Terrible holiday parenting.

[LewisAndClark]

It can't be just me?

Ds1 (nearly 14) has barely left the house. He's barely left his room, actually. He's permanently plugged in to his pc. I've coaxed him out a few times to come out to lunch with us and he's been on one dog walk. Other than meals and the occasional family film we've barely seen him.

DD (12) has only slept here a handful of times, she's either been sleeping over with her friends or at Grandma's. Again, we see her for meals and not much else, although she's come on a few dog walks.

Ds2 (nearly 5) has spent the majority of his time in pyjamas watching tv. He's been out every day with me and the dog and we've been to the park a couple of times, but mainly he's been either playing in his room or watching YouTube.

I've just realised that between them they've gone through a large tub of Nesquick in a week, and god knows how many biscuits. They are all constant grazers, although tbf ds1 has a fruit fetish so we've gone through oodles of grapes and plums too.

Am I an utter failure this summer? Please tell me there are others who are as slack as me? It's not the idyllic, adventure filled holidays I imagined for them, but they just don't want to DO much.

FFS you can't have a pleasant slightly tongue in cheek ramble on MN any more without the terribly earnest coming along to spoil it.

You should have put Light hearted in the title so it was a bit more clear.

Please can we get back to talk about pyjama days now? Thank you

I'm taking my kids abroad tomorrow so they can lie in bed all day in a different country and watch telly in a foreign language.

Whooo. sums it up nicely for me.
I work in Ed. Our 39 weeks are busy, with school, nursery, work, clubs etc so it's nice to break that up with some proper at home time.
A friends mum said (only a few years ago) "it's good for children to know how to just be at home" and she is right, there's so much going on in term time.
I love being at home with my children , watching them Together, even if that does just mean playing shops and watching cartoons. They build their relationships in the safety of their own home in this time too, so what if thy means we have watched more TV than others might have done.
We've had a blinking lovely summer so far, punctuated with all kinds of activities, but a massive dose of just being at home. Bliss!

This thread has been a massive comfort to m e too tbh. I have chronic pain issues meaning I am often either dosed up on morphine or in agony on the sofa/in bed whcih is the main reason we haven't done too much. DH has taken kids out on a few days himself but me? I have been out twice since the holidays began (excluding days in the garden) which included our softplay outing yesterday, something I fully enjoyed.

I honestly thought it was only me whos kids seem perfectly happy doing not much at all, even though I still do feel guilty for it. When I opened this thread I fully expected a bunch of judgey replies...luckily they didn't start til 10 pages or so in.

I am sure the honest replies on this thread (even the judgey ones tbh) will have helped a lot of other people in a situation similar to mine feel slightly better about themselves. Hope so anyway

I have read the whole thread and commented yesterday. It is nice to know a lot of people are in same situation and it helps ease some of the mum guilt which i'm sure we all feel.
for all mums doing their very best

Dd has autism, school is very hard work for her coping with sensory overload and being social for seven hours a day. The academics is the easy bit. She finishes school absolutely exhausted and needs to rest and recover.
The first week or so are wiped out so that the effects of school can be recovered from. We go away for two of the weeks and the last week involves getting her ready for school again as her stress and anxiety rises sharply. If all she wants to do for the two weeks outside of those times is read, draw, play piano, computer games and watch You Tube then that's fine by me tbh. She usually agrees to a cinema/theatre trip or two and a couple of lunches out or even cake at a cafe but if she refuses that's fine too.
If I spent six weeks placing demands on her to "do things" she'd be in no state to cope with school in September.

Hikers, my dd was like yours at 12. Active busy, mature, well into puberty. Then she hit 15 and those other hormones hit.....

I have been planning the layout for my allotment recently; as a result of this thread, I have amended the plans so that there is a nice bit of turf in the middle with a trellis over it where lazy DC can loaf, play on their phones (allotment has good 4G signal!) and occasionally eat a (free) blackberry. I will get maximum summer parenting points with minimum effort. Win

I hope your DH is ok Lewis

Vickyyy I'm sure it has been a comfort to lots of people. As I said up thread, I'm recovering from a severe asthma attack and hospital admission. Even if I (and the DC) wanted to do loads I'm totally wiped out and just can't do it right now. The last thing you need in that kind of situation is the parent guilt police.

DD actually went to an art workshop this morning and the boys have been out to kick a ball around at the park with some mates. But the Xbox and TV have also been well used I'm sure. I went into work for a couple of hours to catch up while DD was doing her workshop so I have no idea what time they surfaced and hit the cereal cupboard.

I have 4 words for you;
Trampoline water bomb fight
Excellent - if messy - afternoon
Hope everyone is still chilling out? X

my God.......something weird happened today......I'm not sure what's going on.....I suspect alien possession.....dd(15) emerged from her room and she and I had a long amicable meandering conversation this afternoon 😳

I've had to have a glass bottle of wine to get over the shock. 🍷

DS2 has found an activity for us all as a family. After initial reservations DS1 has agreed. DD is up for pretty much anything (she's 10, teen hormones haven't kicked in yet).

The activity? A family Robot Building Workshop at our local university. I'm trying to work out whether this is a good wholesome activity or an extension of screen time!

Defo encouraging for me. DD1 (16) in her room all day, but has had self organised dates with friends, to wander round shopping centres. Talks of getting a part time job, but no action. DS1 (12) spends most time in his PJs every day, except when grazing (yes, Nesquick too). He has a medium concern Xbox habit. DD2 (12) glued to earphones all day long. Sometimes they (mainly the 2x12) will have a water fight in the £25 Amazon 'swimming pool', or bounce on the trampoline.

They ain't starving, no hospital visits yet, and they're (mainly) out of my hair. I've even got the 2x12 making their own meals sometimes (DD1 knows how but can't be arsed) although the clearing up part hasn't filtered through yet.

I remember being bored rigid by the lo-o-o-ong summer hols, but I don't recall my parents doing anything other than telling me to go and find something to do.

All pretty chilled really, although having them around constantly has put a brake on getting any housework done (mixed feelings on that one).