The Joy of doing nothing in the school holidays

[PipinwasAuntieMabelsdog]

DD is 5 yo DS 3 months. The weather is awful here. We have watched the animated versions of Mulan, Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, back to back. DS is full and asleep in his sling. DD has requested cheese on toast for lunch, which I will have too. Then I will sit and read my book whilst she does some colouring and drawing next to me. I am right in thinking that I am having the best 'lazy non enriching' school holiday day ever?'

I think there is a lot of societal pressure to be out doing stuff all the time. I think it's really important to teach children how to properly relax at home and recharge.
We do a mix of stuff, so we've had a full on three days at a festival, and now a handful of days at home really chilling out. My DS9 is over the moon at having a whole day to play uninterupted Lego. He bemoans that he doesn't get enough time with it during the academic year.
We have a whole summer ahead of us which will have lots of film/tv/reading days, a few on the beach and several woodland walks. We're not fans of organised activities with lots of other (often very pushy) children around so we make our fun in other ways.

😳Oh my goodness. Kudos to you for all that in one day. That's more than we do in a week!

Just back to the memory lane ... @uncomfortablydumb53 my 3 big ones were little in the early 00s and didn't realise how poor we were. I remember how much of a big thing it was for them when i did an 'angel delight treat' (3 different colours of angel delight layered in a glass bowl or an ice cream float (vanilla ice cream blobbed into cream soda in a glass. It all foams up). They got v excited! 😂

I'm 60 now but back in the summer holidays of my childhood we were mostly left to our own devices. Parents didn't have the money for constant days out and treats. Luckily we lived at the seaside so that was a bonus. We used to go cycling along country lanes ( hardly any cars back then) go to the local park, potter around in the garden or on the street, or spend hours laying on the local fields just looking at the sky. Yes we were bored sometimes but the experts say that boredom is good for children, it makes them.more inventive.
That is certainly true!!

Sounds bloody brilliant OP. How refreshing to hear from a mother who is happy and having a lovely relaxing day! I’ve got my first baby on the way and some people are very keen to tell me what a nightmare I’m letting myself in for! 🤷🏼‍♀️

FavouriteFruits Gosh I feel tired just reading that! My DD loves watching films with me .DS an action man for sure .

@Laiste
My 3 must be around the same age!
They used to enjoy whisking up butterscotch angel delight( me fingers crossed it didn't hit the walls)
and crushing a flake with a rolling pin for topping
Simpler times, and great memories

Ds1 is 19
Ds2 is13
We spent yesterday afternoon watching moonstruck 🙂💙

DD (14) is fussy about films, however after our hol I have some extra time off so now plan to watch some films and she can either join me or not! Sounds lovely.

At the weekend we both sat on the sofa all of Sunday afternoon reading our books, normally i never give myself permission to sit down like that but as dd was I joined her and it was bliss! I'm back into reading now .

I have decided as she is older and I am so skint that my days of providing non stop activities and days out are over. DD is a little nonplussed by this this summer but is gradually finding her own things to do, she's done some baking, art , as well as lots of reading. At some point her friends will resurface from their own chilling out days and they'll be off out so all good here .

Exercise and fresh air will be necessary at some point?

My favourite kind of day.
DD has had many days out and enriching activities yet remembers fondly the day we had a 'monkey life' marathon watching session. Literally hours watching monkeys being rescued 😄

Sounds fab!

Unfortunately mine (9 and 7) will end up bickering if we stay in all day. So it’s actually easier to go out. Sigh.

We have a walk around the block most days for some fresh air and exercise. That's what I would do with my mum in holidays. Plenty of time in the garden too, when it's not too hot as neither of us can handle heat at all!

Ds3 is 11 and still loves days like this. Even the 16 and 20 year olds can be persuaded occasionally. Today, ds3, ds1's girlfriend and I have done the supermarket shop, come home, put pjs on and baked a cake. Nothing super exciting but he's enjoyed it.

I’d feel too guilty having a lazy day even though I’m sure I’d enjoy it. My kids can barely sit through one movie never mind 3, you’re very lucky to be able to sit and read I’m very jealous

Why feel guilty about relaxing with your DC? You need to step back and let your DC get bored and start to use their imaginations. You're doing them no favours with the non stop activities.

Mine are 10-13 now. I wish life was as simple as cheese on toast and colouring 🤣 Sounds lovely

I have plenty of relaxing days at home and I find ds 3 actually plays with his toys and finds ways to keep himself busy without any input from me. He is better behaved during relaxing days. He does go batshit crazy if we have so many activities planned in one day and everyday and it kind of ruins it for him and me. I can never do some of the schedules as some posters do. I like my home and my ds loves to chill as well but when I used to live in a tiny 1 bed flat, I used to spend every waking hour outdoors. My family love spending time at home as well and I guess that's rubbed on me a bit. Of course we go out but we are more relaxed whereas my in-laws they need to be out and have that mentality but now they fiddle with their thumbs from boredom as they can no longer go out like they used to when they were healthy and I've noticed this year their mental health has deteriorated even more.

I'm old enough to have a childhood and teen years where I was left entirely to my own devices, as was every other child. And yes, it were all fields round here. As soon as I was 15 I got summer job.

My own DD's childhood meant no screens until her late teens. They weren't available and we had a no TV in the bedrooms rule. We loved curling up and watching a film together, and now when she visits (26), she still asks me to pick a DVD to watch. The family would always go to whatever new kids' film was showing. A treat for DD was to go on the number 3 bus to Oxford Circus and back with her dad.

Oh, another treat: the Argos catalogue. For quite a while DD made no connection between what was on the page and its real-life existence. Happy days.

It's hard to leave kids to their own devices that's why we have to organise activities to get them to exercise, learn about their world, develop problem solving skills, learn how to interact with people and be mentally stimulated. These were all things most of the previous generations learned by playing out with their peers and just roaming.
Can't really do that anymore and it's tiring for parents to organise activities to provide all that.

Sounds lovely.

We’re a few weeks into our summer holidays and mostly being pretty lazy too. So many days I have a vague plan of getting out but then by 3 or 4pm my kids are still playing together nicely in the garden and I think what would I want to go out for? Isn’t this exactly what I want them to be doing?

Sounds lovely. I too dislike this obsession to be constantly 'doing something'.

Mine would never sit and colour letting me read a book without annoying the living hell out of me and preventing me from reading any of book.

It's hard to leave kids to their own devices

Why?

My two (13 and 9) love a chill day. Sometimes they stay in PJs but other times the most we do is walk the dog over and around the fields, and even then it's usually just me and the younger one.

They will happily draw, read, create etc (and X box for their 2 hour allowance!) We bake or watch films. Often the first few days of school hols are like this. I teach, and a few days to wind down does us all good. I often potter and sort things in the house whilst they have wind down days. Then we gear up for some more active time eg time away, outings and long walks.

My DS was/is super chilled .... I can remember reading plenty of books when he was a toddler (although I can't actually remember what he was doing at the time )... maybe because he is an only DC he just learned to amuse himself, he seemed happy enough pottering around l playing with his toys ...and there was no one else to bicker with!

I could happily leave him to watch a film (obviously I was in the house) sadly I never enjoy watching children tv or films so I never watched with him - my DH is much better at that.

We spent yesterday making tiny cards and notebooks out of paper for my DD's designafriend dolls. Then she got her till and set up a shop. We had great fun taking each of her dolls to the shop, and being shopkeepers! We have a holiday booked for a week in August but apart from that most of our days will be pottering about at home or at the local park.