Too hate the holidays..

[pansydansy]

I used to love having the kids at home during the holidays but dear god their killing me.

They've put me out of house and home.

The tantrums.

The shouts of "I'm bored"

The money spent trying to entertain them.

The day trips trying to sound all enthusiastic when your sick to the back teeth of seeing yet another pig/sheep/cow/ chicken/ horse 😩

The washing 😳

The toys everywhere.

The absolute mess until their in bed.

The fights.

And the worst thing is we're only 1 week down 🙈 feeling very jealous of my dh who's at work getting some peace and quietness 😬

@MissLucyHoneychurch ha..you've never met my DD.

We've tried the gro-clock...didn't work in the slightest. and If I let her loose in the kitchen I'd wake up to a disaster zone.

When she's up..she's up and usually heads straight for DS's room so by proxy he's up too.

No SN, just highly strung and energetic..5 going on 15.

We live in a first floor maisonette so my neighbours downstairs are probably up too, hence why we are going through a long and painful process of trying to sell and buy a house with a ground floor so as not to be 'those neighbours' and also mean we can take turns having a lie in at the w/e on a different floor.

She's never got up any later than 7am once that I can remember and I recall waking up in a panic as the place was so quiet.

I vowed after last summer that I wouldn't do the entire 6.5 weeks in their company again. DS2 (6) is a delight and a very amenable child. DS1(8) is much more highly strung and is prone to meltdown when tired (end of term), transition points (e.g. start and end of holidays) or if routine is disrupted e.g. DH away. SN being investigated. DS1 won't do holiday clubs, but if I get DS2 happily into some days of sports clubs, that should change the dynamic and make DS1 easier company. He can be a delight 1:1 and it would be respite from the pair of them bickering. Last summer was also a tough one as DH was working long hours, so I found it hard to slip off early/ late for some runs and alone time to keep myself sane.

The DCs need to burn off energy regularly, but they aren't always obliging at what is good for them!

I can find the longer holidays very isolating and lonely as I worked through the pre-school years so don't have proper friendships with compatible families to hang around with, so it tends to be me and MN keeping me sane through the long, lonely hours hanging around playgrounds and parks.

It's not that I don't enjoy my DCs company, but it can get very intense and isolating and there is a limit to how long I can muster false enthusiasm about Minecraft.

The biggest thing my DCs have taught me is how much personal space I need as prior to that, I'd always had enough without having to seek it.

This holiday will be fine as we have a week away breaking it up and a nice mix of family time with DH and instructured chill time.

Smarmy, I know I am in the minority here on MN but I am a massive play date fan, especially over the summer and always happy to meet more parents to share the pain fill some time with.

Our school has Facebook pages for each year group and people often put on when they are going to the park etc. Then a few people might meet up from there. Maybe you could try something like that although of course it depends on the school politics.

Apologies if that sounds patronising.

sorry but I m another who absolutely loves the school holidays! My dc are 9 and 11 though which is a brilliant age and we are lucky to have NT passes and passes to two local theme parks for free days out so we can do a mixture of free and paid for days to keep the costs down!

shocked that parents don't want to spend time with their children. This is a very common complaint among parents. I see it on social media frequently. If you dread spending time with your own children then why have kids in the first place? Don't get it but I also don't have kids of my own so... How old are you children? Maybe it's time to teach them chores and get them involved in the cleaning or give them homework and self study times.

shocked that parents don't want to spend time with their children. This is a very common complaint among parents. I see it on social media frequently. If you dread spending time with your own children then why have kids in the first place? Don't get it but I also don't have kids of my own so.

waiting patiently for this comment to bite you on the arse then!

@Hannahmates it's not that I don't enjoy my kids company it's just trying to fill the time up. Dd 4 loves school and actually sobbed when I told her she had 2 weeks off 🙈 she's asked every night "is it school tomorrow?" And cries when I tell her no 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ dd2 is a mischievous little devil who loves nothing more than running around the house getting up to no good while laughing about it like it's a game. I literally don't sit down until she's in bed. Last term she started pre school for 2 mornings a week and the last 2 weeks she'd settled in and starting to love it. It gave me a few hours to catch up on admin at home and house work before she came home like a whirlwind. And the terrible twos have hit hard lately 🙈

I have 5 child ranging from 2-17 and I know more than most people that you can love and enjoy your children. And you can also love and not enjoy your children especially when their going through the shit stages! Not all of bringing up kids is enjoyable, there's some really difficult and challenging times.

shocked that parents don't want to spend time with their children

That's not the reason some parents find the holidays tough. Do you honestly think parents sit round thinking..oh god, can't believe I've got to spend time with my own kids. Of course they don't.

I love the school holidays. 16yo DD and I are binge watching Gilmore Girls with chocolate and popcorn after spending the morning shopping. Beats dropping her at school at 7.30am. DS is on Uni break so I have traded him a six pack of beer for washing my car.

I totally feel your pain with little ones 😁