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.

There's something nice about not doing much. The children are relaxing and enjoying the break and sometimes this isn't in a way we would choose.

It's a little bit different here as DS is autistic with ADHD, he needs a minimum of a two mile walk (preferably more) during the holidays it he doesn't sleep at night. During term time he easily gets this in the playground etc.

We have been swimming this morning for a change but he is now sofa bound with his Xbox remote and is likely to stay that way until bedtime if I let him.

I've forgotten what my DS looks like. he appears to make nutella sandwiches and then goes again. dd1 isn't much better and dd2 lives at the park with her friends.

its great! i'm a student and have an exam in a few weeks so it suits me just fine.

In a few more weeks it will be back to routine, discipline and rush rush rush. From what you describe your children will be ready to face the new school year rested and relaxed, with happy holiday memories.

Who wants to spend money dragging reluctant kids to activities. Well done you I say.

I was at Sharjah aquarium two weeks ago - seems like a lifetime away already sigh

This thread has made me feel better. We've had two cinema trips, Legoland, swimming, a couple of play dates and four days abroad last week but now we are in a bit of a lull and have done nothing since Friday. Will scoot to the park with them after lunch and then things get busy again on Wednesday. I think it's good for them, we are all so relaxed here now, no bickering or me getting stressed. Think it's needed, just total freedom to just be.

Ugh. We're switching our rooms around upstairs and it's an absolute disaster so they can't really go up there to play, and the mosquitoes are terrible so they barely want to play outside. I'm going to firebomb the backyard with bug-killing chemicals this week because if I have to be stuck all day every day with all three of them (9, 3, 1) in our little rectangle of a dining/living room area I am going to go irreversibly mad.

I don't drive and we do try to get out and walk around, go to parks etc but otherwise the 9 and 3 year old are either staring at screens or playing something that ends in a wrestling match and the 1 year old is trying to figure out the best way to harm himself and/or the rest of us. Oh AND we've got a thumping great one year old, ninety pound Labrador who just wants to run around the aforementioned tiny rectangle shedding everywhere and trying to get us to play with him by leaping all over everyone.

Also we're American so school ended on May 26th and doesn't start again til September 6th.

If I make it til then without a serious drinking habit, it'll be a blue-eyed miracle.

Are you me? I could easily have written this! They'll have enough activity when school starts. Let them recharge xxx

We're currently on holiday on a beautiful Ionian island with dcs. Elder 2 (22 &19) are loving it but 17 yr old ds has spent most of holiday in room!!.... Says it's too hot ( it is but there's plenty of shade and sea and pool to cool down in) .....think he's dreading his AS results when we get home tho tbh!

It's just struck me that this is the kind of thread that the Daily Fail likes to steal and print so, in anticipation, I'd like to say ....FUCK OFF JOURNOS, DO SOME PROPER WORK INSTEAD 😁

So no yanbu. :o Screen time for the win. We get out and do outing type things on Saturdays when DH is around to help me wrangle them. That's good enough.

WorldsWorst it is pretty good, isn't it! Go back again in October/February, the weather's much more amenable then.... unless you like being roasted of course!

That sounds like our normal summer holiday! The only reason I've got them out the majority of days is because I'm trying to lose weight so going out for long walks is better than sitting at home in my pyjamas eating. We do geocaching - it's free, and gets them involved in doing stuff while we're walking.

My oldest is 17 and never comes with us, but he is at scout camp so he's out (and he volunteers so gets out then too)

I visit the UAE often but never after the end of April until the end of September. We went in August once thinking "Pfft! How bad can it possibly be?! People live there don't they?" Turns out it's pretty bad. And it's all very well keeping cool at the pool but when the ground is so hot that you burn your feet before you have gone five steps, actually getting into the pool becomes near on impossible.

I'm back in February - the perfect time

Pool shoes Nicki they're a life saver. :)

Time to be nostalgic. I spent a lot of time out on my bike with friends whe I was 10ish. Before that we'd explore the neighbourhood. As a young teen read a lot in the shade BUT that was then and 12,000 miles away and it was safe for us to wander, traffic was light.
Different stuff for different times.
Guess I'd rather my teenager was happy to be at home relaxing and reading or on pc etc rather than forever out with mates at the mall and possibly getting into mischief or being picked on by other kids.
Teens especially have different biorhythms and find it hard getting up early every day for school, pressure of homework etc so to them it is a holiday being able to lie in and do whatever they choose with no pressure.
Wouldn't be much fun it DC were wanting to go out and perpetually demanding transport and money for the outings instead, would it?

Oh well I'll join the slobby holiday club too. It's 12.20 and my eldest DS (14) has literally just emerged from his bed. I asked him if he wanted breakfast or lunch!! He opted for breakfast. We're totally skint until the end of August so my other 3 children (12, 12 and 9) are currently playing a board game and we're making most of free swimming at local pool later. I work term-time only and so this is down-time for me too. Stirred myself to clean kitchen earlier but starting to embrace this lazy feeling. We all rush around like crazy things during term-time so deserve a break! Kids seem happy so it's all good I guess....

Phew so glad it's not just us!!!!

My two went happily back to school today after a lazy few weeks, its totally fine to let them do their own thing and chill out imho

We didn't think it through thefit

Gah! Did I say Totally and Chill out? Spent too much time with the kids

I love nothing more than chilling at home. My 4 hear old won't let me though. She's constantly on the move and gets bored at home, unlike my older kids who are sofa slugs like me. I'm hoping she grows out of it soon

Just FYI, for those at the hiding in the kitchen stage me if you tip your chocolate raisins/secret snack of choice into a mug, the DC will be none the wiser...

I do get the guilts about not doing enough stuff but then I remember what a bloody effort it is to get them out the house, the incessant moaning travelling anywhere and the huge amounts of cash involved!

...I do think I'm missing a trick with the Nesquick though...

This post has brought me untold joy as I thought I was the only one surviving.

I've three 7,6 and 3 and two have autism so leaving the house is a military style operation and not doable on my own we've been chilling. More screen time than they should.