To feel stressed about the impending summer hols!

[musicalfrog]

The last few weeks have absolutely flown past and suddenly it's only 1 week till the kids are home for 6 long weeks.

I've done nothing but rush around getting things in order and yet I still feel stressed!

I wont miss the school run but I will miss my quiet cuppa afterwards.

They are 13 and 10.

I think i need to go and do a TOM clean to focus my brain as I'm all over the place this morning 😵

Anyone else?

Please send me calming thoughts!

Are you a SAHM? What exactly is stressing you out? At those ages, my experience is they are not particularly troublesome. The 13 year old especially should be pretty independent by now.

Yes I am the same. I have a big age gap between my kids and struggle so much during summer holidays. I’m juggling work too and already know I’ll be full of guilt and stress over not doing enough. We have a week abroad to look forward to and I will have a few days out but as I say, it’s very hard finding things that suit both ages.
Hopefully your kids will be a bit more malleable and the 13 year old may want to do their own thing a bit too.
It is stressful though, and expensive.

Have a plan:
Spend time making a list of jobs they can do for pocket money and rewards. I decided an hourly rate and then set prices accordingly. They had a daily requirement to set the table and wash up.
Wash the car
Hoover inside of the car
Defrost the freezer (for some reason my kids loved doing this)
Water plants
Clean out their bedroom
Do washing up
Clean windows
Dust a room and hoover
Rewards:
Walk to bakery/local shop on their own and buy lunch
Make a cake
Have up to £5 each to spend at supermarket on a treat cake/dessert for the family.
They really enjoyed themselves and liked earning money.
Next make a regular time for reading each day, kids are often adverse to reading at that age, but it's a great skill, so phones and electronic free time each evening and play board games or read. It will make a relaxing evening. We would watch a film together every Friday evening.
At 10 and 13 they can make their own lunch too.
Make them responsible for some jobs around the home as well as building in quiet times will give you a break too.

Hello from Ireland where we are half way through our 12 week secondary break. Although now they are older it's a million times easier, especially with the good weather. Wfh is wonderful, you can be locked away in the office, working away, they dont need 'minding' but youre on hand for massive emergencies. I love summer!

I think it's the build up. Wondering how best to use this time I have left.

And the fact that my kids fight like cat and dog!

And I worry about them spending too much time online (or moaning when I stop them).

I'll probably be fine next week though, I'm just in a weird place right now.

Lovely advice @ApplesAreAmazing thank you for that!