To think it's just me that doesn't want the 6 weeks to end !

[seasonalnamepending]

Reading on here and on various other different social media platforms has me thinking that I am quite alone in not wanting my child to go back to school tomorrow.
I have absolutely loved the summer holidays - it's my first one after the first year in reception, and I just don't want her to go back!
I'm going to really miss her!
All I saw before the summer holidays was parents saying how much they were dreading it, and midway through saying they were counting down the days until September..
And now, all I am seeing is posts and videos of parents joking about how they will be at the gates early, practically shoving their children through the gates and skipping home afterwards.
It makes me quite sad. Why have children if you don't want to spend time with them??

Anyone else going to miss the time they get with their children during the holidays ?

I didn't bring work into this for that reason. I really admire the parents that have to juggle this and I in no way mean that they are inferior parents. In fact, they are far superior to myself in many ways. But I won't go into that.
I'm sorry my post rubbed you the wrong way.
I mean more so, that parents that are luckily able to have their children all of the holidays, do not value that time at all

I've really enjoyed the quality time with my eldest child (he's about to go into year 1), but it has been quite an easy first summer holidays as I've not had to juggle childcare (currently on maternity leave with number 3). Having said that, I've found the last week or so to be tough (out of routine, pushing boundaries, winding up his 3 year old brother and vice versa), so there is a smidge of relief mixed in with knowing I'll miss him. I am already looking forward to half term!

Why have children if you don't want to spend time with them??

Wind your neck in. It’s possible to say you enjoyed the summer holidays without disparaging other parents 🙄

Op what are your life circumstances? Do you work? Is your child NT and generally well behaved? Do you have a partner? Have you been on holiday?

And if you are going to parrot crap at least have the balls to stand by it instead of backtracking.

I mean, the holidays are great with one child, no juggling jobs and childcare, able to fund days out or activities with them and not worrying about where the money will come from to feed them 3 times a day.

I have 3 teens, love the holidays because the added pressure of school is gone. But I'm still working 40 hours a week, DH works 60 hours a week so we don't really see the kids and luckily they're old enough to look after themselves.

I enjoyed it less when I was a sahm, with 3 yokng kids, no money, DH working every possible hour as we were so poor, living on pasta and trying to entertain them in our shitty house, shitty garden or the shitty local park I could get to in walking distance.

Pls remember, not everyone's circumstances are the same.as yours.

I think this is a bit strong. She wasn’t offensive, just a little smug.

Your post is really smug. Of course you’re not the only person who likes spending the summer with their DC. However, lots of parents are trying to work FT, deal with additional needs, multiple children, other caring responsibilities. Perhaps have some empathy for them.

I really hate that smug bollocks. Why have kids if you don't want to spend time with them 🙄

Maybe we do but we're skint so they're bored. Maybe we do but 8.5 weeks (which was my kids holiday this year) is an incredibly long time to spend with anyone without doing other things. Maybe we do but we also like our work. Maybe we do but they're older and so often our doing their own things, leaving me sitting at home 'available' but not really wanted for company.

Um nope 😁

Show me your privilege without showing me your privilege.

It makes me quite sad. Why have children if you don't want to spend time with them??

This is a really nasty thing to say btw.

You realise many parents have no choice? Smug, condescending and cruel to say this.

I absolutely live for the holidays with the kids (I have three - to all those saying it’s only because OP has one) so no you’re not alone OP. I get so fed up with people saying in the last couple of weeks of the holidays ‘oh you must be counting down to them going back to school’ - I just reply ‘no, I love spending time with them.’
It’s nothing to do with anxiety about them going back and everything to do with loving the weeks of time together. But I do very much appreciate that we have the weeks of time together because I work term time.

Exactly.

You don’t have the power to foresee quite what it will be like when you have kids. It’s possible to enjoy spending time with them at least some of the time and also be totally drained and exhausted from it. Just in the last week I’ve been kicked so hard it’s left bruises and had to break up fights after my autistic child had meltdowns caused by their sibling deliberately winding them up.

As for me, 2 children age 5 and 17 months.

Terraced house, no garden.
I can’t drive (learning).
It’s endlessly rained, and I mean endlessly. At one point I counted 12 days of rain in a row. We live fairly rurally and there’s almost nothing to do indoors bar expensive soft plays where you get a 2 hour slot then there’s another 8 hours of the day to fill.
My youngest has had whooping cough, HFM, an ear infection and several other viruses since June. When he’s been poorly I’ve had to sit at home with him for a few days at a time while my oldest goes crazy with boredom, because you can’t have a fun time at the farm with a very poorly toddler.
We both work FT so we tag teamed with leave and had no overlaps for time off together. No ‘family time’ and no holiday.
No nearby family to visit and no help. Nobody to watch the kids for an hour or two while I get something done. They’re both in tow 24/7, my youngest a very clumsy toddler who has just learned to run and has no sense of danger, and my oldest won’t even let me leave the room to go for a piss without her.

Now do you understand a little about why the last 6 weeks haven’t been rosy in our house and looking forward to the routine of school (in part as an ‘outing’ for my kid) doesn’t mean I ‘hate spending time with them’?

For me it's both.

I love having them round
I love the slower start in the mornings
I love that we can go on impromptu adventures or camp in the garden
I love that we can be more flexible about bedtime
I love the feeling of being together as a family.

But

It's also hard
The house is messier as kids are always in it
I'm working much more in the evenings to squeeze in work, so no nice summer evenings for me
There's less adult only time
It's really expensive
The kids occasionally bicker
The mum guilt is magnified. I feel guilty for not fitting in my work but guilty if I use childcare to work. I feel guilty when I'm not paying them attention to try to reduce the bombsite they cause in the house, but guilty if they live in a messy home.

Yeah, no. I for one cannot wait for ds to get back to school, back into a routine, and for me to have a couple of hours a day to myself.

@Blueybanditbingochilli she said “why have children if you don’t want to spend time with them” - incredibly offensive and more than a little smug.

We were fortunate to have grandparents as childcare but on my days off work I really felt reminded that it is hard parenting a very social, high-energy little boy for 14 hours a day. While also trying to keep on top of the laundry, dishwasher and food shopping. I am a quiet, calm introvert and really hoped that in becoming a parent DS wouldn't people me out, given I made him. But he just does. I'm a better parent from 6am to 9am and 3pm to 8pm when I get a little mental space. Even if that's at work.

I don’t find that offensive. A swastika is offensive. What she said was smug, and yes it annoyed me, but let’s keep some perspective shall we.

I love summer holidays but can afford not to work them. With easygoing DC, that makes it enjoyable. It'd be a tad different if I had to juggle both work and holidays and full of energy DC.

The

School time is the opposite: I have to juggle work and drop offs/pick ups/ homework/ extracurriculars/etc. I am absolutely not looking forward to this.

I clicked on your post hoping to read a thought provoking post, an invitation for parents to discuss different views on the summer holidays and how we manage them. Unfortunately you negated all that by saying why do people have children if they don't want to spend time with them . How disappointing.