What does your 8yo do at weekends?

[EatingWormsMichael]

When dc was little I'd be out every weekend - soft play, park, museum etc. My philosophy was active morning, wear him out, home for the afternoon.

He's 8 now and I've not been out at weekends for a long time. We sit about at home, he plays his video games, I potter and do housework.

Today he was on a screen ALL day. We stopped to do build a model together but then his friend rang to do a call while they played online together so I let him so he could interact with someone.

I have a nagging sense of guilt about this new lifestyle. He enjoys his games and I like chilling but I know we should be more active and getting out and about.

My guilt came to a head tonight when he had a headache and felt sick and I'm sure it's cos he's been in front of a screen all day. Completely my fault. I've said let's do something 2moro.

I'm not entirely sure what we will do. He doesn't enjoy sport, he used to love soft play but maybe getting too old now and I think would prefer going with a friend vs alone.

Does your 8yo get out and about much at weekends? Do you ever feel guilty like this?

We’ve had a “lazy” day today. My sons football game was cancelled with the weather but we tidied out his room, he played lego, read for a bit, played some more lego, had an hr on screen & we made pizza for dinner

tomorrow we’ll be up & out & wrapped up warm & we’ll go a walk (we have national trust membership) & maybe get a hot chocolate.

i have twins my daughter had a 2 hour dance class but otherwise was the same. She played lego for a bit too and then played with other toys.

my 12 year old just moaned all day that she was bored - she’s harder to keep off her phone

This weekend was different because of the snow. We don't usually go straight out after breakfast to sledge down a massive hill! But we did today, the neighbors were all out.
Then we came back in to get his dad and went on a scenic snowy walk.

He had screen time while I made us lunch, then after lunch he did drawing and Lego, random stuff, then more screen time around tea and before bathtime.

It was a rather gentle spontaneous day that we didn't plan at all. We didn't go out in the car or pay to do anything.

He's an only child so screen time is a problem for us too, he gets bored. I find it better to do things you don't need to go on a huge mission to do, like gardening, a bike ride, a walk, creative projects, he gets a lot out of the day when we invite a friend over.

Mine wants my attention full time if he's not on a screen, always has, so if I'm tired (always am) or busy I give up and let him play on screens. When I have the time and energy we go on days out, usually by train somewhere nature-spotting. Occasionally theatre or a museum.

At his dad's every other weekend he plays on computer games most of the day, but they do go to the park for an hour. He does do his homework and music practice as well. They were going swimming on Sundays, but it got cold.

My son gets headaches and is sick (every half hour to an hour, like norovirus) and has been diagnosed as having migraines, with very clear correlation with screen time and sugar intake. He seems to enjoy lying in bed ill reading for hours on those days.🤷

It's so hard don't beat yourself up - we have days where everyone is glued to a screen.

Mine still plays - but I'm not sure if that's abnormal as a lot of his school friends don't play with toys (baring lego!).

We also do: parks, art / crafts, baking, gardening (planting seeds, pruning (with supervision), weeding...he seems to enjoy it and it's nice not to be cooped up) he's into photography - found my old camera in the loft absolutely loves taking pictures of pavements, bugs, leaves.

Is there anything on at your local museum or library? Ours do lego club/ art club on at the weekend- it can break up the day a bit and they get to meet kids outside of school.

my 8 year olds are definitely not too old for soft play! But if you feel he is, how about bowling, swimming, trampoline park, climbing, exhibitions, train ride to local city!!

we usually spend Saturdays doing stuff as a family - sometimes shopping, more usually museum, National trust properties or something like that. It’s fun doing stuff together :-)

Sunday is rugby in Autumn/Winter. In the summer maybe a walk/bike ride/park
visit.

if he loves gaming maybe try Pokémon Go? Or Geocaching?

Crazy golf as another suggestion

My 8 and 10 year olds also have a lot of screen time at the weekends especially in the colder months, it gets expensive trying to do activities or days out every weekend.

They're both girls and do enjoy making dance videos so I don't feel quite so bad when they're jumping around the living room filming themselves.

They're definitely happier to do more active things when friends are invited so I make sure at least once a month we meet up with friends and take them to the park or for a bike ride.

On wet weekends they're usually happy when we get the craft stuff out for a couple of hours, there are lots of ideas online of things to make.

Mine have screen time for an hour after 4pm on Saturdays. Mornings are for clubs and afternoon we either go for a walk/park or they play in the garden, read, lego, etc. We're pretty strict with their screen time but it works for our family.

That is way too much screen time, and I am lax by Mumsnet standard.

My 8 year old went to football from 9:30 to 11:30 (I hate it) then did his homework, and after lunch went to his friend's house where I have no doubt they ate party rings and played Nintendo all afternoon. Tomorrow he will do junior parkrun and then McDonald's fun football with another friend, and then they will probably want a Happy Meal and the park. We never ever have a day at home because he would either be on screens, or nagging for screens, or trying to kick a football in the house.

Could he meet up with the friend he was playing online with? Also keep trying sports until he finds one he likes, and in the meantime find out if there is a junior parkrun near you. If all else fails, haul him out for a walk.

You get where I'm coming from @Puffalicious. Every after school club I've signed up for has demanded persuasion and bribery on a prime ministerial scale. We are now down to swimming once a week.

Birthday parties don't seem to happen anymore. They were good for breaking up weekends.

Oh well no point wallowing in guilt. Onwards and upwards!

Sport - football and basketball. Matches are often weekends. We do family things - a walk usually with the dog and maybe hot chocolate and cake. Sometimes bowling/cinema/arcades but they add up £££

It's easier in the summer I think when going to the beach is a full day out.

Yup, one step at a time and don't beat yourself up. Mine loves karate as HE asked to go (because SpongeBob does it bizarrely) and goes to cubs as he's been (Breavers) since he was 5 and knows everyone there very well. To try anything new is like you say- bribery/ dragging. I think school is hugely exhausting for mine and he needs to decompress, we forget that for some kids that's a reality.

From a mum with 2 super active boys previously, I get that's it's not always easy with a different child. People often can't see past their own nose. For those PP saying an hour of screen time only at weekends, good for you. Come back when they're 11/12 and tell us the same thing.

I don’t think you have to go out, but the whole day shouldn’t be screens. Mine are so busy throughout the school week with after school activities / homework etc. that I am okay with pretty unstructured weekends. Also, I am a homebody who would really rather stay in my pjs all weekend.

They do musical theatre sat mornings, but otherwise alternate weekends where we have plans vs. stay in. They do get more screen time than usual (week days is effectively zero), but not more than a couple of hours. Otherwise we bake, they play with toys, do crafts (sometimes together and sometimes on their own), explore the garden (today we collected one of each spring flower to identify and then press). It sounds like a lot if you are tired at the end of the week, but most of it they do independently or with minimal input, so I get to relax as well. I also keep a stockpile of craft kits, subscription boxes, activity books, science kits that I can break out on a particularly boring day.

I think the key is putting some parameters around devices - mine have to ask, and always have a time limit. I don’t make a big deal of it, and mostly say yes if they ask - just with limits. If they start asking at 9am, I know it is going to be a day where I raid my stockpile to provide something more exciting . But many days (today) they didn’t ask until 3pm at which point I said yes until dinner (t5pm).

the activities you have identified are great, but he also needs to be able to entertain himself / deal with a bit of boredom. It is a life skill! There is so much he could be doing (reading, writing, making, building, playing) that don’t involve screens.

We try and get out of the house for at least a whole morning or afternoon over the weekend, but we spend a fair amount of time at home just doing all the chores that have built up over the week.

We tend to do one "big thing" like travel to an NT property, go to a farm park, go to a museum etc. We also try and visit family members we don't see often, such as mine and DH's grandparents, the kids' godparents etc. The rest of the time the kids entertain themselves at home while we do some work and household chores. They like to do colouring, watch movies, play with Lego, do jigsaws, read, play in the garden etc. They do have a tablet but tbh they're not overly attached to it. I wouldn't allow more than about a 45 min stretch on it anyway.

I have a DS who is 8, and until recently he only had swimming lessons on Saturday mornings. Over the winter I think it has been a bit difficult to keep him occupied as he doesn't play with toys much anymore, so I recognise what you are saying. A couple of weeks ago he joined a football team, so he plays with them in Sundays now. It's good as it breaks up the weekend and also is a lot cheaper than going bowling or something. A playdate could be an alternative if he doesn't like clubs.

Today, along with swimming lesson in the morning, I've taken him to the park to play football and into town to spend his world book day voucher. This is rare though as he normally hates shopping of any description.

In the past he has also really enjoyed cooking and baking. He had a recipe book that he worked through from beginning to end - is something like that a possibility?

My other DC is 5, and doesn't need as much in terms of structure as she would happily play all weekend at home with maybe a walk to the park or duck pond or something.

I tried a bit more balance today. Tried to meet up with friends but it was too short notice for them, have noted that I need to plan ahead for future weekends.

We did some model building, board game and drawing. Have told him we'll be breaking up screen time with other things and explained why, which he took surprisingly well!

My 8yr old does alot of screen time on tablets playing roblox, minecraft and watching YouTube mainly. On a Saturday morning he does track cycling at the local velodrome, and Sunday rugby. Otherwise usually go out for lunch, nip to shops, walk the dog at the park, chill with a film

He would literally stare at Fortnite or Minecraft every minute of every day if permitted. Sometimes he gets a cob on if we take him out because he wants to be gaming instead 🙄.
He's one of 4, eldest usually out with her friends these days, younger are 2 and 4. So we go to the park, the woods, swimming, big soft plays, activity centres, clip n climb, bowling, trampoline parks etc. Having the younger kids there is a good way to force him to give up being cool and run round with the little ones.