No thought has been put into the fact that DC are on school holidays - AIBU

[FatalDistraction]

DC are off in school holidays after being stuck in for months before hand. There is very little for them to do. It's OK to shop till you drop with a mask on, but opening places for children to play and get some exercise....oh that's just too much.

I just logged on to book some cinema tickets to have something for my DC to do. There is one movie, opening at the end of August and it is a 13. There are millions of DC off school, not going on holiday, with nothing to do and they decide to put a violent, older movie on. They could have rehashed Frozen, Trolls, put on some other loved movie if there is nothing new, but no, they think we all want to see Tenet.

No one has put any thought into the fact that DC have been off for ages, are on holiday with nothing to do and are going round the bend. But shopping, that's ok. It is no wonder there are children in my town turning on others in the parks when they have nothing to do.

Shame on the lot of them.

The cinemas near us are showing loads of old classics like the Harry Potter films, the original Star Wars films, dirty dancing, the matrix, some of the more recent kids films like Onward, Trolls World Tour etc etc

It’s not the cinemas fault - there are no new films being released! There’s the odd small one like An American pickle, unhinged, 100% wolf but basically there is nothing new for them to show. Ours are doing their best with what they can get hold of. Tenet is the first new major release since lockdown so all cinemas will be showing it. Hopefully it will do well and convince more studios to release their films. Please don’t blame the cinemas!

At my local Cineworld (other cinemas are available!), there are loads of kids films on.

No swimming where I am (not Leicester or greater Manchester etc). No libraries yet. Play areas closed. Museum reopening for limited hours in September.
So pleased we have a car and some money. If we drive to a different local authority the play areas are open.

The whole thing feels bizarre. If we can shop, surely we can use a library!

Kids are being let down. Especially poorer kids.
We need to invest in youth centres, otherwise we end up spending a fortune on criminal justice and prisons down the line. But governments are incentivised to think in 5 year blocks.

Oh, and we don't have a cinema. There have been plans for one for a decade.

It is hard to entertain kids with nothing open. Obviously there are parks/woods/ beach options, but those are very area dependent. None of the local pools are open to children here, and some of the swings etc are closed off.
For those commenting about the 60s and 70s, a lot of the municipal facilities we had then have been closed down, eg outdoor pools, roller skating rink, and there are a lot more restrictions now about what you can do and where you can do it. And we are in the middle of an epidemic and lots of people are suffering financially and can't afford to pay for entertainment. Everywhere charges for parking, public transport has been cut, and it's too hot to walk very far. Every time I see friends ( we are all parents of adult children)it comes up how hard it must be to be a parent of young children at the moment.
This government has shown repeatedly that you are on your own when it comes to caring for children or the elderly.
With that in mind, think about what options there are - movie nights with friends? Camping in the garden ( if you have one? Creating assault courses in the garden/park? Paddling pool/water guns/hose?
Anyway, my point really is that it is hard and it is reasonable for you to feel annoyed about the cinema if it was something you were looking forward to.

Countryside, bike rides, walks, parks, woods, picnics....we have been doing that more or less everyday since March. It does get boring.

Yabu. There is loads to do for NT children. My youngest is autistic and our lives are restricted by what he can do at the best of times. Now we have one activity booked in the whole holidays. I can't even take my dc to the park because I need another adult and the people who usually help are shielding.

Cinemas are businesses. Leisure centres are contracted by the local authority. Libraries are a public service, as are play areas. Damn right I'm entitled to these things. They aren't given kindly by the overloads, they are financed by local people paying council tax.
It is the local council being shit that is an issue here. They are also responsible for the lack of a cinema here, due to a land issue.

Why on earth would you expect a cinema chain to care about what your kids get up to? That's your job as a parent.

Round here, the weather has been, in the main, glorious. Why on earth would you want to sit inside a cinema, fgs? Get 'em outside (in the shade, if you prefer) playing. Go out on bikes; if you don't have bikes, go for walks, paddle in the river, have a picnic, play pooh-sticks, kick a ball around, SD visit mates, do some jigsaws, make camps, fill up the paddling pool, play some board games, do some baking, make home-made ice cream/lollies. Hell, stick your neck out and get them reading some books under a tree.

Jesus christ. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic, and you’re whigeing about this? Of course opening shops is a priority - without shops being open, jobs will be lost and peoples incomes will stop with all the impacts this has. However, putting on fun activities for kids just isn’t a priority right now. Tell the kids to play out in the garden or a local park with a ball. Fun, exercise and free. Too much reliance on providing paid for entertainment for kids these days.

As others have said, none of the clubs/activities that are available now existing when I was a kid - and I, and countless others survived. Its ok for kids to be a bit bored you know?

Your post does sound a bit entitled...

There are no cinerma open near us, half the swimming pools aren't open ones that are lane only 16+.

The parks are open - in nearby city they are just opening up - but there really poor in what's there.

I've paid for download services - Disney + -already had amazon prime and now got netflicks - they have craft and books and computer games - but it is an oddly quiet summer holdiay for them.

@FatalDistraction

No, I am not entitled to anything. However, most places do not care that our DC have been stuck in for months on end. They only care about profits. Staff at our local pool have said that they are not opening the pool because they don't want to pay lifeguards and cleaners whilst the government are paying them. Usually this massive pool has swim lessons, parties and bouncy castles on all summer. So, yes total shame on them for not giving a shit about our kids.

Have you missed the bit that we're in the middle of a global pandemic and having lots of people mixing together is a bad idea?

A cinema can't operate if it can't have enough people in the room whilst adhering to social distancing. It's not about "not making a profit", it's more a matter of not wanting to actually lose money by operating at a capacity below break even point. Why would a business open knowing that it was actually lose to lose money???

Plenty of places open and things to do around here. Lots of friends with children posting pics on Facebook of days out. I think you need to do a bit more googling and investigating what's on in your locality OP and maybe get a bit more creative

Many shops are open because 1, many are essential, and 2, many have crunched the numbers and found that they can open with social distancing etc and still cover their costs, hopefully make a bit of profit too to go towards paying loans etc.

Imagine businesses wanting to make money eh especially after being closed for months on end, knowing lots of people rely on them for their income. Shameful eh

But why have your children been stuck in for months? Going out was never banned, albeit for a limited time initially. We were out every day, cyles, the park, football, walks. Scottish kids are back at school today, they seem to have coped. Ds spent his summer going out for cycles with friend, playing football and having water gun fights, much like any other summer. Just pretend your poor and can't afford fancy days out, let your kids use their imagination.

You're picking the wrong cinema. One near me has lots of kids films on, even Back to the Future (PG). Wolf, Dreambuilders, Harry Potter, Trolls and many more.

My mum said to me and I say to my ds.

Only boring people get bored

Paints that stick to plastic. 10 plastic bottles, some water. Voila - an activity making skittles and a game to play.

No one has shut the outdoors. Make scavenger hunts. Get kids to make a list of 3 things each you have to find (Eg 3 yellow cars) - make a big list and off you go. You can repeat this in different areas and different days.

Pound shop always has great games you can buy. Set up a competition. Beach ball and frisbee etc.

Make your own cinema.

Make dens. Inside or out.

Cook inside or out.

Play board games.

Teach the kids how to use washing machine etc.

Plan a nice meal, take them out for ingredients and have a dinner party.

If you can afford cinemas etc and days out and have outside space surely you can afford your own paddling pool, trampoline or bouncy castle?

I don't worry about endless entertainment at the best of times but in the midst of a pandemic and trying to sort safe education out for our kids to return to in September whether a film they want to see is on at the cinema is really the least of my priorities!

So, yes total shame on them for not giving a shit about our kids

Why should they care about your kids? They are a business, their one aim is to make money. If you want to talk to them via your money then boycott them from now on. But I think you’re naive to expect anyone other than you to care about your own children.

Parks, garden, beaches (plenty are not packed)? Walks? Who in their right mind wants to sit in a dark cinema on a summer’s day anyway, let alone with Covid? Theme parks are open and zoos. Read a book, play a game, paddling pool (if you have space). Loads of stuff to do. And much better than dying and leaving them as orphaned! I wouldn’t go near the shops either myself.

I do take your point that they are missing a trick as if they put some older movies on e.g. trolls it would be another option.
I think the way you've worded you op is what has given you these responses.

Most of the splash parks are closed near me, the outdoor pool is lane swimming for adults only and the leisure pool is not open fully either. No wonder the beaches have been packed.

So far we've either done or booked for the next 2 weeks, zoo, safari Park, beach at least once a week, farms, couple of museums, nature trail, maze, little mini local fair, private hire swimming pool and a big play area with mini golf. As well as visiting family and the usual park/walk in the woods. Its not quite as good as a normal summer but theres plenty to do, and there's also trampoline places open and our tiny local cinema has more than one film on if the weather turns. Do you have a local fb group or other mums you could ask for ideas?

@SleepingStandingUp I agree. I went to the cinema once growing up. There were no trips to zoos. I never ate out once, not one holiday. I do remember going to a theme park once. Yet I never felt deprived. It’s funny what some people find to complain about. I just read a thread about so people feel like life’s back to normal now. And there was one woman saying no because the atmosphere in John Lewis is poor and she doesn’t like the new restrictions in her yoga class 😂😂😂

Take them camping.
Do tree rubbings.
Play spot the animal.
Take them fishing.
Take balls, bats, frisbees, a kite etc.
Have picnics.
Take them for bike rides.