What do you do at the weekends together as a family? (Esp with kids aged 7+)

[roisin]

My boys seem to have suddenly grown up and become more independent, and need us so much less.
It has just struck me that this weekend we have done virtually nothing all together
We did all sit down and play a game together yesterday evening, and we always eat 3 meals a day together at the weekends, but apart from that it's all been individual, or at best paired activities. Most of the weekend we are in 4 separate rooms of the house!

I think we do more together in the summer, as we go out on trips and for walks together ..

Ours are 6. Went roller blading with them (but not partner) yeaterday- we were all crap! All of us went swimming today then went out for lunch. Did the weekly shop as well. Meals together usually too. We tend to all be in the living room and kitchen even when we're doing separate activities. eg right now we are all in the living room- I am on mumsnet, partner is snoozing, 1 boy is on game cube, other boy is reading.

We have gone for a game off footy up the common and over to the rocks for some climbing with some friends and a dog.
Have watched movie together with junk food on my bed all together, dragged them shopping and played playstation together for most of this morning.
At other times they have been in thier room playing/trashing the place/on the front room floor gluing/sticking and dp got the pottery wheel out that they have had since november and made pots with them.
Also do bike riding, berry picking, sledging the other weekend, walking picking up leaves to stick to paper later etc. But loads of playstationing inbetween Girls age 5 and 8.

Trips to parks, swimming, occasional bowling outing, cinema, board games, have friends round.

Roisin, I was thinking the same about my dds (same age as your dss). They don't actually want to do much with us, they like playing together, imaginary games and on the computer etc!

We take them to Glencoe to the Young Naturalists Club once a month (but we aren't in the club ourselves, we sit and drink tea in the cafe!!) - other than that, we go on walks etc, play cards, watch a film together, talk over a meal ... in some ways it is hard to let go of the fact that they need to spend a lot more time independently than they used to.

Go for walks which conveniently end at pubs. Shopping (which I loathe).
Take eldest to swimming lesson Sat am and often go out for lunch afterwards.
Play games.

This weekend virtually nothing! They are 7 & 12 and have their own activities - yesterday they both had football training at different places so watched ds2 as he's too young to be left. Then in the afternoon ds1 had badmington so went shopping with ds2. Today ds1 had a football match and ds2 went to his friends for tea.

Thanks for all the responses - it's fascinating. I like the image of your living room ScummyMummy: maybe I will try and work on that model. Quite often we will all be reading, or doing Sudoku, or playing with K'nex or Lego, or playing on gameboy, but we are all doing it in separate rooms, and there's really no need is there? Boppit is popular too, but that would disturb the readers and Sudoku-ers ..

Mine 7 5 and 2. We have had a completely family day at home, noone else here (except MIL dropped in for an hour for tea).
They played football in the garden, cleaned out the pony and rabbit, groomed the pony (well chipped the inch thick mud off him), went to sunday school, played Buckaroo with their dad, played snap with me (5 yr old), had a huge roast chicken lunch, played a little bit on the computer (10 mins), did some elaborate game which went on for a good hour and a half involving a cabbage patch doll, some loo roll and a lot of sellotape (apparently he had a bad scuba diving accident and needed to be patched up lol), played with a big dinosaur book, ran around the garden some more, tormented granny for an hour or so, tea bath and bed.

No telly, good mixture of parent-involved and child only activities - a really good day!

We went swimming with this this morning. Had lunch at home, spent some time tidying up (all of us!), ds watched a video while dd did her homework. Ds then did his homework with me (he is 5 and she is 9). They played round the house while I prepared dinner. We had dinner at 5 and then all watched 'Johnny and the Bomb', snuggled up under a blanket in the living room. They got readu for bed, I got my tuff ready for work, dh played on his computer (!). Then stories and bed time.

Johnny and the Bomb was good wasn't it?!