to get a bit peeved about people moaning about 6 weeks of holidays with their DCs?

[Abgirl]

Have seen at least 2 facebook messages this morning complaining about how long the summer holidays are - 1 has even worked out the number of days until their DCs were back to school! It might seem like a long time now but the days are long and the years are short - I work FT and would love 6 weeks off to spend with my DCs :(.

YANBU! If they can cope with 6 weeks with their own kids theirs something wrong.

It's hard with three kids in a two bed flat when the rain is lashing down. I also work nights and find it hard to get proper rest.

I like the break with the routine though andxwexfo have lazy days which I know the kids appreciate.

I hope the weather cheers up as that will make things so much easier.

Try it op and see if you can manage 6 weeks without moaning especially if it carries on raining. As they say don't judge someone till you have walked in their shoes. Just because you have to work full time and don't want to doesn't mean people are not entitled to moan about their lives.

There are many examples of things I would love that other people have and moan about but everyone has a right to let off steam so yes YABU

It's not as simple as "oh,well, if you dont want six weeks with your kids you should'nt have had them"
I am working a bit over the holiday, so having to find various forms of unpaid childcare, child swaps etc.
I am just worried that, because the weather is awful, and I am really broke, we will be stuck in the house the rest of the time, and I will LOSE MY MIND.
Holidays are such fun when you have friends around, and plenty of money to entertain your kids.
"Mum, can I have an ice cream?"
"No, because then I won't have enough to buy something for tea."
"Mum, why can't we go on holiday?"
"Because I am still paying the winter gas bills"
"Mum, can we go to the good playground"
"No, because I can't spare the 4 quid bus fare"
"Mum, can we go to the indoor play centre"
"Aaaarrggh!"

DD has already had a week off but I've been at school this week, so have already missed a week with her - she's been at grandparents on and off instead. But now my holidays have begun too and I love them, love the chance of spending extended time doing stuff together. I try and do a balance of things - plus we have a fortnight's holiday during that time too. Would like the weather to improve a bit as that would mean we could get out a bit more.

YABU. My Dd1 is in a wheelchair, and with a ds of 2 and a ds2 of 5mo we become housebound for 6 weeks. It sucks. Unless I have a respite carer in I can't pop to the shops or take the dogs for a walk. So if its OK with you I'll carry on complaining.

I don't think I've heard anyone complain about the holidays apart from on MN. In real life everyone else has been looking forward to it as much as I have.

YABU. You work f/t, but you also seem to be claiming earth-mother status. Constant rain and constant pleading for more tv/ days out/ expensive soft play/ etc etc, wears anyone down.

peggy that sounds really rough. I might shut up my moaning (for a couple of hours anyway!)

Oh for God's sake, we have one of these posts every year on mumsnet. Can you really not see that other people's experience of motherhood and summer holidays might be very different to yours OP?

I look forward to and fear the summer holidays in equal measure. I love spending extra time with my kids but I also find it really hard work looking after and entertaining 3 small children on my own from 7.30am til 6.30 pm every single day. Especially when I don't have a huge amount of money and don't live somewhere where my kids can play out on the streets with other children. We will have some lovely times (we already have 2 days in) and we will have some awful stressful times (yep, already had those just 2 days in). I am much more likely to gush to my children when we're having the lovely times and moan to my grown up friends and family when it's stressful which may give a skewed view of my parenting to someone lacking in empathy or imagination.

I also agree with Pagwatch and think a lot of mums feel like this : 'I love the holidays but I dud used to fret. The quiet concern I had about their having a shit holiday and it being my fault was usually expressed as 'bloody hell, they are going to drive me batty' rather than 'christ it's a bit intimidating - they will get bored and I will feel awful'

It's 2 months for primary schools in Ireland.

3 months for teenagers.

Count ye'erselves lucky!

more than 2 months Tony, closer to 10 weeks.

Last summer I was on maternity leave and I loved having 6 weeks with DS1 as well as DS2. I would love the full 6 weeks again this year but can't. I get annoyed by people moaning about the holidays and having to be with their kids as it's what I would love to do more of.

All I'm going to say is that my DDs get 12 weeks here in Chile.

They are off for so much linger in the US and Ireland -- early June-ish to late August/early Sept. Pretty much twice the UK summer holidays.

If there was more time to enjoy there would be less frantic effort to cram as much expensive entertainment into it all as possible. The DCs would start relaxing and getting into the spirit of the quieter pace, and you would all be less frazzled.

We were done May 30th and don't go back til September 4th, so put that in yer pipe. :o

I'm a bit inclined to agree with the OP. It's not as if anyone didn't KNOW there were big holidays when they decided to sprog.

I knew, and knew I wasn't a 24/7 mum so took appropriate action.

What seems to emerge here is 1) You don't have to entertain them day and night. Sorry, make cupcakes/puppets/playdough, yada yada. 2) Films are good; I watched films endlessly with DD because I liked them, and cupcakes hand't been invented, and if they had, who cares? They're sugar-filled shite.

She is a film addict at 17. What's not to like? We have excellent conversations about films and TV. Now that's yay.

Yabu

I'm a big fan of moaning. You can't possibly say you wouldn't moan unless you did it yourself and found out.

I have a great life, but I moan about stuff. So what? Doesn't mean I'm not grateful in general.

I wish I didn't feel so guilty about my kids not being deep down happy that I could just whinge about them being annoying

As long as it's not raining every day, I will be happy! Forecast looks good so far so there are a million things to do if its nice weather.

i love love love the summer holidays

i work in a job that allows me to have the whole holiday off and we just chill out

we do some days out, this year we are having a holiday, and we just revel in being together with no schedule-no packed lunches, no alarm clocks, no uniforms , no homework.

I love the holidays - I also do not have to work - the joys of taking a crappy little (dinner lady) job so you can be free for the holidays.......

means we haven't much in the way of money to entertain them..... but we get by - mine are 2 girls 10 and 11

2 days in - we have joined the library summer scheme, got a couple of papercraft books out, taken the dog for a long walk both days, been to the park, left kids at park with their mates and had mates home from park for "refuelling" - total extra cost so far approx £1 (50p Asda offer oreos and squash).

If the holiday follows last year's it will continue with lots of park/mates/films/computer games/general playing/cheap crafts/library/art gallery/museum/dog walks/trips to town - just 'cos you go there does not mean you need to buy anything. Last year's summer break cost us £73 extra - not much in the wider scheme of things - about 2 weeks dinner lady wages (and our pay is averaged over the year - so I'm still getting paid for having fun with the kids for 6 weeks)

We have to find time to fit in uniform shopping/shoe shopping/haircuts/ear piercing (a birthday promise) /dentist/optician and their piano lessons/practise and karate lessons/practise - the joy with older kids is the extra-curriculars DON'T stop for summer..

I don't have enough time to fit it all in -why can't we get 8 weeks too

Oh, I also find it easier when they are home from school because now they will cook the odd meal, take the dog out for proper walks and clean out the guinea pigs, as well as help in the house and the garden -no one gets to say they are "bored" in this house!! Whatever the age, give em a duster point to the skirting boards (who ever has time or inclination to dust them when the kids are at school!) and let them get on with things...

YABU I work from home, don't work don't get paid, trying to work a 30 hr week with a 7yo and a 5yo is HARD!

i find the holidays difficult.

I appreciate the lazy mornings, but i have 3 very demanding children (2 autistic) who are wonderful children, but fight and argue so much and even when theyre not, they make so much noise and i find it quite overwhelming. Its hard to take the youngest two out at the same time. I feel stuck in a lot in the holidays. They climb the walls.
I know they need the break though, but i find it very hard to go 6 weeks without breaks from them