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.

Cinema owners can’t “rehash” old films at will, as they don’t own the rights. The power is in the hands of distributors, who determine how many prints of which films will be in circulation at any given time, and which screens they are prepared to lease them to in order to maximise audiences and revenues.

It is particularly difficult for cinema owners this year, having been forced to close for months, and then incorporate strict social distancing into their reopening plans. Even after all that they have been through, many are now struggling to get their hands on desirable film prints to show, as the distributors are withholding them until audience numbers are likely to increase to decent levels. Which will not be the case in the middle of the northern hemisphere summer during a pandemic.

There is plenty open outdoors OP
Zoos - parks - gardens! National Trust.

Ride bikes

Set up stuff outdoors

And do you know what let them play with their toys together and entertain themselves

Oh yes paints - crafts

Outdoor play dates

Plus it's flipping 31 degrees here so my lot happy in front of the fan playing Lego.

I would hate to live where you do. Down south there isnt much still closed, why would you pay to go to the cinema when 90% of outdoor attractions are open, many free or a couple of quid for parking, even if the actual play areas are not open, the open spaces are, get a frisby, take a picnic, a bike, scooter........

I almost feel the AIBu is

Aibu that I actually have to come up with some suggestions and entertain my own kids this summer as I can't just plonk them in front of another screen and pay someone else to do the rest!

YANBU.

Children are bottom of the priority list in lockdown.

Adults are now allowed to go to the pub, gym, hairdressers, even play golf.

Children are lucky if the play areas near them are open (most finally open at last but some still closed).

Where I live, some swimming pools have reopened but it's adult lane swimming only - the children's pools and sessions are still closed.

All the splash pads and paddling pools around the city are still closed. Super helpful in a heatwave 🙄

One or two cinemas are reopening but there are only adult film showings, no children's films and no toddler time.

Museums are still closed.

All the places I could have taken DS to stay cool and have fun are not available.

So we are stuck in the house even more than we were at the start of lockdown (when the weather was milder so we could actually go out).

It's utterly shit and unfair to the kids and their parents.

It's all well and good saying that zoos and other destinations are open for days out, but not every family can afford to go to places like that very often or even at all.

sorry isn't looking after your children and keeping them entertained part of being a parent, or have I been doing it wrong for 13 years?

Also this thread has brought out a lot of twatty posts, predictably. Ignore them if you can OP.

When I was a kid the highlight of our summer holiday was to go on the odd picnic. The rest of the time we played out with our neighbourhood friends or stayed in and played with the few toys we had or read a book. I remember those days with great fondness. Your kids will be fine.

Weather is fantastic. Get them outside playing. Cinemas are for the autumn and winter months. Most new films have been delayed because of Covid. James bond is now autumn.

My daughter is at a summer camp today, being run for 3 weeks. Son is playing basketball with his team at the local park. Other son will be kickboxing tonight.

Rugby, football back on.

Other than that they go out on their bikes with friends. Plenty to do rivers near us thst they live to go to. Much like my childhood.

The rest of the time its xbox, which isn't too bad in this heat, or friends socially distancing in the garden.

I've never come across a cinema that's so small they only have 1 film on offer!
And if they do only have space to show 1 movie then why would they pick trolls/frozen/some other shit kids film. For every parent of a small child who wants to go and see something like that you've got the parent of a teen/pre teen who would rather stick pins in their eyes. Cinemas aren't going to please everyone!

It is no wonder there are children in my town turning on others in the parks when they have nothing to do.

But it they are in a park about to 'turn on one another' then instead of doing that int he park why can't they have an impromptu ball game, a picnic, hang out chatting, play games (depending on age), ride bikes, go on scooters and skateboards, etc.
There is no excuse for them to turn to violence just because the cinema isn't showing a film they want to see.

And not all towns are the same - our playgrounds are still mostly shut but the parks are open, the cinemas are open with restricted hours but showing a range of films, lots of tourist attractions are open now, etc.

I grew up in South London in the 70s. Kids fighting in parks was routine even then. Having seen Quadrophenia at the weekend I am reasonably sure it also went on in the 60s. I don’t think we can blame Covid for feral youngsters.

I can see where OP is coming from, and think some of you are being a little harsh. I do think children have been totally overlooked throughout the pandemic, especially the more disadvantaged. My children are adults now, but I did feel angry when the government opened up golf clubs, pubs, gyms etc, but playgrounds were still closed. We have a lovely children's splash pool in our local park which hasn't re-opened. Yet the local leisure centre is open for adults to do lane swimming. Not everyone can afford National Trust , zoos and theme parks, and families are judged for going to crowded beaches. It's not the 60's and 70's any more, and while I had a fab childhood running wild in meadows and forests with a gang of friends, times have changed, and would now be seen as 'feral kids left to roam all day'. I work in a school, and we offer so many experiences to children that they have now missed out on, and I think the Government (who claims to care about disadvantaged children so much) should have subsidised activities for them, rather than discount meals in restaurants which, largely, benefits adults! I'll get off my soapbox now!

It’s hard to occupy the children this summer. Their usual holiday club hasn’t run and we are no longer going away. We are still working from home though have got days off. Children have got the odd afternoons doing organised sports activities and with grandparents but while we are working are largely occupying themselves in the house and garden. And when we are off with them it’s been a challenge to find family activities - swimming pools and cinemas not open locally yet, all attractions need pre-booking activities, children’s don’t want to do activities than involve masks (eg museums), heat makes being out in the middle of the day unbearable. We’ve done many walks and bike rides, farm and zoo visits, but realistically they’re very samey and lacking in variety and stimulation now.

We actually have quite a lot of options here - crazy golf, the leisure pool (fitness pool just for adults), quite a few kayaking/ outdoor adventure places, parks, lakes with inflatables and swimming, the beach (we are lucky to be near the coast) outdoor films, I think museums are open as well. The only things that are not open are soft play, bowling, roller skating, and it is too hot for all that anyway. I agree though that there needs to be a lot more invested in youth services.

Completely agree with you FramebyFrame.

Museums are starting to re-open, as are zoos, theme parks, heritage steam railways, etc etc.

There’s loads to you, basically everything apart from bowling.

Swimming, zoo, camp sites, playgrounds, holiday clubs are on, theme parks, airports etc

I don't have children at home they are all grown up but the play parks are all open, you can do long walks unless you live in a very built up area, parks are open.
I went to the nearest beach the other day, turned round and went home again. There were thousands of people crowded there in the scorching heat. Madness.

@TheFormerPorpentinaScamander well if theres only one screen?

Round me zoos,farms etc are back open. Museums, most attractions are back open (cant think of one thats not) beaches, parks are back open. Basically only cinemas and swimming pools are still closed for children. But no one goes to the cinema in august. Plus if the cinema is to pick a film that covers the most people I think a 12A is a good bet really

@Stinkbug your list is pretty much the childhood of most of the over 50s. It was heavenly! Nobody was bored...and I know people roll their eyes at us when we say these things...but it's true 🤷‍♀️ We just weren't!! We really did just get dressed, go and knock on for our friends and pop tarmac bubbles, make fishing sticks with mum's tights and 'perfumes' out of flower petals. For hours 😂 Our parents never entertained us...it simply wasn't a thing that was needed or expected. Once or twice perhaps throughout the long holidays, we might be 'treated' to a day out, which would be a simple picnic on a park..but even that was where the mums would sit and chat together on the blanket, and we would go off and play until it was time to eat. They didn't entertain us 😂

There's too much over stimulation now...let children be creative with boxes, blocks, paper, natural materials...without adult interference. Save your recycling! You'll be surprised at what they are capable of from a very young age 💓

Recently we have: visited National Trust gardens and had cake (subsidised by the eat out initiative- which was lovely); visited a bird sanctuary (cheaper than a zoo and good to read about the rehabilitation of wildlife); had a bbq in my DM’s garden; gone back to sports’ practices and bought new books to read. DS and mates are camping in someone’s back garden tomorrow night- each in their own tent.
Pool isn’t open here, cinemas are miles away and I’m not happy about them really. So this is what we have, it’s not thrilling but it’s a damn sight better than it was in April. I’m learning to appreciate the small stuff, it’s probably been very good for me.

I get where you are coming from, our parks have only just opened, our swimming pool is being rebuilt, bowling ally and indoor play still closed.

Don't have a car, so have to rely on public transport to get anywhere that is not a barbers or a charity shop, added to this, my partner lost his income for 12 weeks and we were only just keeping our heads above water. Also live in a flat so no outdoor area.

Its all well and good saying go out for walks, we did that for the first 12 weeks

We've done camping, walking, mountain biking, parks, small local zoo, beach trips to small beaches off the beaten track, a couple of days at a paid holiday club, swimming booked in advance, socially distanced garden visits to family...all very safe and within guidelines and actually not just dissimilar to what a normal summer holiday would have looked like. Lots of activities and places are open and can be pre-booked with some degree of planning.