If you have young kids and work F/T

[GreenAchers]

...how often do you socialise with friends? I mean properly meet up and spend time together as opposed to crossing paths in work or on the school run?

Asking because I have a few groups of friends and we tend to meet up every 4-8 weeks or so, although there's lots of texting and voice-noting in between. We are all just busy with own stuff, it works for everyone and has done for years.

However, I have made a new friend who seems really nice, but she seems to want to meet up every week.

I feel like I'm constantly rejecting her, but life is so busy with work, kids extracurricular activities, housework, family days out, making time to see extended family, spending time as just a couple etc.
I also learned over COVID how much I need time at the weekend to just relax, I hate a totally crammed calendar, so admittedly sometimes I'm free but don't want to see her, or anyone outside of my immediate household.

Just wondering if others are the same!

Every week?
Not gonna happen - children or not.

Every 4-8 weeks sounds about where we were, weekly would not be happening- just not enough time to go round for that.

Every week isn’t going to happen

even if she has a child or children same age as yours AND lives within a 10min WALK from your house….it’s more like 2 x per month on a good month with a favourable
wind

i aim for 2-3 months to see friends tbh
the only ones I see more regularly literally live in walking distance and it’s either in park cafes or playgrounds while kids run wild or one of us pops round

Solo mum here so perhaps slightly different but I haven't seen any of my most friends in person since February half term. I saw one of them at Christmas and then again at the end of July. We all have different aged children and finding time to meet up and somewhere appropriate for everyone is difficult.

Phew! That makes me feel better 😂

Yeah...it feels like way too much!

Her kids are younger than mine. I suspect half of the motivation for spending time with me is so that my kids can spend time with keep an eye on her kids. In practice my kids get a bit fed up after a while and want to be left alone to do their own thing.

I'm quite surprised everyone agrees with me. I thought there'd be a little push back and the odd "I see my friend twice a week and would find anything less odd" kind of responses.

At the moment I see my nursery parent friends twice every weekend at birthday parties and other people never because of the birthday parties. Not even my husband and kids. I sometimes see my colleagues on video calls but I very much have to fit that in around the main reason for my existence which is attending kids’ birthday parties.

Ah we are a little bit past this stage, for most parties kids are just dropped off and picked up.