School holidays

[sweatband]

We just can't cover them all, far too many dates, not enough annual leave.

Used childcare for years and thrown money at the problem, but now DC too old for it, but not old enough to be left alone for days on end.

All our leave is spent covering school holiday, a lot of it seperately.

Now, MIL is demanding we book in a week to go visit her. A week of leave we don't have to spare.

I simply want to cry.

AIBU to point out to her our dilemma and expect her to understand?

I’d phone and explain that as much as you’d like to visit, annoyingly and upsettingly all your time off is spent on childcare that it seems like you and your dh barely get time off together.
Would it be possible for her to visit and maybe help with some childcare?

Or a chance, she likes to visit and do F all, just be entertained and taken out

Just say no, not possible!

Send the children to her house for part of the holiday? Someone i went to school with spent every summer holiday with grandparents. In Italy.

Well then she’s of no use! Just phone and tell her the truth, there’s not much you can do about it!

Are there no summer / holiday clubs near you?

Is she far away could you go Thursday to Tuesday over Easter so only two days? Then ask her to come for a week in august to help with child care.

My ds is 8 and hates going to holiday club. We try to manage with annual leave , his older dsis when she's home from uni and grandparents .

Once mine were at secondary they stayed at home, I would go in early and exh would go in as late as he could to minimise time alone

It's quite simple, say you can't. Point out how many days annual leave you have and how ma y days off school there are.

She can demand all she wants, you need to say no-she can’t make you.

How old are your children?

If it’s your mother in law why can’t your partner explain to his mother why it’s just not possible? Why does it have to fall to you to deal with her.

Also, no I don’t think you’re unreasonable, you’re in an impossible situation and she just needs to be told that.

Can you team up with other parents of similar aged children and share it out a bit? ie you have their kids for 3 days one week, then they do the other 2, and the following week you swap or whatever. You might even find you can work a bit from home as if your DC have got company they might not need you much. If they are too old for holiday clubs could you for example drop them at a local pool with money to buy a snack afterwards, and that would fill up a few hours during which you might be able to work a bit. How old are they? If they're too old for holiday clubs they can't be too far off being OK to stay home alone.

How old are DC? There are specific activity camps (sport, drama etc) for teenagers if they have interests.

Or pay a student or sixth former to hang out with them in the day so they're not unsupervised but can essentially do what they want to do/have a lie-in etc and not have to get up and go to childcare.

It's crap, I absolutely dread the 6 week break... can't your DH take the children to visit her though? In the school holidays?