How the f*ck are you meant to fit it all in?

[emkana]

So I read in the paper that children should exercise 30 to 60 minutes a day.

I read in Dr. Tanya Byron's book that you should play with your child for at least 30 mins a day.

Then they need to do homework.
Then they should really do some reading for pleasure.
Ideally you want to keep on reading to them until into their early teens.
There should also be a family meal around the table.
But they should definitely go to bed at a reasonable time because sleep is very important.
And they need some chill-out time of course.

And ALL THIS IN THE TIME BETWEEN COMING HOME FROM SCHOOL AND BEDTIME? HOW THE F*CK is that supposed to work??????

Sorry to shout, but it p*es me off really...

And in teh paper it says that kids of today are more stressed then ever becuase we xpect so much of them, we expect them to read, to do homework, to exercise, to go to clubs, to swim etc etc

They are kids FFS.

It pisses me off too.

you combine

you have playtime in the park running around while shouting maths questions at them

you all ignore one another at the table and read a book

you play tapes of you reading to them while they are asleep

you just aren't thinking outside the box

I think the homework could be the first bit to go IMO

Just a few thoughts really:

Walking to and back from school is exercise.
Same is walking the dog.

DS reads for pleasure before lights out. It also is his chill out time.

He would be mightily p*d off if I read to him but then he is a competent reader.

I agree, but dont forget they may well b getting there quota of exercise running around the playground and also pe at school

school playtime= 30 mins exercise

(er, didn't mean in practical terms! just in, y'know, ideal terms)

seriously though I do agree that reading for pleasure is chilling out

crooss posted

SpeccieSeccie - I REALLY need to know why you chose that username

you don't need to

it gets easier as they get older

mine read to themselves now and are at a school where homework (other than reading) comes on the weekend when there's at least one of me or dh around

and we've never managed family meals!

as for how are we meant to fit it all in, well i suppose it's a bit like diet - so long as over a period of 2 or 3 weeks some of each thing gets done, even if the reading or whatever is all packed into in one day then on balance it's ok

I don't know IMHO, I find they don't have much time left to do all the ironing, cleaning and washing. I am going to have to get them up at 4am at the weekends in future.

Family car to be cleaned and the grass needs cutting too.

Don' t beat yourself up, no-one is watching you to see how often you play with your children, or how much reading they do. You just do the best you can, like we all do. Be nice to yourself, if no-one got killed during the day, everything else is a bonus!

There was an interesting article in The Times mag recently about the tyranny of modern life, 'Is my diet healthy enough?', 'Is my child well behaved enough?' 'Are my designs Grand enough?' etc etc. We are all too hard on ourselves (me included)

TheWorstMum - I've wondered that too.

You can't fit it all in every day, that's my conclusion. And if you do manage to do all that the OP listed, you'll still end up neglecting your looks (ie. 'letting yourself go' - another major crime committed by women!), neglecting your sex life (you should be doing it at least 3 times a week, you know!) neglecting your husband (which means he'll probably leave you, and you'll deserve it), neglecting your friends (you boring wench, you should be attepting fun adult social stuff at least once a fortnight, really...), neglecting your school/community duties (you mean you aren't on the PTA?), neglecting your career (you won't get promoted and be a great role model to other women/ be able to pay off your mortgage by the time you're 60 unless you start doing a bit more over time, love!), neglecting your garden (your poor children, having to play in that overgrown wilderness...what sort of mother are you?), neglecting your dog (that's two^ walks a day, not a quick piss in the back yard!)...and the list goes on and on...

Truly, set your priorities and be happy if you can achieve half of what you set out to. Oh, and do what makes you and your kids smile, not what other people think you should be doing.

love your post love angel.

Agree with your grievance, emkana. Especially when you're grappling with some behaviour problem and the solution some authority or group tells you that you simply must follow requires 2 hours/day you don't have.