To ask what's the longest period you've been away from your children?

[HennyPennyHorror]

?

me: 3 weeks - work
DW: 6 weeks - medical emergency

Eldest lives 50/50 with me and his dad so I’m used to him not being around all the time. Littlest is 8, left her for 8 days. She loved it tho, had a great time :)

Also my little one has done beavers and cubs camps, sleepovers etc. She’s v independent

5 days. Once on a jolly with DH and once on business. Another holiday booked this summer also 5 days. Kids are very young still so it’s hard to fit it in.

9 hours - she’s only 16 months old though.

I will leave them for hen weekends and short European trips for 3/4 night max.
When DD was 11 months old, I went to Vegas for a week. I broke my heart when I was there. It was probably a combination of her age, the distance and the length of time.
I think distance is important. I could do a week in Spain over a week in Vegas.
If anything goes wrong I can get home relatively quickly from Spain. Vegas is at least a day away when you factor in connecting flights etc

2 weeks, multiple times... bliss!

5 nights for work age 5 and again at 6. I'm a single parent so dd stayed with DM. Loved the peace of my hotel room. Probably wouldn't want to do more than a week though.

4 nights to visit a friend who lives abroad.

1 full week. They must have been 9 and 7ish maybe a bit younger. I was crying myself to sleep by the end.
Then I left them for 7 days again when they were about 10 and 12. Missed them like mad again but dont remember crying

Three nights. Went to NYC. It was too long and too far away and I have never repeated it.

Ages of the child is important.

At three years old I had not spent more than 5 hours away from my kids.

At 18 my oldest went to New Zealand for a year working.

My baby (4 months) a few hours, my older kids (6, 4, 2) 2 days while I was in having the baby and 2 days in hospital with him twice when he had bronchiolitis. They came up to see us though.

2 nights/3 days. HATED IT

Yes, I am one of those cringey weirdos who hates being apart from her children!

Me too gummy

12 nights. He’s 4 and a half. Went on a 10 day holiday to celebrate 10th wedding anniversary. Dropped him off at MILs the day before, and flew back overnight which is why it was 12 nights in total.

Missed him loads but also had an amazing relaxing holiday. Very much a one off. Face timed him every other day. He had a blast, when we told him he had 4 more sleepovers with Nanny he said he wanted 6 more!

13 nights for work. He's been away from me and DH for 4 nights

Five nights, ex partner and I ‘share’ him in the school holidays. It’s got easier but it’s still shit. The break makes me a better parent though!

Two weeks 5 days when they went long haul for a family wedding with their paternal grandparents. The girls have been going away for holidays with their GP's for years though. Same with DS1.

My youngest was away for 3 days recently with MIL and it was great to get a break, but very nervewracking as she has mutiple medical issues so I'm not as relaxed with her being away as I am the rest.

I think it's something each person just has to make their own decisions on. I know I'm a better parent for the breaks, and also I relax more knowing that if anything every happened to me and I ended up in hospital or away urgently they wouldn't bat an eyelid staying elsewhere. That was important to me because of my own childhood circumstances.

Me: 11 days - work
DH: 17 weeks - work

Two weeks.... we’ll actually it was 16 days it was my choice I badly needed space and time by myself. It was just what I needed, I don’t regret it at all. They were with Dh so they were fine. I am also currently away on 5 day city break with dh (they are with gp)

Oh they are 3.5 and 6

I've been away for 4 nights abroad so that's the longest that I've left them.
Ds is 16 and dd is 8.

Ds has been abroad twice for a week without me ( he was 8 ) once with my mum and once with his dad ( last year ) and is going to the Caribbean with him this summer which will be the longest he's been away from me, total mummy's boy and almost didn't want to go as he's going to miss his prom he soon saw sense.

Dd has been away in the U.K. with her dad for 5 days and with my dad on a caravan holiday for 3 days.

2 nights. Though she’s away over night roughly once a month. First night and day was fine. The second was torture!

Haven't seen either DD since Christmas! I am guessing that doesn't count given they are adults?