to wish that someone would actually take DS#2 off our hands for a change

[OrmIrian]

instead of telling me how cute he is and what a character he is and how they'd love one just like him . I offer. All the time. But no-one ever takes me up on it. Just last saturday I offered him to a friend but she declined - that was inspite of saying that she adored him and wasn't he funny. And the next day we went to see some friends with 2 teenage boys who love playing with DS~2 and say they want a little brother like him. But they said no thanks.

DS#1 and DD go out and stay over at friends' houses all the time. DD is off now for 2 days. But never DS#2.

What can I do to make him more appealing? Offer 2 days for the price of one? BOGOF. Give away free bottles of wine?

BTW anyone here fancy a cute, adorable, intelligent, lively 6yr old for a day or so, could manage a week if need be? Ideal Christmas present for someone. Go on, you know you want to

He can come to me Then he can play with my lively, characterful 3 year old that no one wants to have to stay either

OK then cmot. I'll send a bottle too. You'll need it if you are going to have 2 of them!

Am enjoying imagining the Daily Mail headline "Mumset mother sells child online"

Do you a swap during the week next week. For my "I want to read a book" "I want to go out" "I'm not tired!" "Iwant, I want I want..." 2 1/2 year old....

Swap!! Good lord no But you can have DS#2 gratis!

If he can build lego and brio train track, then my sanity will be saved anyway Even better if he will pretend to be various animals so that I don't have to be a mummy tapir anymore

Tapir? Exotic.

Sorry no can do. I am trying to get rid of 3 under 7's. My sister promised me that she would have them for a week, but i cant't get through to her. How very convenient.
I do sympathise with you. Have you considered advertising him in the local paper?

Pretend to be different animals!!! OMG DS lives as a series of different animals. Most common atm is meerkat. I think it might have been his attempt to eat couscous straight from the bowl like a meerkat that scuppered his invitation on Sunday .

What about nice quiet animals? The sloth and the basking shark have a lot to recommend them...

Indeed they would. But I think DS would invent some sort of noise they make that biologists have yes to discover.

Sharks are not good. They bite your ankles as you walk past, or you have to pretend to be Nemo running away from them.

Sloths are OK, but cause problems as your child tries to hang upside down from things.

Starfish seem to require less parental intervention.

gladly but you would have to return the favour of having my 6 year old, and i'll throw in dd2 as a treat

I would. My DS (3) absolutely adores playing with older boys, and I am worried about what is going to happen in a few weeks when I go on maternity leave, he leaves his childminder and starts at pre-school, where he will be expected to play with children his own age. So send him on over!!

Great! So cmot's for a week and then Jeml's for a week. That's the rest of the hols covered

Even mum is reluctant these days. She regards DS#2 as somewhere between an unexploded bomb and a annoyingly yappy small dog. She isn't far wrong I suspect