Summer holiday support thread

[Rainallnight]

Anyone else in need of this? We’re on holidays abroad and DD6 is very dysregulated. I’m finding it really tough. Need to give myself a shake and get my head in the right place to support here.

will come back and post more and am here to listen to anyone else struggling!

I am struggling with work and home life. Things feel on a knife edge and I don’t know how much longer I can go working. Summer holidays have been hard

@121Sarah121 sorry things have taken a turn for the worse. The heat is possibly making everything feel harder than usual. Do you think you might have flexibility to go part time or trade some pay for more leave to help with holidays? Can your kids use holiday clubs at all? We didn't for 3 years and then DD1 then 9 or 10 started a week long drama summer holiday thing, joined the next year by DD2 aged around 6.

This summer has been hard work, my DD is really struggling with holiday clubs which I use because I need to work. Most days I’ve had to pick her up early, take lunch down to her because X wasn’t in her lunch box etc - it’s been exhausting and very disruptive to my working day. I feel I'm constantly juggling my diary to make up work time and fit people in for my private work, never feel particularly organised and the house looks like it’s been through a tornado, twice.

They go back on Wednesday, which brings with it the usual 6 weeks or so of explaining to the new teacher the supports my kids need, building relationships (generally from a place of “the more you get it right for my kids, the less you’ll see of me, and that’s a good thing”). We’ll get settled in time for the September weekend and then the slow run up to Christmas…

I’ve woken with a tummy bug today, the kids are having way too much screen time but that’ll need to be ok.

Hope you feel better soon @Jellycatspyjamas we’ve almost survived the holidays, just a few
more days for us too. Lots of parents struggle with work and school holidays but for our kids, it’s a really scary time. Hope the start of the new term goes well

@121Sarah121 @Jellycatspyjamas So sorry you’re both having such tough times. It sounds really bloody difficult and disruptive.

@Jellycatspyjamas how did the return to school go? Is your tummy better?

Are things any better @121Sarah121?

My DC are holding it together fine in holiday club but it ALL comes out at home. We had a pretty dreadful, violent outburst from DD last night, of the kind we haven’t seen for a long while (thankfully). It caused quite major tension between me and DP (long story - I feel like DP leaves that sort of thing to me) and I ended up taking myself out for a drink. Not our finest hour.

@Jellycatspyjamas hope the return to school went ok.

@Rainallnight we are doing ok. That sounds really tough. My son masks all day and the behaviour at can be very challenging. I get it. Taking yourself out the house afterwards probably wasn’t a bad idea. Gives you a little head space. Hope you’ve managed to talk to your husband about it all. Take care

Mine are back to school on Monday, the routine of school really helps them tbf.

We've another 2.5 weeks to go here. DD managed to eat inside a MacDonalds this week, including eating it with her fingers, which is another little step forward.

That is brilliant @UnderTheNameOfSanders. Great strides. Sorry I didn’t reply sooner, kept wanting to write a longer reply and then not getting round to it 😬

On my knees here. Actually cried today, they were both so horrible to me. We’re away again and I think maybe it’s just too much.

Onwards to school next week. Then maybe I’ll start the ‘oh bugger, a new school year/teacher/class support thread’ 😂

Yes, please do start a back to school thread! I'm about to earn the title of 'new reception parent' and would love a school support thread!!

Sorry you cried today @Rainallnight . Being away is such a mixed blessing, I think. We're just back from a weekend visiting grandparents. It's lovely to see them but also quite stressful in terms of meeting/not meeting their expectations and changes in routine for LO.

I'm planning a few quieter days this week to hopefully catch up on jobs and let LO just play. In reality, I know I'll get very little done as he will want me to play with him ALL the time!

Can’t believe the summer is over! i posted previously about camping worries but we had an absolutely brilliant time. Really great family time and definite holiday blues when we came home!

LO has had a couple of days at nursery holiday club this week because I’m back at work and we’ve had a few tough mornings with them not wanting to leave me which has been hard. They start F1 Nursery on Monday and me and DH are preparing for a rough few weeks as they settle in to their new 4 day F1 routine!