Anyone else had a rubbish school holidays?

[Blueybanditbingochilli]

Namely because of:

1. The fucking WEATHER. No doubt I will be piled on telling me to buy puddle suits and ‘crack on’ but it’s been absolutely miserable and I will not hear otherwise. We haven’t been abroad, we don’t have nearby family to visit and we don’t have good inexpensive indoor local attractions so every rainy day (which has genuinely been most days) has been SHIT and we have gone out of our minds with boredom.
2. The age of my children (5 and 17 months), an ENDLESS treadmill of toilet visits, nappy changes, meals, naps, drinks before doing the lot again. They can’t be left alone together as they fight and wind each other up so to even go for a piss I have to strap the youngest, screaming, into his pram while the oldest desperately tries to get to him to cause more havoc.
3. My youngest has been ill on and off after starting nursery all summer with croup, ear infections, whooping cough and HFM, so on top of the rainy days we have also spent ‘ill’ days sat bored out of our skulls in the living room which I swear one day will be the purgatory I spend my afterlife in.

Not interested in smug stories about puddle suits, impeccably behaved children with fabulous immune systems or those who ‘love the cooler weather’. This is a rant thread for those who can relate to my position and nothing more. Roll on school!

Yes. Close friend died suddenly, followed a couple of weeks later by a much loved older relative.
been fairly shite, can’t say I noticed the weather.

Condolences to everyone who has been bereaved over the holidays 💐 definitely takes the ‘shitness’ to a whole new level.

It has been awful. But...I still remember the most awful summer a few years back when it rained from the day the holidays started until they went back. I'm in the west of Scotland btw so rain is no stranger to me, but that was dreadful. I had young kids at the time too which would have compounded it for sure. This has been a bit better (and the kids are older!)

@Blueybanditbingochilli
I don't normally look up people's previous posting history but I recognised your name from another thread.
I hear you regarding the relentless nature of the long summer holidays and your frustration and boredom with the weather etc but perhaps you could use the experience to reflect on the lives of families like mine that you encountered on the other thread. They face a lifetime of being bored at home in some cases due to.sick children who cannot go.out( or to school ), lack of money or facilities that are truly accessible or indeed vital equipment like wheelchairs.Many are dealing with challenging and aggressive behaviour that involves full supervision 24 / 7 sometimes with little or no sleep.
These issues can make it nigh on impossible to have any kind of a normal life and the loneliness and isolation can be very depressing at times. It is indeed an endless round of pad / nappy changing / delivering feeds and meds and performing medical proceedures etc .
Don't get me wrong I love my kids and do it willingly but it is bloody hard work week in week out and no end in sight

I am sorry if it seems I am having a go I really don't mean to but it struck me reading your post that 6 or 7 weeks of it has got you tearing your hair out and so I don't understand the attitude of resenting the UC and disability benefits received by such families which leaves a lot of them still in poverty with no chance of working to lift themselves out if it. In hindsight I should have posted this on the other thread but can't be bothered to retype it so sorry for crashing this one.

OP, having a toddler that age is hard work! Even just next summer will be easier!

We did manage to go away BUT both our trips coincided with the nice bout of weather in the UK, and our destinations had rain and crap weather. On the first trip, I cracked an old filling and spent days in agony until I got back to the UK and could have it fixed (with an eye-watering bill..) second trip our DC went wild with tantrums and we had a terrible time. They've also been waking up at 5.45 EVERY MORNING. I worked for three weeks in between taking time off, and it was impossible to get anything done because everyone was off. Had a few upsetting work issues too and lost a bit of money which I could have used.

I had lots of fun stuff planned for last week, some with nonrefundable tickets,and we got Covid. The only "fun" thing was shoe shopping today after few days of testing negative.
I'm just fed up with coming up with activities at home (I can't bake any more cupcakes) and relieved school will start. Although I am sad we didn't get to do the fun outings I had planned for last week.

Ours has been terrible. Six year old has regressed to terrible 2 year old behaviour so elder child has hidden in her room and haven't been able to go anywhere as the six year old tantrums constantly. I have been very low with it and really hope the school routine improves him.

In the middle of a horrible stressful work project so my mind has been divided and at one point considered quitting my job. This is my first year back full time and it's a bloody nightmare.

Glad to hear it wasn't just me!

Ditto. We've had a lot more warm days than rainy ones. Children have pretty much been outside every day for at least two hours and not worn trousers or a coat once.

Yep - weather has been shit.

And my dad died a week tomorrow so it has been fucking awful to be honest

I just came here to start this thread.

My kid is being assessed for autism and adhd. A very long wait unless I pay. Her behaviour without routine is off the chart. The other kids have been miserable as we try to deal with tantrum after tantrum. Late nights due to her inability to settle. It's all ramped up by a million percent.

We've been miserable all summer. It's pushed me to utter despair and I've just been to GP to get some medicines to lift my mood.

We've tried.. trips out, holiday and theme parks. But each day is a real struggle.

Oh and I work full time.

I look awful and feel like a zombie.

I literally am broken.

I don’t resent them, I said they’re unaffordable, which according to literally any economic forecast they are. But this is MN so that will translate to ‘hating vulnerable people’.

I'm confused. We didn't leave the UK and had lovely weather. I live SW and think it's been a lovely summer weather wise.

OP you are in the hardest age brackets I think. I remember it being soooo hard. I used to drive around for no reason more times than I care to admit just to get some (relative) peace and sanity with the kids strapped in the back.
Hang in there! Sympathies x

Well some of mine was shit because I was leaving a really stressful job and had to do an insane amount in order to hand over to the next person, who also seemed to avoid taking handover on anything before the moment I left. Literally, I was typing emails from his laptop after I’d handed mine in.

The bit whilst I was off work (between jobs in the literal sense as in I start another next week) was good. We went to a much rainier part of the UK than we live in (the area where we live had good weather throughout) but I’m afraid to say we did put waterproofs on and “crack on”. The big (enormous) difference is that my children are 15 and 10 rather than 5 and 1 though - so the point of this post is - it gets an awful lot easier!

I was really lucky with the summer my kids were 5 and 0 (6 months to be precise) which was the only time I’ve ever had the six weeks off due to mat leave, as it was sunny and we had lots of picnics with local friends. So the weather does make a huge difference when they are that tiny.

I will now officially conclude we are all living in separate but identical planets.

It gets a lot better once the youngest is 2.5

Hang in there

I’m so sorry for those who have lost someone or had real hardship this summer .

I can’t complain on that front, but it really hasn’t been the greatest summer. I’ve been constantly unwell - Covid, UTI, now a chest infection. The weather has been shit. My teenagers have been really lazy and ungrateful. I’m working very long hours at the moment and could really do with stopping the world and getting off for a nice, long sleep and some proper sunshine.

I’m really sorry to hear this, you sound incredibly low. I hope the medication helps. DD isn’t ND, but her behaviour has massively deteriorated since being off school and she is tantrumming a lot and has been waking up at night, alongside my youngest who has had back to back illness. I’ve had a few mornings where my body hurts all over as I’m so exhausted from 5 broken hours sleep lying on the floor next to the cot, while being screamed awake at 6am. The mental aspect is bad enough but I didn’t realise physically the impact motherhood could have on you, I swear I’ve aged in the last 3 months. I really hope things improve for you soon.

Sorry to everyone who has had truly shit summers. It’s put mine into perspective as we’ve had nothing major happen - not even any minor illnesses! Just been long and shit with a 1 year old and an almost 3 year old. Started out with great expectations, meal plans, activities and at this stage I am too fucked to care about screen time or whether they eat their 5 a day. It’s just firefighting the constant tantrums all day, every day and I am a shell of my former self 8 weeks ago 😅

I’m in London and we’ve barely had any rain in August. It’s been hot. I’m not gloating because I actually dislike it.

Yep, mines been shit. There have been the moments of fun and positivity but it’s been mostly shit.

DS with SEN has been gradually declining over the course of the holidays and has reached dysregulation of epic proportions. Last day of the holidays tomorrow and I’m worried he may combust if today is anything to go by.

and I’m also very concerned with how the return to school will go.

I hear you OP! I booked a very cheap caravan hol in a town and caravan site I knew to be shite but was all we could afford, was greatfull to get away BUT, I was sick of the sight of the youngest 2's pooy bumholes in the tiny lounge with numberblocks on repeat in the rain 😂
Relentless potties and nappies interspersed by a long walk down a steep hill to a stoney beach I couldnt get the pram on. Freezing cold dip in the sea, sand covered crying cold kids in towels to wrestle into clothes, back up the hill for showers in the ancient shower block, then wash all the swimming clothes in the sink, hang them up to drip gently on the charming vista of children watching numberblocks while yet again pooing as the sea dip and relentless snacking every minute has got the whole system going again.
9 year old fights relentlessly with 4 year old every minute unless shes out on the park befreinding sophisticated 12 year olds who come into the caravan and be cheeky wotsits while demanding I let 9 year old come to mini motorbike place on other side of town with them, yeah no.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this but as usual more than half my workplace went on holiday the same 3 weeks in August (after I had been in July, just me off then) so we ended up working 3x as hard.

Sorry you’ve had a crap time, OP - there feels like such pressure to make the most of the summer holidays, but in lots of ways - like you said - it’s just a grind.
My eldest had exams and finished a good five weeks or so before the youngers - so feel like I’ve not had any time to myself for months!
I love my kids but it’s been a long haul this time - struggling financially and not been able to afford days out, etc. it’s a long time to try and fill and still like each other at the end 😆

I don't know why people keep complaining about the weather. It's been lovely here. Sunny pretty much everyday and around 22+ degrees.

Because we don’t all live within 5 square miles of you and have therefore had different weather? 🤔