To be dreading the summer holidays

[EmptyBoxesss]

I have a son I adore, more than anything, but I never know what to do with him. I really struggle with entertaining him! He’s 6. I take him swimming and to the park and on his bike and we do the library and crafting, but there are 12 hours in a day for 7 weeks! It’s so long I run out of ideas and I find it so hard. We will visit my family for a week but that’s 6 other weeks of the two of us and it’s so overwhelming. I’ll try and book in a couple of okay dates but I haven’t got links with many of the other mums to be honest, I’m trying to change this.

Is it just me? How do people keep their kids busy every day?

I’m always surprised at how many parents try to fill every day in the holidays with something to do. We used to have a few days a week at home at least- paddling pool in the garden, playing with toys, drawing.

I think it does children good to learn to entertain themselves a bit in the holidays.

Have a routine like a school timetable with break times

I preferred to go with the flow most days. Get up when you like, take your time over breakfast and getting ready.

Get out every day for fresh air and exercise but when you're home let DC choose what he wants to do and don't micromanage him - it's supposed to be a break from the routine of school. And let him get bored so he will use his imagination. And put the telly on!

Theming weeks helps. So you can do Romans one week and go and do Roman stuff (museums, drawing a Roman, making armour out of cardboard boxes etc).

Holiday clubs are good though, you don't have to put in for full weeks, you can do a day here and there and it's probably cheaper than going on a day out or even a trip to the shops where you get fleeced for a kids toy, book, ice cream and lunch.

It’s not that I want every second filled, but even at home I struggle a bit. We have Lego and magnetic tiles and playdough etc but he gets bored really quickly and I find it really daunting. I don’t know why, I love him more than anything but I find playing with him etc a real struggle. Yet I do enjoy his company. It’s hard to explain.

@EmptyBoxesss one day get out the other day is chilled together with no pressure or they occupy themselves . Whether out to play with friends or the park or their bike.
Can you do stuff in the garden or bake .
Garden centre for hot chocolate and flowers. .
A beach near by ?
Wellies on and a forest walk
We have a local council Card here for swimming and stuff for kids through the holidays. .
Do you have anything like that ?
National trust , museums

Do one big trip/treat out a week (doesn’t have to be expensive)

Look on local Facebook pages for play association days, local things. Garden centres usually put sessions of things on

Are you on a class WhatsApp group or do you know the numbers of any of his school friends parents? I’d get texting and set up some play dates… reciprocal obviously. A trip to the park with a picnic is fun if it’s with your buddy. Look at local authority sites for free or cheap events at libraries, leisure centres etc. Our local leisure centre actually ran really reasonably priced holiday camps with loads of activities if you could afford one or two days.

There are a lot of things that I don’t think happen locally - play association and council cards, we don’t have such things here in Cornwall!

No class WhatsApp but I do have a few phone numbers so I will try and book in a few play dates for sure.

A friend of mine used to ask her children what they wanted to do in the summer (I think they had some guidance on ideas!)

They'd make a huge bingo board of all the ideas and cross them off as they did it. Could be something as small as 'make scones' all the way up to 'whole day at the beach'.

The idea was to involve the children, get them excited but mainly to come up with a load of free activities the children wanted to do!

Children don’t need entertaining every minute of the day. They should be able to amuse themselves. Do kids not play out anymore.

Our local council put on loads of free or very cheap sessions nearly every day. Granted they are spread across the whole city and vary from a session at a library to arts / crafts to a fun fair.

Have you checked what’s on in the local area..I never knew about all our sessions till a friend mentioned them. It could be worth ringing your local children’s centre to ask

See what council run/free stuff might be on. Also just reach out to some of the mums to see who might be up fkr a meet up out somewhere. And ask who he might want to have over to play. Don’t be shy about it. 2 children can sometimes be less work than one if they play well together

Jigsaws
Board games
Gymnastics (hurdling piled cushions in the lounge/on the lawn)
Cricket with a plastic set
Water fights
Nature rambles
Building Brio train tracks
Cooking for budding newbies
Using paint brushes and water to produce art works on the patio
Crafting with A…n boxes
Zooming off to the shops on his scooter as you cycle alongside
A bus ride (which can be unusual for his age)
Blackberry picking

If you are in receipt of benefits and/or your DS qualifies for free school meals, Google and check if your local authority runs a HAF (Holiday Activity and Food) programme as this provides a free programme of multiple activities plus lunch every day for eligible children. My friend runs the programme in a nearby area and she says there are always dozens of unfilled places every Summer as parents do not know about it. There is often some flexibility even if you don’t fully qualify.

Completely understand the struggle to keep a 6 yo occupied. DS is 10 now and thankfully we’ve always been able to send him to football camp and usually book a holiday for a week or two. It’s still a struggle to fill the time.

I know you say your work is flexible so you can work after your child has gone to bed. But I would suggest scheduling in maybe a day or 2 a week where you do actually work in the day and he has to entertain himself to a degree, if possible.

Keeping himself occupied is a useful skill to learn and you need some down time too so you’ll get a couple of evenings back.

It’s because children are supposed to be playing with other children. It’s quite normal for an adult to find it tiring (and boring!) to play constantly with a child, even their own! They need their peers

Join local Fb pages for ideas on what to do & where to go. The local libraries often have free play sessions with arts & crafts etc

If I was you I would use the holidays as a chance for your child to learn how to entertain themselves at home. Films, colouring, crafts, Lego, dolls, cars, trains etc essentially all the toys I bet they have they need to play with. Paddling pool in the garden, water pistols, football etc.
I have 1 week off with my child in the summer hols and I will plan 1 maybe 2 activities, rest of the time we will be at home, with trip to the park or trip out on bike or scooter to the shops

We visit at least 3 different libraries a week. Summer Reading Challenge including audio books. Museum once a week. Picnic dinners at the park. Always invite other children as the more there are, the less they want an adult. Movie night with popcorn. We have a dog so walking can take up a far proportion of the day if we choose.

Just let him play at home with his toys / in the garden every afternoon... No need to organise and entertain.

Start planning now.

Last year I printed out a summer calendar on big A3 sheets and drew some stickers for things we did a lot like bus to different town, library, park, swim etc. Stuck one thing on every day and mixed that up with free local activities or planned days out a couple times a week. Got them to help
so they’re invested in it. At least I never woke up in the morning dreading what to do.

Fill up the craft cupboard with easy stuff you can grab and isn’t too messy for those hours before/after going out. And a bit of set telly time daily to give you a breather.

Church holiday club was always really cheap but dc loved it. Even sports activity weeks are pretty cheap compared to nursery/childcare costs. Get out the house every day and google activities.

i also found that bringing out a box of toys didn’t work but setting up the trains the night before, they’d walking in and get stuck in playing for a good amount of time.

Which part of Cornwall are you (without being too outing)? Was just thinking that if you guys are into beaches, some are busier than others.
Was also going to mention the National Trust - I pay just over £8 a month for an adult & up to 2 under 17s ( I think!) Might be under 18s! If your DS isn’t into the houses etc, there are some lovely gardens & play areas.
Boat trip?
Have a carboot or tabletop sale & let your DS have the money if he sells stuff he doesn’t want (within reason obviously!)
Themed picnics - is your DS into anything in particular?
Disposable BBQs are cheap
Denbuilding
Camp in the back garden
Big cleaning session of all his toys, including his bike. Fun & practical!

I’ve explained that I don’t want to fill every second and I live on a busy road, so no. I’m asking for ideas, not criticism. I’ve admitted I’m not a perfect parent hence why I wanted some support.