Reels of parents dancing for joy when kids go to school

[Caterpillarcakeforlife]

On Instagram & Fb.

I get it, I’m craving some space and time on my own now after a long summer. But I just find the really exaggerated reels on social media of the parents being so damn joyful to be getting rid of their kids and back to school a bit..uncomfortable/distasteful
Am I just a boring stick in the mud

Summer hols are expensive and stressful with primary age children. I was paying silly money for holiday clubs my kids hated and meant I had to rush to from work for the earlier pick up.

I remember when I was a child there was a TV advert one year with some bloke singing about it being "the most wonderful time of the year" because it was "back to school time" and it really upset me because it felt like adults/parents were revelling in us children going back to being bullied daily and subjected to collective punishments when someone misbehaved because the teacher didn't know who the culprit was.

Now I'm an adult I think these things are funny though, I kind of enjoy the boot being on the other foot when I see people laughing and celebrating kids going back to the daily grind.

I don’t find these particularly funny but I’m much more offended at people’s ruthless judgment of other people’s tongue in cheek social posts than I am of what’s clearly a joke.

You can love your kids and also find them hard work and relish the relative peace of being back in an office.

It’s a bit pathetic. I teach. We deal with the little darlings the rest of the time.

As if teachers don’t do videos at the start of the holidays celebrating being rid of their classes for the summer..

Nicely said. As if the only way to love anyone is to be with them 24/7 without complaint.

Lots of really negative attitudes about school coming through as well.

Maybe the parents who are dancing and rejoicing are the ones who fail to parent properly so have raised little rude monsters.

It's literally six hours a day, five days a week, for six/seven weeks at a time.

They're not celebrating their children being shipped off to boarding school, they're literally just celebrating having a bit of mental space each day, and time to do the housework in peace/focus at work properly. As well as knowing their kids will be fed and entertained for a few hours and come home not bored and whining for something to do/somewhere to go.

It's literally a celebration of some needs being met all round. People can express their emotions in whatever way they want, and kids won't be on social media to see it, they'll be at school.

Someone sent me one of these when the schools reopened after lockdown. I laughed.If I'd known that so many people would have thought thought meant I regretted having children, that I didn't love them, that my kids weren't planned, that I am scarring them with disapproval and this is why they won't talk to me when I'm old etc etc, I'd have...laughed even more, tbh.

I think I remember that advert. I was a bit raised eyebrows but my Dad reacted like he'd just seen the trailer for an extreme horror film or something. Only saw it once, maybe it got pulled by complaints.

Or perhaps they're the ones who are raising the well behaved ones. After all it takes a lot more effort to parent well than not.

I don't care. I'm free! These kids exhaust me. I love them but I'm too old for 2 small children, a full time job and a sick husband. Kids to school let's me breath again.

I haven't really seen any of these reels you are describing.
I don't think I'd find them particularly funny, but I can also see how some folk might, especially if they have had a more stressful/less relaxing summer break.
If you are not enjoying/relating then it's really simple just to scroll on by.

It's social media, it brings out the uncouth.

Yet the most well spoken people are the ones who send their kids to boarding school and have nannies to deal with most of the parenting??

Yeah and maybe the parents who find the holidays easy have placid dummies with no personalty

As someone who works full time mostly from home it's been a difficult six weeks. Also I have a SEN child at a specialist needs school whose been very challenging at times as thrives in routine of school.
I miss them but today it's so nice to focus entirely on my job as I have not been as productive recently

I always hated it when my kids went back to school, and had to stop myself thinking it was "back to normal" when the holidays started, even when they were in secondary school (and university, if I'm honest!)
But I never worked school holidays and we had enough money for that to be possible.

Anyway-lots of those reels are really funny. I'm pretty sure they don't reflect the makers true feelings. Well, not all of their feelings anyway.....

I'm in a relatively new job and the holidays have been really stressful, with random holiday camp hours and trying to drop/collect without it impacting my team and outputs too much.

I love my kids very much and really enjoyed when I was actually in holiday with them. But the rest was tough.

Im not dancing on social media, but I'm definitely relieved.

Exactly.

@ColleenDonaghy

Lots of really negative attitudes about school coming through as well.

Indeed. I find it slightly disturbing that people are traumatised at the prospect of their kids going back to school.

Excluding situations where children are struggling for personal emotional or educations reasons, school should be a positive experience. This sense of panic and negativity suggests a real degree of codependence and also it sends a very poor signal to the children about the value of learning and socialising with other children.

Fundamentally going to school, learning and growing up are all things to be celebrated and encouraged. Wishing your children remain at home forever in a state of aspic-preserved artificial infancy is not a great look.

My children are IVF and very much wanted but I am still happy to have time away. I wouldn't presume people don't want their children or they weren't planned just because they are relieved their child is back at school.

Definitely depends on the child. I have one who needs constant entertainment, he hates being by himself and gets bored incredibly easily. It's bloody hard work keeping him entertained for 6 weeks. The other is much more laid back, can play by herself for ages and loves things like reading and colouring. Much easier. I love them both dearly but my DS is much better off in school than at home.

It wouldn't hurt my kids feelings because they know it's a joke! I've spent the whole summer holidays trying to make them spend time with me!

I mean it doesn't matter anyway because I wouldn't post that sort of thing <shrug>

In general I dislike the trend of making your own children the butt of jokes, and this one I guess falls under that category.

I know where you are coming from. I understand why they are doing it but agree it's a bit OTT.

It also smacks of privilege, in my opinion.

My summer with the kids wasn't all that different to termtime. Because I work and I needed to use summer camps for childcare.

So I feel a bit at the parents complaining when they are privileged enough to not have to do the whole work/hustle/summer camps every summer.