to want to poke my eyes out with summer hols in London!!!

[fuzzybuzzy]

Deary me.
I didnt "plan" a schedule of events for the summer holidays.We went on a weekend camping trip at the start and will take another at the end of the holidays.

Did the science museum, library, city farm, local parks....Stressful outings.dd 18 months ds 5 yrs.Feel like I am damned if I do and damned if I dont. Staying in has meant too much tv, going out= throbbing headache.

WTF do you do with two kids for 6 weeks!!!

No answers but feel your pain, I am a SAHM of 21 month twins, am going to attempt the science museum today but am v. Scared. They are such a handful!

childcare

activity weeks, sports camps,theatre workshops (for the 5 year old)

the garden in a sandpit

earplugs in all the time to block out the incessant whinging

anything which gets them the fuck away from you

doing science museum tomorrrow - please tell me that all those reports about London being a ghost town are true??

It was a ghastly experience .Will not be repeated for years.Ended with ds saying i hate you on he way home. Lovely.

Why was it so ghastly Fuzzy?

We were planning to go on Friday.

How busy was it?

So far I have had mine in a kids club, picnicked in the park when warm, left them with my parents for 3 nights and going away next week for a fortnight together. I think they get as sick of us as we do of them so we all need a break!

I guess it was so bad because I was tired, didnt take enough snacks ds wanted to do things that dd couldnt etc.All my own fault really...

"No answers but feel your pain, I am a SAHM of 21 month twins, am going to attempt the science museum today but am v. Scared. They are such a handful!"

Surely that's too young for any sort of museum?

I know how you feel. My son is two an autistic. Usually he does two sessions of specialist preschool a week, two sessions of Stay and Play plus a swim lesson at the weekend. Around that we have visits from Portage (service for disabled children) and stuff like park and library.

Pre school is off for the Summer, the local Sure Start has been taken over and pretty much everything there is cancelled except for one Stay and Play session a week and swim lessons are off for the summer. Even his Portage appointments are being cancelled as the person he sees is off sick.

We have nothing locally, even the local swimming pool has closed down. I have no transport and no money to get any further away. Even if we could crowds and lots of children stress him out.

To add to that I am epileptic and pregnant with the heat making the seizures worse so most of the time we are stuck inside our top floor flat (I don't even had a garden he can play in).

He is bored, miserable and his behaviour has really taken a nose drive with an increase of obsessive behaviours and aggressive ones.

I am counting the days till September.

Gardening, picnics at playgrounds, local pool (heated obviously!), cooking, craft (shudder), library, board games.... and offloading them to playdates (but this has the turnaround effect of reciprocating, which is fine for child with friend, but the others run amok to get attention/show off when someone new in house!).

So far we've3 kept our sanity - just.

Another outing we've done twice is south bank - has lots of free stuff going on and is easy walk from waterloo station.

We did history museum yesterday, really quiet and had chilled morning

Children do not need to be taken out and entertained all the time. It wont harm them to spend a few days chilling out in front of the tv watching films.

our local children's centre is open for all but two weeks of the holidays, running the usual program of sessions for the under five's plus a few extras. No extra sesions at our local one o clock club but it is doing the usual stuff and is right next to the playground so handy for those with older kids.

Library is running weekly workshops for 5 to 10 year olds (story and a craft). I can leave son to it and go sit on the computers upstairs. They're also doing weekly workshops for 3 to 6 year olds but parents have to stay for those. £1 a session.

As he's in primary school there's also a network of other parents/friends that we can do the reciprocal play date thing with.

Plus have booked him in for a course at the local sports centre. This was the most expensive but at less than a tenner for a half day session not too prohibitively expensive.

Hmm, think you are being a bit glass is half empty TBH

park
swimming
soft play
play dates
simple train journey to a London park
crafts

etc

chin up

Sallyingforth- I wouldn't say 21 months is too young at all. Like I said we visit history museum yesterday with 2.5year old and 14 month old. Both had a blast. Both walked/ toddled around looking at all the animals and dinosaurs. Even the security people commented on how nice it was to see little ones so enthusiastic

For those going to the science / natural history museums, there are really good picknicking areas in both, on the lower ground floors iirc. Take your own packed lunch, there are lots of tables, chairs and space to run around a little bit.

What exactly is causing the stress Fuzzy Buzzy? Which area of London do you live? I'm sure everyone would be happy to give you suggestions.

WTF do you do with two kids for 6 weeks!!!

Enjoy them! I would LOVE to have 6 weeks with my son but I work with a SAHF (complicated) and miss him terribly

Thames Clippers - hop on & off boats. Under 5s are free. We did it last year and will go again this year. One of the best ways to spend a day in London with kids - you hop off /off whenever.
Coffee/hot chocolate at Tower of London
Lunch at Greenwich (picnic)
Scooted around the O2
etc etc

DD just LOVED being on the boats (which are great, clean, spacious, run to a timetable and are buggy friendly) and has been asking all year to go again.

Picnics in parks.

Diana Playground is great on a non-sunny day (no queues).
Hyde Park - so much to explore.
South Bank has lots on for kids.
Battersea Park - amazing playground.
Holland park - wilderness area for tree climbing etc.

You can go the the Science Museum again - we live close and go there lots.

Does your 5yo scoot? Scoot along Thames with your and 18mo alongside.

Collect leaves twigs etc from park - next day give glue and cardboard and get them to make collages.

Do you meet up with DC friends in parks too?

Playgrounds with water play are the best - can keep DC entertained for HOURS!!

If you have a car have you been to Ruislip Lido?

If you have a BIG day out its good to have a quieter day to follow - library, art, home in garden etc

Another working parent who would totally LOVE 6 weeks off with the DC over the summer.

Maybe some play dates? I always find my DD is happiest when playing with other kids her own age just in the house or the park. They entertain each other then and also you can send them to a play date in return :)

Sallyingforth - you might not be aware: Science Museum has a section specifically for toddlers, with lots of water play, building bricks and generally making a noise and a mess. It is brilliant. I've taken DCs there several times - DS was 14 months the first time and has always loved it. But there's also loads to see and do around the rest of the museum as well - lots of big exciting things to look at and experience. And enough other noise and stuff going on that your toddler will never seem out of place.

Lots of the London museums are similar. Particularly Natural History Museum and National Army Museum (which also has a soft play). I haven't been but apparently the Museum of Childhood in East London is fab.

No 11 bus, all the way from Liverpool street station to the kings road. Go on the top and older one can be the driver. Dcs are free. It goes through the city, down the strand, through trafalgar square ( which us a great place to chase pigeons) down withal and past houses of parliament.

Don't know if they are doing them in august, but Nat gall runs or used to great 4-11 yo sessions free on sats and suns and lots of people take their babies.

Feed the ducks with your stake bread in st James' park. Or regents park.

At home, either a tent if you have one, or a blanket between two chairs as a tent. Then you are all explorers. With a picnic.

Sailing ships across your washing up bowl. A cork with a cocktail stick mast and paper sail makes a boat. Then using a straw, blow the boats and race them. A squeeze of washing up liquid in the water, whisked with a whisk by the child, makes storm waves, remove whisk and race again.

Painting pictures for ungrateful or grateful relatives and,making presents for them.

Gin for you.

I did not mean to cause offense to those of you who are not able to spend holiday with the kids.
I was just venting and feeling jealous of people who live in the country side.

I just ignore my kids - it encourages their creativity.

I also give them lots of jobs to do.

I second the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. Lots for small children to touch! www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/home/

The very best toy I ever saw was in a sure start centre.

It was a huge box. The sort that a fridge or washing machine comes in.

I don't think they had decorated it, but you could.

They had cut a couple of circles out of it to make windows or portholes. When the weather was nice it was outside, otherwise inside.

It was a box, a castle, a ship, a rocket, a village, a stable, a pirate's cave, a place to tell stories, a giant tortoise shell, a museum, a lighthouse.

It was light and safe. Occasionally it might have fallen over but did no harm to.people or things. It was everybody's favourite toy.