Is lockdown making anyone a bad mum?

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I use the tem bad mum lightly, but it's making me shouty and snappy. It's lowering my usually quite high tolerance level. I feel like I'm drowning!

They are 5 (next month) and 6.5.

They're getting under each other also which isn't helping.

We are lucky enough to have a garden which helps for a while, weather permitting!

Anyone else?

You’re doing great.
I however have appointment with s divorce lawyer next week so into the unknoooown...into the unknooown for us (sorry for frozen 3 reference but so apt to my situation)

My 10 year old told mr to shut up multiple times. Then came in for a hug. Go figure. That’s why i’m on g&t, it makes me a better mum

@duckme ask him! That is not right and he knows it. Make him own it, do a schedule and take turns. Be tough!!

This thread has cheered me up. I am feeling constantly guilty. Guilty I can't do my (full time) job properly, guilty about the shouting, the screen time, the lack of schooling, the lack of crafty creativity. I told my 7 year old one a while ago that whatever he does, he is learning. But he seems to think this applies to watching ridiculous YouTubers (it doesn't!).

It is SATURDAY! Time to dump the children with spouses and hide! If you don’t have a spouse, utilise their favourite TV character and do the same 😁

My 5 yo DD goes from playing the PS4 (crash bandicoot) to playing super Mario on the 3ds, to playing Mario kart on her iPad, back to the tv for Netflix, back to the iPad for shitty YouTube videos.

I manage to get her up and ready everyday, and DP walks the legs off her in the afternoon. So much so she’s going to bed at around 9pm and sleeping til around 10.30am.

She’ll come into our room with whatever screen she has chosen, and we’ll all lie in our bed til lunchtime when I actually get her ready for her walk.

She has a mini bouncy castle in the garden, a new slide coming and the hot tub is going up in the next week.

I let her use her scooter in the house. She roller skates around the living room. All rules off here at the minute, just whatever keeps her occupied and happy.

I spend most of the day baking so we’re mainlining caramel shortcake, empire biscuits and tablet.

She’s absolutely loving lockdown and doesn’t want to go back to normal 😂

With all this in mind. What will secondary schools do when kids go back to school and some pupils have not done all /most of their set work ?

I am losing my temper at my children a lot more! And there is so much more TV. How I am going to continue until September if it comes to that I don't know!!!

Also regarding home school, I would love a teacher come and see how that would be possible much in my house with a clingy and climbing 1 year old, a thingy wrecking ball of a just 4 year old and my long suffering 6 year old!

Don't judge other people's outsides with your insides. What they post on FaceBook probably bears little or no relation to what is actually happening in their house.

Yesterday both my kids had a lolly in each hand and I've cried 3 times this week so far ... going better than expected 😂

Mine go to bed when they want which does at least shorten the daytime hours cos they don't wake up til 10.30ish.... Xbox whenever..they do do school work off their own backs although the 14 year old is "selective..." I'm a teacher...

Oh God yes. 100% yes. Absolutely yes.

I am an utterly appalling mother.. I go to bed FIRST just to get some peace and quiet and leave dp to chase DCs.

DD 14 spends most of her life in her room doing a mixture of school work I dont understand and chatting to her friends on phone / social media. She goes to bed late, wakes up late and seems to avoid fresh air. She mainly ignores me.

DS (7) had online schooling which needs constant supervision or his mind wanders and so does he .. literally. We have threatened to duct tape him to the chair and now keep the duct tape on the mantelpiece as a visual reminder of the possibility.

I'm shouty and horrid and let them eat apple pie, cake and crisps for breakfast. The TV seems to be on at all hours streaming a deluge of incomprehensible youtubers ( thinking of hiring hitman to take out Dan TDM) We eat too much pizza I'm behind on the washing and I'm in mourning for my cleaner who I'm paying not to come. I'm not even getting them out for their daily government sanctioned exercise

dp on the other hand seems totally calm.
he does work calls at the same time as supervising DS's maths lessons " I'll take 50 ,000 no ds that's a cuboid, a limit price of 15p , yes ds that's a prism... let me know how it goes.. thanks" He also manages to play chess simultaneously " that's not acceptable we cant agree to those terms, ds are you sure you want to put your queen there, yer kids at home .. yes we my be able to negotiate on that... check..

I never thought I'd say this but... I miss the school run already !!

I have 3 kids, one in yr6, one in yr4 and one in yr2. I've given up doing the work the school set, they're not interested. We have some of the Carol vorderman work books which my youngest especially enjoys and we have set our own tasks.

I'm no more shouty than usual, but trying to work full time and DH work full time in 2 jobs which have gotten more demanding due to the virus has been a challenge.

We are all doing the best we can in these strange times.

Are they still healthy with a bed for the night and relatively clean clothes? Are they generally ok in themselves, eating generally ok and contacting real life mates online?
Anything else is a bonus.

Jeez no. They're lucky to have me.

@cottonwoolbrain your DH sounds awesome

I'm glad I seen this thread, I'm feeling pretty horrendous at the min, have a 3 year old and soon to be 2 year old. I'm totally useless, anything I try to do with them ends up in a fight over whose smashing things up the most and then I have and just stick the tv on. Both seem pretty unhappy as am I. Are they going to be seriously damaged by this?! Everyone else in the street I can hear laughter and playing and mines are just shouting and crying. I cannot cope with this

I’ve found my people. DD (4)‘s screen time limits have gone completely out of the window since this started. She won’t/can’t play independently. I’m furloughed from work so I can at least focus all my attention on her, but I’m still struggling to provide any structure. At least some of the iPad games she likes are educational (the same can’t be said for the inane YouTube videos).

My nightly gin/brandy is the highlight of my day!

@Jiggy16 you do what ever you need to get through the day. Unlimited screen time won't do anyone any long term harm.

No, but it's making my 16 yo utterly vile

Week 3
OMG how will I do this for another 8 weeks or so...
I think I'm becoming an alcoholic - the wine was cracked out at 2pm today... because well...

Actually it makes zero difference to me when lock down ends: it's when schools reopen...
2yo and 4yo at home. I love them but it's 2pm and I already want them to go to bed....

I’m really, really lax about mealtimes and getting dressed. Other than that they have done a lot of craft and dot-to-dot (the ones with 800-1500 numbers). They also escape to the garden to make potions. I escape on walks and my DH on cycles. Sometimes the children deign to accompany me 😆