Do you feel that you do "enough" with your dc?

[shimmerysilverghosty]

What is enough?

Am a lone parent. I take my dc swimming nearly every day, if not swimming to the park and we read, do some drawing or writing and probably half an hour of throwing around play kind of thing and thats about it.

The rest of the time we just do our own thing, I read, MN, Housework and so on, ds goes on computer, designs and builds endless complicated road layouts for his cars and dd watches tv, reads, paints and so on.

Sometimes though I realise it has been a couple of hours since we properly interacted and just feel like I should be doing more iykwim? I don't actually think I am a very good, stimulating parent [sad}.

Do you all do more than this with your dc? Just need some ideas to get motivated really.

Thanks Jajas, actually tbh we don't have a garden and if we didn't get out the door doing some kind of physical activity on a daily basis my kids would kill each other so the swimming and couple of hours in the park is a bit selfish really , gives me peace!

I used to feel guilty about ignoring the kids but they're happy and using their imaginations. I have a friend who does everything with her child to the point that the child cannot entertain itself while she goes to the loo, chats on the phone etc. That's definitely worse IMO.

I now work on the theory that the less I do with the kids, the more they appreciate it when I do get off MN finish the housework and do an activity

I try to ensure my children are doing plenty of things, but that does not mean they are necessarily doing those things with me and DP - we are just as much enablers of their ability to do things on their own or with their friends as anything else.

Do you know what else? I really, really hate doing ds's homework with him, I put it off and put it off endlessly and I know that is a really rubbish example. He hates it too though - he is ASD and I try so hard to be positive and get him motivated but its nigh on impossible to be honest. Does anyone like doing homework with their kids?

The same as Bonsoir.

Then I feel guilty because I'm not actually in the swimming pool, or baking cakes with them.

I don't think it's necessary to constantly interact with your DC. Mine spent an awfully long time this morning with a couple of friends studying leaves though a magnifying glass. At least I think that's what they were doing. They were all crouched down on the pavement for at least an hour.

We don't do half as much as you, and we do have a garden! We both work full-time and the weekends are taken up with housework.

I think about this lots to - particularly on a Sunday. DH is overseas, I quite like laziness and I seem to have friends who are super mums.

I think it depends on the spin you put on things. We have been swimming today and the children have been painting this afternoon but I haven't done much and there does seem to have been a lot of TV and DS on in between activities and lunch.

No no and no. We have spent all day at homework, aged 13 and 11. We are thrown because we had a family day out yesterday, but it is easier when you have a set time, we normally start at 9.30 on a Saturday morning!

Yes during the week we do usually have a set time for homework, evening routine usually goes, play after school to wind down for a bit, dinner, homework for an hour, swimming (shower and into pj's at pool, thus avoiding hell hour at bath and bed time!).

Just weekends I feel a bit crap really.

They don't do enough with me Fortunately dh is more fun.

Yes,I do loads with DS (3.5);probably too much really as I think he hasgot used to it. But having said that, I do enjoy it.