Oh my - remembering the days of just one child

[LongStory]

I can't quite work out whether this leaves me nostalgic for the days when I only had one child or jealous/annoyed. Or maybe it reminds me how much fun it is when there are lots more people and there's always something happening. Of course the article is supposed to be about saving money, but both the 'austerity' and the 'normality' of how mother and 3yo spend time together seem like another planet to me.

When my DS1 was this age, we really didn't have much money and could not have afforded any of the kind of classes mentioned in the article, even if I didn't think that they were a waste of money (largely). On the other hand, the primary and all-consuming target of each day wasn't keeping my son entertained. I certainly never considered taking a packed lunch out with us was a poor alternative to eating in a cafe- we liked picnics and besides, have experienced paying for a meal only for him to eat about a quarter of it.

Lots of children living around, always in an out of our garden, so maybe that's why it was easier.

I do have v good memories of all the things I did with ds1 when he was a tot. I was usually skint as I was a single parent for his early years so we went to all the free museums and stuff. We lived in the city so we did go for babycinos regularly but they were 50p then! He got my undivided attention but always longed for a brother however. Anyway I got back with his dad and we went on to have 2 further ds. Any fears I had about not giving enough quality time to each individual have gone most of the time. From 11am ds2 asks if we are going to get his brother at school yet. Then when baby naps he asks me to waken him up! So much for my company! The little ones love to see other kids coming to play after school and give each other a lot of attention. Throughout the day I do make an effort to give each one some special attention but i think they seek less attention with siblings.