"fucking school holidays !"

[mrsfuzzy]

have just heard the gentle tones of my neighbour with her two young dcs, they broke up yesterday ! how does anyone manage nowadays ? are more dcsgaming/indoors or do people actually take dcs out ? years have gone by since i did this stuff and i'm out of touch

I love the holidays too. Just the break from the relentless routine of school and activities. We are only one day in though so I may have changed my mind soon.
My dh is away this week so we went to the cinema yesterday to ease us in. Today we have been to my parents farm and then for a walk in the woods. Tomorrow we are off for a picnic in a local park. I really like not having a plan though!

Work term time here so i love the hols. Today's the first proper day, dd (8) is doing her rookie lifeguard award every morning this week and me and ds (6) are having a swim while she's doing it. This afternoon was a bit of shopping then playing out with friends, we're lucky to live on a quiet street with other children so I can sit out with my book + supervise while they play.
We try and get out somewhere most days but money is tight so usually just parks, picnics, swimming (free for under 16s here) roller rink, cinema £1.50 holiday showings, library do a summer reading challenge, there's a free sport thing on every day in town this week with climbing walls, football etc. It's usually pretty easy to find something to do, mixed with the odd pj day and a little screen time. Short break to Edinburgh booked and hopefully a few bigger days out to the beach and zoo. We love it. :)

I find the holidays hard.

This doesn't mean I don't love my kids or am selfish or lazy for not liking 6.5 weeks, mon - fri with the three of them, with no break until they're in bed only to be woken up during the night and up for good by 5.30am

For me, although my PTSD and Anxiety is mostly under control, I have to take it day by day.
A long stretch of time with the children with no support from mon-fri is wearing (and tbh a bit scary!)
To be honest I think everyone's situations differ and some find it a breeze with 12 children and some struggle with 1 child.

I plan on doing trips to the local parks, playing in the garden with the sandpit/water table and water based paints (1st floor flat so I lug everything down the alley way to the back garden, inc a potty) and hopefully visiting some friends and their kids.
No dosh for holiday this year but we might be able to do 1 or 2 day trips.
My boys are 5, 2.5yo and 13 months. The eldest is being assessed for ASD, the 2.5 year old is going through a horrible phase of hitting/kicking/head butting when he doesn't get his own way and the littlest has been walking for the last 4 months and climbs like a pro (as does the 2.5 year old.)
I know that September will be hard juggling school and nursery while taking the youngest round with me but not so much of a juggling act as keeping them all content in our flat by myself.

Yea it is! I'm spending the school hols feeling guilty and stressing as I'm working full time, still dragging my son out of bed at 7am and not returning till 6.

What is ds ?

I have an 11 year old with SN (ASD) who is over sensitive and volatile, a 12 year old who will sit looking at an iPad until he goes blind in preference to anything else, and a depressed 16 year old who spends all day eating and watching tv and won't engage in most family activities. Meanwhile I am out the house working almost every evening from 6.30 to 11pm. I have admin to do at home. I am tidying up, cleaning, working, dealing with dc's melt downs, feeling bad because my dc's are under occupied. I hate the holidays. Hate them.

I hate the holidays. Hate the mess the house gets in because the kids are always there. Then there's wasting money on days out and activities for 6 weeks.
Childcare is a nightmare fitting it around work. Yes I thank the school for a large proportion of childcare I wouldn't be able to go to work without it. I feel in the minority because I look at those who can't wait to spend quality time with the kids like there fucking insane .

Need DS stands for darling son, DD for darling daughter, DC for darling children and DH for darling husband.....Mumsnet speak apparently!

I loved them when the DC were happy with a paddling pool in the garden, a trip to the swings, a picnic at the local park, feeding the ducks etc. gets a bit harder at 12 and 15 as those things don't really cut it!

doctorboo Lovely that you are doing the best you can , dragging stuff down to an outside area and making it fun for your DC. We can take gardens etc for granted so hats off to you!

This is the first year I'm not working full time in school holidays and I can see how enjoyable it can be. One week in & I am loving my time with DS but I really feel for working parents, it's even more juggling than usual.

I love the holidays only because I don't have to do the school run I absolutely hate it. Dragging two toddlers in and out of the car to go and get their sisters is not a fun experience throw in the inevitable rain and its hell on earth!

We are into week 4 of the holidays, and I don't think we've actually paid for a day out yet. Kids spent week 2 at their dad's. This is our first summer with a dog and our days have mostly consisted of vegging round the house, and walks along the cliffs and the beach with the dog. And Pokehunting. We are going camping this weekend. Kids are screwing me out of bottles of juice every time we go out, though, and that's where the spends are coming into it.

Commiserations to those who are not enjoying the holidays the way I did. Guess this is an area where expectations and reality clashes happens too often in parenting, unfortunately. Maybe good to check with children in a subtle way as to what they'd like could be their expectations are not as high as poor old mum's? Sometimes children value the opportunity to spend unhurried time with mum doing stuff there's usually no time for such as playing card or board games, puttering in the garden, exploring etc. or even learning a skill such as knitting or woodwork or making a cardboard dolls house or farmyard.

Bloody hell there is some smug shite on this thread. The only poster speaking with any honesty or compassion is MrsD.

There seems to be polarised and black/white thinking. People who think the summer holidays should be a constant Mary Poppins or Waltons festival or you are a terrible parent. Bullshit.

And I can't stand the competitive love either. There is a lot of fakery to that.

The fact of the matter is most people find the holidays a mixed bag. Whether you work or not. Let's have some Empathy - look outside of your box.

I'm a sahm to three young children. Yes it's nice not having to rush out in the morning. Yes we've had nice times. But we've also had bickering and times where I've been desperate for a wee break from constant demands. This is normal.

I can see that juggling childcare for working parents is a headache too. That they love their kids too and are just striving to do the best like all of us.

Think about parents with Mental illness, parents with disabilities, parents on low income. Mums like me who have little family support.

And I just smile to myself when I see smug twattery on here or social media. Those that like to paint life as perfect. What are they hiding?

Normal is nice. Being human, the ups and downs.

As a teacher I have never had an issue with childcare but as a single parent I found the summet holidays difficult due to lack of money. I use to try and "do" something every day. Trip to the park. Swimming. Some years I managed a camping trip with a friend.
Now my youngest is 18, so the pressure is off to entertain them every day and I as have learnt its ok to do nothing but read its definitely easier.

I think it's safe to say half our street heard me hollering at the dc's to hurry up and get ready this morning. No chilled morning here, just work and holiday club.

Re: didn't you think about summer hols before you had kids.

Things change.

Due to unforeseen circumstances I am back at work. This is my second summer. Dcs 13, 10 and 6.

I work 5 days a week. Do works 5 days a week.

This year is itself harder than last year in terms of childcare. My father died. My mother in law has had major surgery. 10 year old would be plain miserable at any form of day camp. 13 year old too old for most things round here but too young really to be left to her own devices. 6 year old obviously cannot be left to roam free.

My work are great in terms of flexible hours. But God - it's a military operation and my, the guilt at feeling like a change in our financial circumstances has a wider impact on them, that the holidays are seen as a trial to get through rather than something to embrace and look forward to.

And this is with a friendly flexible employer, kids without disabilities and not on bread line. How anyone can be so narrow minded as to not be able to see why some families find it difficult - well I just can't get my head around it.

I think threads like these always become polarised tbh. The way to go might be to have a dedicated thread (cause these threads appear every school half term, not just summer holidays) about hating the summer holidays on the one hand, and those of us who enjoy the change of pace for six weeks talking about the positives.
That way, everyone is happy.

When the DCs were younger I'd make sure we did something nice one day a week of the holidays - picnic on the beach, day out using Clubcard vouchers etc. It gave them something to focus on while I was carrying on being a stay at home carer for DH. We would spend time in the garden too, if the weather was bad it was wellies and raincoats and splashing in puddles. We would play on the Wii together, have competitions. Now the eldest has left home and the others are teenagers it's a lot easier in that they occupy themselves but, boy, do I miss it.

Ah, i remember those days as well Siencyn they seem like a million years ago now. Your kids are small for such a short time.
My DD is 16 this year, and is out with her friends a lot, but we still do stuff together, and are off on holiday soon.
i actually really like this age, despite the teenagerisms that are part and parcel of it

I just want to say hi to all parents of sn kids!!

I have to go to work, luckily I'm on a 7 day rota so I'm off today and tomorrow :) today I'm loving the lie in with ds on his pad dd on my computer.

I love the holidays but I'm aware we're extremely lucky. I'm a teaching assistant so I don't have to work, I have one DS (7) so days out aren't too expensive but ds's cousins are close by and we see them all the time so he doesn't get lonely, DH earns a decent income, we live in a seaside town where there's plenty of free and cheap things to do and DS is very dedicated to his sport so he'll practise every day. Yep we should think ourselves very lucky!

The only thing that does wind me up on FB is the parents that are moaning about not being able to afford expensive days out whilst turning their noses up as all the free stuff that they could be doing!