social media for 6 weeks.

Thanks all. Sadly there isn't much in my local area. There is a few things the council offers but a couple have said it's only for children that get free school lunches. There doesn't seem to be much around for sen children, I have however manage To book one event for both the kids!

I haven't looked at libraries but tbf taking DS to the library gives me anxiety anyway. He has no volume button 😅

I know this doesn’t help for this summer but is there any possibility of moving at some point? A busier area would give you more free stuff, more easily accessible.

We are rinsing our NT membership (gift from parents) and actually just having loads of playdates and chilled days.

Kids have had a mad few weeks with camps, performing in shows etc and I feel no guilt letting them stay in PJs and do very little for a week.

We will do more once we have all recovered from the school year a bit (I'm a teacher!). Until then I honestly think there's no problem just faffing at home.

You can get an annual CEA card for the child claiming DLA. This is £6 and get you as the carer into cinema for free. It brings the price of a cinema trip down, especially if you can source autism child friendly showings for a few pounds mid week. Take your own snacks.

Another good option is the National Trust disabled child pass. It's £10 for a year and gets up to two carers in for free if you get DLA. This with your own picnic brings visits down to a few pounds and is worth a look.

It's a bit late now but often in January February local attractions do residents passes for a hugely reduced cost for the year. We did this with several. Ask on your local Facebook sites. Someone will know what's near you and when to get your tickets.

With a bit of planning it's ok. Take picnics and budget for an ice cream maybe.

We have an Iceland one minute walk from our local park. We dash in, get lollies and eat them in the park.

Also close by is dominos who do a lunchtime pizza for £5. As a treat we take a rug and our own drinks and do this as an activity.

We live near the coast and I'd worked out which side roads we could walk from. We take coloured pencils and colour stones. It's free and fun.

We get monkey nuts from Home bargains for about 80p and go and feed the squirrels.

Lots of things cost £££ but mostly the kids want you to engage with them. It's doesn't actually matter what you are doing, it's that connection that matters most.

What about Pokémon go? My autistic lad could travel all day catching Pokémon....

Do you claim Carer's Allowance? I've read all your posts and I can't see that you've mentioned it anywhere. If you don't work and your son gets DLA, you should be eligible. It's not a huge amount but every little helps.

It might also be worth getting a benefit check to see whether you'd be better off on UC than on tax credits (you might be surprised; some people are). Contact Citizens Advice "Help to Claim" team www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/

Another thing... look up the Household Support Fund on your council website, you could try applying to that, and also consider contacting your local citizens advice to ask if there are any local charities/grants you could apply for to request help with uniform costs.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/#h-find-your-nearest-citizens-advice

I wanted to live rurally, but DH had as an older teenager and would say 'there's nothing to do everything is miles away', he wanted to live back in London where we are both from, but it was prohibitively expensive.
We compromised with a mid sized seaside town. That's so much to do and annual passes are so cheap for local residents. Aquarium £15 pp per year, soft play £15 a year for DS, farm park £15pp per year. So we get the annual passes and make good use of them, we're also lucky to have a few beautiful Victorian style parks with free events in summer and there's always the beach which is free. All of the above is walkable from our house other than the farm park which is a 15 minute drive .
We're going to the zoo next week using Clubcard vouchers and taking a packed lunch, that's a bit further about 45 minutes but given the petrol is the only real cost it's not too bad.
Living in a rural village can be quite limiting if you've not got bags of money.

I'm realising I should have tried to save some money for this 6 weeks.

Both dp and I work full time but don't have a lot to spare after bills.

We do the local parks/ picnics a lot at the weekends so I do feel the pressure to make a difference to make the holidays more exciting.

There aren't many parks near us either and I have anxiety about crowded places which is the worst thing ever at this time of year with kids!

I'm watching for ideas!

Not managed to read whole thread so sorry if I repeat.
As you get DLA for child, most places do free carers.
We have a national trust pass for the kids. A junior membership is £10 for the year and a carer is free.
We take food and drink with us when we go out.
If you have got a CEA card for free carer at cinema, get one (£12 for the year).
Also apply for a blue badge, they give free, or reduced parking in places.
Go to beaches in the evening rather than battle the crowds.
We also have a thing called Geocaching which is free for basic. It's like a treasure hunt and gives the children a return to get out the house.

We have done things like gone round the second hand shops and found puzzles or board games.

The NT card for £10 sounds brill. I think all NT properties have a children's playground. Some also have indoor play too. Go to beach at 3.30pm until 7 in evening, less crowded. Always take a picnic and flask so don't have to buy food/drinks put. Asda £1 meals for kids. Morrisons do a kids eat free if a parent buys a meal. Make pizzas at home one day and kids decorate them with favourite toppings. Paddling pool in garden for little ones. Don't put it up everyday then when it goes up it becomes special. Grow a sun flower. Car boot sales for books and games and they often have a bouncy castle. BBQ in garden invite a few friends and they might reciprocate on a different day.