To find school holidays such a slog especially when the last half term at school was only 5 weeks long!?

[Elfie23]

I do tend to struggle with half terms now DD is at secondary school and doesn’t attend the kids clubs any more (I always take a few days off too). I’ve taken a couple of days off this time to try and break it up a bit. She’s 11 and not yet great at organising stuff with friends even though I’ve really encouraged and reminded her leading up to the holidays.
So I find myself with a full time job trying to also organise for her so she’s not bored out her mind or getting FOMO about what others are doing.
Urgh, does it get any easier at any point!

I appreciate the work load but the pay makes up for it.

“Get them out of their way so you can work”. Bit harsh! OP has a full time job and needs to work. She already said she’s taken a couple of days off this holidays.

A full-time employee has 4-5 weeks annual leave per year and kids have 13 weeks school holidays.

It can be really hard OP. I hear you!

You have to let kids be bored/entertain themselves. That’s how they evolve. I can’t remember any of our parents constantly planning excessive days out for us or scheduling activities or running themselves ragged trying to entertain us in the 90s and this was before social media internet and mobile phones. Most of us didn’t even have a video games console. At 11 years old your child should easily be able to entertain themselves for the duration of the holidays with no burden on yourself. The holidays shouldn’t be stressful at all bar a major disability.

I remember spending hours in primary and secondary school holidays reading books I found laying around the house each day, bouncing a tennis ball and looking at ants or leaves in the garden, playing board games, teaching myself how to play chess, various card games, memorising country flags and capitals from the atlas, making a fort in the bedroom, alphabetising all the books and CDs in the house, drawing, painting, writing in a journal etc.

Feeling that kids constantly need to be entertained and have continuous dopamine hits is the reason that so many kids these days have problems. It’s not cruel to let your kids be bored and use their own imagination. Quite the opposite.

I think periods of boredom are actually necessary motivators for a person to develop some interests. Let her get bored and learn to be better prepared next time rather than "rescuing" her from what could be a learning experience.

It’s ok for her to be bored.

Sorry you’ve had so many arseholes responding.

I think that age is actually quite hard. Younger and they’d be in clubs but they’re not quite at the older, independent teen age. My eldest is approaching that point and while she’s happy to potter for some days, she needs exercise and some structure or she goes a bit stir crazy. I think we’ll be doing some sports camps for the exercise for a good while yet .there are lots near me that’ll do a 1:2 day of tennis for example and a fair amount of drama weeks.

It’s hard at that age. Somethings my Dd does
baking by herself
some art projects from The Works
Read a couple of books
Watch some films/tv
Some chores
Then we go out. This week we’re going shopping for clothes, a day trip to a city, visiting relatives and a few walks. Might get the bikes out if we have good weather.

Children are allowed to be bored- in fact it’s good for them.

An 11 year old should be able to entertain herself to some extent.

If you have an only child then yes I think the holidays would be boring with nothing to do. Can your DD not have a friend over most days?

It's not half term it's end of term. Autumn term is sept to Christmas holidays. Spring term is Jan to Easter. Summer term is after Easter to July. It's end of term, new summer term starts after Easter . We have half term holidays between those dates making it a half term break.

Yes, I have a year 7 and it is a tricky inbetween phase! On the one hand, he is “bored”, on the other hand if I suggest eg going to a museum on the weekend, he sometimes grumbles. He says he wants to go to shops then loses interest quickly once there.
Some of the stuff he likes doing (but I am working from home, only 1-2 day in office in hols prearranged and swap with DH) - gardening, learning to cook, reading, playing his instruments. And of course GAMING. Which I restrict hours wise but can see some of the other parents don’t much. We also have an exercise machine and a garden so he is doing some stuff there. Has had some friends over. Have made a list of classic films for him to watch or watch again that are age appropriate, stuff like Back to the Future.
In theory, the school has set exams for shortly after the school holidays, I think to help the parents out! However, haven’t seen much revision happening yet, hopefully next week.
DS does travel on public transport to school and goes to the local shop to buy ingredients to make basic things in the holidays. Taught him basic pasta dishes, banana bread, veg soup type things. He does still have play dates which he arranges himself but only let him go if another parent present at this age (and vice versa).

She didn’t say this holiday was called half term. She said the last half term was 5 weeks long which is true.

School isnt a babysitting service. School breaks are planned and calendared years ahead so you know when they are.

But the period between the February half term holiday and Easter holiday is a ‘half term’. It’s half a term. She didn’t say the Easter holidays is called half term.

Wow, I am in Scotland and never heard of this. The spring break is two weeks long and always includes Easter weekend. I don't know anywhere that does what you've described.

Yes she did. You need to read the OP again

At high school, my mum organised family day out or holidays but not day to day activities. Me and my friends organised meet ups, sleepovers etc from before year 7. I did my hobbies too. My daughter is in nursery so I obviously organise everything and will do until secondary school.

And when children are in school it is respite time for some of us. Because we don't get a break any other time and don't have a wider family support network.

OP I hope you can manage a few activities together. If not your DD can use her time watching films or trying out crochet.

Fife. Doesn’t matter when Easter is we are always off first 2 weeks of April. And kids don’t get Easter Monday off unless it falls during the Easter holidays.

Sounds like you're doing a good job to me!

Saying that 'school isn't childcare' is like looking at an orange and denying that its round, and a fruit. It makes you look silly.

People know schools aren’t childcare, but it is a safe place that children attend between set times, on set days, which in today society allows parents to work.

The OP isn’t saying “why isn’t the School providing provisions for my child during Easter” she’s just saying, as the majority of working parents do, she is finding it a struggle, especially as it’s fallen so close to the last break.

Mine were absolutely shattered. We are also both working full time but the kids really did need a break.

Personally I loved the holidays but that’s why I chose to work in school when my kids were young.

She also said "I do tend to struggle with half terms" which implies she is also erroneously calling all holidays half-terms as well as the actual half-terms of teaching and the three half-term holidays.