To think we waste every weekend!!!

[Khloe99]

It drives me crazy but every weekend we do nothing! I love my life I have an amazing dh and 3 lovely dd’s and Monday - Friday it’s fine we’re busy and living everyday life but dh works away a lot so is never at home on the weekends and we seem to spend all day just laying about, dd’s are 13,7,2 so trying to find something they all want to do I’d almost impossible so they usually fight over the telly all day or sit staring at their iPad, when I was young my mum and dad always took me and my brother places and kept us busy without technology but now everything costs so much and the kids aren’t interested anyway. What does everyone else do at the weekends?

If you can get the younger two in bed early you could spend some quality time with the older child - watch a more grown up film together on the sofa or some rubbish TV whatever you would enjoy.

Is it the age gaps that are causing problems in agreeing on things to do?

Sometimes yes!!

To remedy this I've
got a cleaner so I don't spend the weekend cleaning.
If the kids ask to do something - game, Park, paint etc I try to do it no matter how much I don't want to! So yesterday I went out twice for snowball fights.
Groceries delivered in a Friday.
Take away on a Friday.
I've booked a class for me starting next Sunday.
Coffees every Sunday morning.
Swimming lesson.

I think you just need to force you and turn to do something - even a walk.

If you allow kids to sit on their iGadgets all day they quite happily will. We physically take them away after a bit and force them to do stuff! Ours are 13, 11, 9 and 6 and this weekend we have been to the natural history museum (free) then for a wander round the shops, today was a long walk despite the drizzle to our local national trust (again free) and then out for dinner. Usually kids do sports on Sunday mornings but called off this weekend - we always do other stuff as well though I couldn't stand being in the house all weekend I'd go mad!

We either find free events in town or the library, Sometimes go shopping (charity shopping too) take the train somewhere as we live in a coastal area so beach is at almost every stop. Park, forest walk. Then we try games night. Either board games or the wii but usually a mix of both.

Car boot sales, auctions, fairs, feed ducks in park or nature reserve, grow veg and flowers, allotment, jigsaw, museums, art exhibitions, geo cache, nature table, beach days, fly kite, make and do days, make cards, bake, sew, take photos, buy something at car boot or Charity shop and revamp it, make an insect hotel, charity walk, clean up your local area

I think it is the age gap that causes the problem, 13 year old will hang out with me and watch films and would love to go out more but like I said can’t go very far because of her legs. Even the 2 year old is quite relaxed will go to soft play but apparently that’s to babyish for the 7 year old, oldest and youngest love swimming but again 7 year old will scream hysterically if she gets splashed or can’t get the toy/float she wants and don’t even get me started on trying to get her to walk anywhere. A couple of times I have left her at my mums and I feel bad for saying it but it’s been bliss she gets her nans attention and can watch her tv programs while I do stuff with the other 2 but it’s hardly a long term solution and I don’t want to palm her off on my parents every week.

Mine are 2,11 and 12

Reading
We do one baking project each weekend
Visiting grandparents
Long walks
The park - toddler plays , they walk around the lake and we sit in the cafe at the end
Bike riding
Family movie night / popcorn
Cook a meal together
Cinema - once every two months maybe
Eat a takeaway

We’ve had glorious weekends recently of just laying around so I don’t think you’re doing anything that wrong. My kids are 5 and 2 and this weekend we accomplished precisely nothing. We all piled in a really hot bath and then all lounged around in my bed with the electric blanket switched on. Heaven 😍

My 14 year old has problems with her legs so walking too far is a struggle. We go to nature reserves (flat ones with not too much walking), most are free or a small price for parking. We also have national trust passes but use these more in the summer. I take dd swimming some weekends or we go to a cafe for hot chocolate and cake. Carboot sales are great in the summer and we paddle in the river if we can’t afford a trip to the beach. We never stay in at the weekends unless one of us is ill or the weather is really bad.

I tend to have a look at the Hoop app to see if there is anything on, that and facebook help. I try and look at the month as a whole and mix up weekends doing nothing / visiting family / days out / walking.

Our weekends are always really busy and I have to try to make sure we spend time relaxing at home.

We both work full-time so obviously housework needs doing. We have football training, football matches, parkrun, junior parkrun, visiting grandparents and sometimes we need to go shopping. I aim to spend one afternoon or morning at home each weekend to catch up on housework and also relax.

THis weekend everything was cancelled due to the weather so we went swimming yesterday afternoon. It was lovely :)

2 DC, 4 and 6.
Yesterday, 4 yo had a birthday party in the morning. 6 yo went cycling.
Afternoon - went to see friends. Evening - pizza and movie night.
Today, piano lesson for 6 yo and then a quick lunch in a cafe. 4 yo at home playing. Local swimming pool for all of us this afternoon.

We tend to walk a lot, and watch movies - either at home or in the cinema. We read. Occasionally, we play table tennis at the local leisure centre, or we just mooch around the shops. DD does drama every Sunday, and I walk into town and have a coffee while she is there.

Oh, and we visit grandparents most weekends.

we tend to do a lot at the weekend, partly because we have 2 very active DS's plus a baby and we would all go a bit stir crazy at home doing nothing, and if we let them they would spend all day on screens.

This weekend we collected some rocks from the garden and painted them, made a potion lab with some mason jars and coloured water, made a fire and roasted marshmallows on it. The DS's built lego spaceships.

Yesterday boys had gymnastics and we went out for lunch.
DH took the big boys to an indoor crazy golf place. We often do stuff like walks/ going to local places of interest/ day trips etc (NT equivalent but we live abroad)- the beach etc. Movie night on a friday night. Board games etc. It sounds like a lot writtne down, but otherwise they just argue or trash the place!

Trying to get my two DCs moving on a weekend is like swimming in treacle.

What works for us is one doing day and one chilled day. So Saturday might be visiting relatives, seaside, walk, cinema etc etc and then Sunday is chilling with technology and tv. However they are expected to do at least an hours reading/homework on the chill out day too.

We have no money and no car! It's virtually impossible to fill your weekends with exciting activities in these circumstances.

horses you don’t need to do lots of exciting activities. Children can have a heavenly childhood just playing. It’s only a waste if they are glued to screens the whole time (some screen time fine, but let them get bored/play too)

We break the days up with a walk, popping out for a cofffee, kids have clubs. But I don't like to do too much at the weekend, we all work so hard during the week that we need some chill out sofa TV time!

We have to really WORK at making sure the weekends are 'well spent'. It doesn't come easily.

It mostly involves spending money though!

However we do go for walks, play board games and do puzzles, watch you tube funny videos together. Those are free.

But we have also gone out for lunch, bought hot chocolate and gone swimming. It's working for us at the moment, but we're only a stones throw from a strop!

What about geocaching? Good for everyone, including the dogs, and often not a huge amount of walking required. www.geocaching.com . My entire extended family is now into it - 2 yr old up to 80 yr old (with the exception of DM who makes very good excuses). We are not very good at the stealthy part of this when out en masse though

I think in your situation I’d try and do activities of each child/you in turn and decide who comes along depending on the activity.
So sat - soft play for dd3. Dd2 has option to come or go to grandparents. Dd1 has option to come or stay home.
Sunday - Short walk with a nice coffee and cake for you - all can come. Take tablet for younger ones if needed (so you get some peace).
Next weekend - sat - early night for other 2 and you and dd1 watch a film of her choice with snacks
Sunday - dd2 gets to choose an activity (baking/crafting/sport/trampolining) and others can again choose if they want to join.

It may take a bit of childcare but it might give your weekends more purpose and everyone gets to do something they’d really enjoy. Would your parents be onboard for the odd 2 hours babysitting?

Nevertwerk DS1 is 15. He's a bit past the age of playing!!! DS2 is 10. He is much easier and cheaper to keep happy...

Sounds like your 7 year old needs more of you, OP - tricky, but maybe if she’s had one weekend morning at GPs when you’ve taken the others out, you could have another morning the next weekend when 13 year old stays home/sees a friend, 2 year old goes to GPs and you really focus on her?

Divide and conquer!

Dd2 (just turned 3) has been ill since Christmas so we haven't really been out but usually on a Sunday we go to playgrounds, castles, folk parks or farm parks, boot sales, or in the unlikely event of a nice summer day (in NI!) the beach. On a Saturday if there's a tractor vintage rally or steam fair and DH can take the afternoon off we usually do that (farmers)