Summer holiday moan

[Scandalousmum]

On week 6 of summer holidays here in Scotland and am I unreasonable to think this is just too long?
kids are climbing the walls. My budget on holidays, clubs, snacks spent. Patience spent. I work too and am at the end of my tether. Husband works full time but deals with no laundry, cooking, shopping etc. my house is literally falling apart and needing work and can’t get a thing done trying to entertain two kids. plus the weather has been shit.
how are others coping? Is it all arts and crafts or are others at breaking point and about to open the gin.

A lot of the world is 3 months!

This is no help, but in my eastern European childhood schools would shut doors around May 25 and reopen on September 1st. Three whole months. As a kid, I loved it, and can't quite accept the fact my children will only have a measly 6 weeks.

What do the working parents do with kids for all that time?

If you can actually concentrate on work sat in the same room as your kids you either have very different children to mine (you don’t say their ages) or you’re able to ignore them and stay in “flow” despite their talking and making background noise you must have especially good powers of concentration.

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing Perhaps it's self-centred, or just exasperated. These threads come up every year, albeit normally a week or so into the holidays. Why is it okay for some to moan about the length of the holidays, but not for others to express their joy? The OP wasn't asking for support (in which case my answer would have been different), but was asking for experiences.

Either way, no doubt come late September we'll have countless threads again complaining about how schools deal with the same bored/ screen-addicted/ rude behaviours that parents have complained about over the 6 weeks here.

OP, the best thing you can do is build in deliberate time for them to be bored. I take 30min - an hour a day for myself during the holidays. The kids know to entertain themselves (screen-free) during that time. It's a bit late in the day, given your holidays are nearly over, but it's a good routine to insist upon for your own sanity.

I just meant don’t express the joy on the thread of someone struggling, not never express it!

Anyway, I am actually in favour of the long hols as I’ve said. I have my way of dealing with them that works for me.

I do think parents who are in a couple could help themselves by taking at least some of their annual leave at different times - you hear “well we all had three weeks off, one spent on holiday and two as a family at home, but now DH and i are back at work, and kids are climbing the walls. We can’t afford holiday club / none of the clubs are open during this week.”

So by all means have the week off together to go away, but then take your other leave separately. Then neither parent is stuck trying to work with the kids in the house.

And take the back end of the hols off not the beginning - holiday clubs are always open towards the beginning of the hols in my area - and even if not, you’ve got more “good will” at that point from the kids who are probably looking for some downtime after end of term.

@Chypre

..... in my eastern European childhood schools would shut doors around May 25 and reopen on September 1st. Three whole months. As a kid, I loved it, and can't quite accept the fact my children will only have a measly 6 weeks.

This. ^

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who can't stand being around their own children. As I've just said in another thread, there's one of the mums in my village (who lives near me,) who pushes her 3 kids out all day in the school holidays, and just sits in the house - and doesn't give a shiny shite where they are. As long as they're not with her she gives zero fucks.

And then you have thread after thread on forums like this, with mums complaining about having to parent their own children, and just wishing for the first week in September, so they can get the kids out of their hair again.

If you work from home, surely your kids are in some kind of childcare or daycare. (They would be if you were working in an office/not working from home.) A woman who lives 2 doors down from me works from home (for the council,) 4 days a week, and she takes her 2.5 year old child to a daycare place 3 miles away at 8.15am, and goes to get her at 5pm. Like she would if she worked in an office. So why are children running around people working from home? Why are they not in daycare?

When my kids were at home/on school holidays, I used to absolutely love it, and so did they. I was actually quite envious of my American friends who had 3 months with theirs for the summer holidays, compared to just 6 weeks in the UK.

I worked 2 days a week then and they were with a childminder for that time. I had just the best time with them in the school holidays, and can't get my head around people who don't seem unable to stand being with their own children.

.

Should have said my youngest is 2 so yes they do need a degree of entertaining, constant supervision and some days at nursery. So that probably adds to the big change of routine but I’m not at the stage my kids can disappear off like the goonies and play with their friends safely.
my kids just really miss their routine(so do I) for many reasons hence the post saying the summer is a week or two too long.
And for the poster saying they’re spoiled - the reason they have been so busy is because we don’t have the he childcare we need during the holidays- there is zero wraparound care and clubs shut at 12 or 3 and my youngest is in nursery a couple of days a week. It’s not a glorious eight weeks when kids are being shipped from one place to another every day. Probably why they’re ready to go back now, as am I.

I hear you, on week 6 here for my youngest dd in Ireland, almost another 4 to go, weather absolutely shit, my oldest Dd has been off since the end of May she's in secondary school, 3 months off here!! At least she has a part time job which keeps her busy

@Gogogo12345 well that was in the 90's, so parents let them BE! The usual summer agenda in my city would be: camp (like scouts) for 7-10 days, those who were into sports or languages, would go for sports/language camp as well. Many parents would get 2 weeks' holiday and go to the seaside or abroad with kids, often taking cousins along (parents' siblings would then return the favour). Then another 2 weeks at (or abroad with) grandparents. Whatever was left was playing outside, playing computer games inside, watching telly, sleeping until lunch, going through the summer reading revisions list, and just lazing around.

Even 5 and 6 year olds left alone outside all day? I have no issues with kids playing out etc but as young as that with both parents ( or a single one) being out from 8-6 working is a bit much

If you can actually concentrate on work sat in the same room as your kids you either have very different children to mine (you don’t say their ages) or you’re able to ignore them and stay in “flow” despite their talking and making background noise you must have especially good powers of concentration.

My two are 12 and 13, both have complex support needs so can’t be left to their own devices fully but are fully capable of sharing the same space as me while occupied with a book or a craft activity. The bits of occasional chat is no more disruptive than the chat from colleagues if I’m in the office.

@Gogogo12345 well 6 weeks is too long, letting children play outside is wrong, yet somehow Italy and Spain still manage it with 13 weeks of holidays over the summer, don't they? :)

I was merely asking what is done with young children while parents are at work that's all. No idea what you are on about

@Gogogo12345 my childhood was in 90s, so before smartphones. It was quite normal to go to the park or playground with a friend and friend's mum or gran, without own parents.

Can they not go out to play with their pals?

In Italy it's 12 weeks, SIL is close to selling her three to the highest bidder!

I had both my daughters in the 90s ( eldest born 91) . But they had to go to summer playschemes so I could work. I would've had social services on my back if they were hanging round park all day everyday. And I didn't know their " friends mum" as mostly they were in same situation ie working.

Long summer holidays are great if there is reasonably priced childcare provision. As mine got older I could send them to church holiday activities or games in the library etc which was free. It's a shame that all that stuff seems to have gone, or what is available is only for those on benefits and the alternatives are private childcare at £50 plus per day per child.

No local grandparents and they were working full time also anyway

So maybe not so much fun for families in that kind of situation

Can you get a cheap few nights away ? (Hollow laugh)

6 weeks is too long. DS has been abroad, and he's pretty happy just kicking about but there are another 3 weeks to go - he will defo be bored by then. He even admits it. Teachers know it causes lost learning. Parents struggle with it. Why can't it be changed to 4 weeks. Add the other 2 weeks to the half terms. It doesn't solve people's childcare problems but it has other advantages.

That’s fine - my 10 yo has SEN too which is a reason why I don’t like to work with him in the house. So I choose not to be working with him there.

But up to you what you want to do.

They wouldn’t be able to do that under 11/ 12 where I live. Not unsupervised.

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

They wouldn’t be able to do that under 11/ 12 where I live. Not unsupervised.

That's a shame 😪. It's age 6 round here.

I cannot imagine even trying to work with a 2 yo in the house (unless being supervised by someone else).

I wouldn’t expect any employer would allow it - but perhaps I am behind the times. Mine defo wouldn’t unless an emergency due to illness.

Had to do one day with the 10 yo here (not my choice, let down at the last minute) and that required a conversation to be had.

I live in London so would be different to the countryside.

Roads are just too busy.

Im not saying there aren’t any 9/10 yo’s out with their friends but wouldn’t be the norm.

10 yo can go places with his big sister of course - even if he wants to go up and down the pavement on his scooter you’ve got to have an eye out as it’s busy even on residential streets and they don’t obey the speed limit.

Its not a dangerous area, it’s the traffic.