To ask how often you do marvellous things with DCs?

[Dearyme1]

We have DS3 and DD1. We still find going out with them for whole days tricky and tend to go out in 'bursts' and visit a local park or nearby petting farm - and even then it's far from glitch free!

I know you shouldn't compare - ever. But...I feel that we don't do 'enough'.

Quite often our days are resting and doing absolutely nothing due to a terrible night's sleep.

Our peers with two kids of a similar age - and many with one extra - seem to fare better.

I don't want our kids to miss out.

I get out most days. My home days feature a buggy fit class and swimming lessons as routine.

Today, friends with similarly aged DCs came over and we went for a waterproofed walk round the local woods, then the 3&4 year old stayed in the garden for over an hour getting gloriously muddy in holes. Sounds marvellous to me.

There's also a lot of time where the DCs have the space to entertain themselves which is just as important.

We do fun things. But perhaps not "marvellous" as you would think. It's easier now mine are 13/10/7 as they can all help getting out and are more selfsufficient.
Going to pick your own fruit/veg is always something they ask to do a couple of times during the holidays.
Last summer holiday they said the most fun day was one we stayed at home and played lots of different board games.
A popular one (more in the winter) is to choose a DVD and watch it together with pizza followed by popcorn.
Sending them out together to gather blackberries gives them a sense of adventure.
Baking, either with me or on their own. They haven't got the tidying bit right yet though.

I try to have 1-2 things a week where we do something during the holidays. But one of them might be something like going to the library. They enjoy that. It gets them out of the house and gives them something to do when they get home too.
Even at the age mine are you can do fun things at home with very little stuff. Treasure hunts used to keep mine busy for hours. You write clues and hide them round the house. Depending on how long you want them to take you put more clues in. You can make them puzzles to solve or riddles as they get older too.

My DS was a nightmare if we stayed home up until a few months ago. Every morning it was a case of getting him out of the house or him going nuts at home. So I was always out at the museum, the park, music class, gymnastics, you name it, to try and keep him occupied. A friend of mine with older kids says she did nothing with her two when they were toddlers because it was so much work and it was easier to stay home. Her sons just happen to both be fairly laid back, happy to play in the sand pit and do quiet activities.

Now my son is closer to 3 it's a different ball game. He can sit and do stickers or coloring for an hour or two now and we've been potty training for the last two weeks, staying at home or close to home and he's been fine with that.

It's just a different life now. I feel I can kick back a bit now too as we are due DC 2 soon and I feel I did enough with him in his early years to last a lifetime!

I'm probably in the "always out doing things" category. It's pure survival rather than marvellousness. We're a family of 4 crammed into a tiny 2-bed flat. DCs are 1 and 2, together they can trash the entire flat in less time than it takes me to pee. We have to get outside or I lose my marbles. Having NT and Zoo membership (gifted by GPs) means we can do lots of free days out, add in that little one only naps well in his car seat so if we drive somewhere he'll actually get some sleep and not whine all afternoon. I would love to be able to stay in all day!

ds has ASD so we don't go out that much. we also do not have that many funds.

marvellous things the children have enjoyed....

blanket tents and eating in them.
indoor picnics
eating chips, picnics or icecream in the garden. (this is a treat as it is a shared garden so they do not to get to go out so often)
mine enjoy digging in the mud at granny's
looking for ladybirds and other small invertebrates.
playing in a sand tray in the garden
water play in high chairs (cups with water and jugs etc. overflows are caught on the high chair tray.)
going to look at the fountains.
little walks, especially if we go over a bridge or to the big river near mum's
looking at the fire engines at the local station
sensory walks, especially if it involves strawberrie/blackberries from the garden
digging up potatoes
painting in highchairs and just a nappy went down well. until the paint did not quite wash off and looked like bruises

I'd echo what others have said, if you are comparing yourself to Facebook posts, then you'll only ever feel you aren't doing enough.

For example, I posted today about somewhere nice I'd been with the DC's. However, I didn't post that on Saturday we'd gone food shopping, played 'tidying the house' and then lazed about eating crispie cakes we'd made.

I find it better for all of us to get out at least once during the day, but a walk round the block would do, or jumping in puddles, or bug catching in the garden, or food shopping with the DC's holding the list etc.

Then you can do indoor stuff such as watching a film, making jelly, colouring, hiding stuff fir them to find with clues, reading or whatever they/you like doing.

To be honest, they'll be happy just having your attention, which its sounds like they get, so don't be too hard on yourself.

Forgot to say, when mine were small and I was really skint, a 'backwards' day always went down well...you can do everything backwards... Wear pyjamas all day, eat your pudding before your dinner, have cereal for tea and spag Bol for breakfast etc. Mine thought this was most hilarious and. Often whiled away a rainy day stuck indoors keeping a poorly sibling company. (DD was a poorly baby for quite a while).