Are school holidays really hard work or is it just me?!!!

[schoolhol]

I feel so frazzled this week and it's only half way through the holidays.
Im finding it super hard work and really difficult trying to keep everyone fed, happy and entertained.

I have a 5 month baby and a 5 year old, 5 month old is awake several times a night so i'm very tired generally and my threshold and patience are quite low. Also have an energetic dog who needs walking at least once a day or else he gets really whiney and fidgety.

This is the first school holiday I've done solo as my husband was either off work or WFH for the previous ones. This week he is out of the house from 7am-6pm every day.
I had got into a pretty good routine with managing baby naps, dog walking, food shopping, making dinner, laundry etc etc around the school runs, but it all feels very chaotic this week.
I'm trying to find a balance between letting 5 year old relax with screens in her pjs (what she would like to do), but also do a couple of fun days out/get fresh air & activities....but even getting out for a dog walk seems a palaver !! The constant asking for drinks and snacks whilst i'm trying to clean up mess or feed the baby is driving me crazy and then i feel guilty for losing my temper.
Although I did a rough meal plan we've ran out of food so need to do another food shop, with 2 kids in tow. I don't mind getting my 5 year old the odd mc donalds meal, but can't afford any proper meals out as on maternity pay.
I also am fairly new to the area so don't have that many friends to meet up with, have arranged a couple of meet up with school friends but feel stress/anxious trying to think of things to do every day.
How do people manage with multiple kids? plus 6 weeks of it in the summer ??!!
What are your survival tips for making it easier and less stressful?
We couldn't afford to go away this time, but planning a few days away in May holiday and will have a week with family in August, other then that will be at home.
Please let me know how you do it, does it get easier?!

We find them hard work, and that's with one stay at home parent now! In previous years when we were both working DD went to hol club 3 days a week and I used to make a chart of the remaining days and weekends to help break it up. It still felt like a long time!

So we'd have one 'big' day out per holiday (trip to museum, animal park type thing), then go to the library once a fortnight (summer reading challenge can be done before they can read ), then time at the local park (quite often), trip to another park (also quite often) where we'd often bump into someone from preschool/school. We also had NT membership so, with a picnic, that was good for a low cost day out (probably once a fortnight in the big school hols). At Christmas and Easter we go to the local church's family activities which are free.

We then slot in stuff at home alongside, so once a week we bake or DD helps cook tea. In the big hols (and during lockdown when she was 4) we did themed weeks with toys - so train week, jigsaw week, animals week. That helps give the illusion of structure and rotates the toys.

Mine seems to need to go somewhere every day, even if it's just the local park. She seems to need the exercise/change of scene so on a slower day we tend to go to park for a couple of hours in the morning, home for lunch, then she has 'quiet time' in her room in the afternoon where she plays or draws.

Must admit, even with a stay at home parent, we are still using hol club a bit. It's cheaper than a family day out and, as an only child, means she gets to spend the day playing with other kids.

Could you organise a few play dates? This way your eldest with play with their friend and you can focus on your baby. Hopefully some parents will return the favour too:)

Thanks for comments.

The snack boxes sound like a good plan, I bought lots of easy snack food & fruit in, it's just in the cupboards, but having it ready accessible in a lunch box is a good plan.

I did do baking & picnics during lockdown when my older one was 3-4 and that was good, just trickier now with baby, especially as her rough nap routine was based on the school run.

Have 2 meet ups with school kids next week so that's 2 days out of 4 sorted.

I guess this holiday is prob the most difficult as husband will be around a bit in the school holidays and weather should be better for more garden activities- and maybe i'll even be getting more sleep than then (here's hoping !!!)

Set the bar low.

I have four DC ranging from 14 to 4yo. Keep things as easy as possible. Odd day out here and there. Beans on toast is fine for occasional dinner. Greggs sausage rolls 😱 and so on. Let them watch TV. Have relatives visit (and help take the pressure off).

I have an almost 5 year old and an almost 4 month old and I’m definitely finding it hard! I was really looking forward to time with DD1, but by Monday afternoon I was already desperate for a cup of tea and some silence.

The one thing I have found helps is sticking to our usual school morning routine. So up and dressed while DH is still here to help, then out the house at 8:30 as if we are walking to school but instead just have a wander or go to the park. It’s meant DD2 still has her usual nap, we have a deadline to aim
for with getting ready (otherwise there’s a good chance we’d waste half the morning battling to get DD1 to clean her teeth), and then even if the rest of the day goes to pot we’ve at least had some fresh air and exercise. I had a rough plan for days out and some activities which helped as well.

I can’t wait for my house to be semi tidy for more than 10 minutes again.

Fill your dds water bottle and set up snacks in Tupperware boxes in the morning.
That way, they can help themselves or you can grab it if you decide to go out.
Use this time to get to know your local area a bit. Find some parks, museums or galleries you can get to. See if they’re running any kids activities in the museums or libraries and book your Dd in.
Do you have a garden? Spend time out there with your Dd. Play with a ball or bubbles or make a little fairy or dinosaur garden. It’s a good time to plant some stuff too.
I always found prepping dinner in the morning worked well as well. So things like chopping onions, veg and prepping any thing else. Leave it all in the fridge and then it was easy to sort it out later if you’d been out or the baby was being fussy.
We watched films every day in the holidays. I would sit down with the baby and watch too.

I hated them. Luckily I was able to put my kid in camp when school was out. Which she preferred than being at home bored.

They absolutely use to be when mine were all little. Now they are 17, 12 and 9 and I have enjoyed them for the last few years but they defo were at your children's ages.

It can feel pretty rough at times but you'll get better with it.

We have 6, I hate having to take the brood shopping in the holidays. It's not bad as such but takes me longer to get round with the constant, "come on" "don't touch that" " no you can't have chollcolate sandwiches". Older ones mostly amuse themselves at home and baby is very content but it can be a mission getting them prepped to go out anywhere to do something fun on my own, dh is deployed atm but I've been doing this over 16 years so used to it.

We're at the end of week 4 of a 4.5 week
Easter holiday and I am ready to move out. Definitely not just you!

But to be more constructive (!) I agree - screens and snacks in PJs is fine. Interspersed with parks / playgrounds / soft play maybe? Sometimes there's stuff going on in local libraries. Mine also do holiday camps as we both work full time but they can be pretty pricey. You can usually do the odd day / morning / afternoon though.

School holidays are the pits. If I’d known, I probably wouldn’t have had kids. This is one of the hidden reasons why women age and there’s a reason why the happiest group of people in the world are single and childless women

Young Dc here and an older one. Definitely easier when they are older. Young dc x2 (primary school age) moves from one activity to the next unless it happens to be baking (and all the mess that follows) or alternatively a default of screens. Going out anywhere (unless it is to the local park) seems to involve a lot of planning. I do agree that planning the day a bit eases things. Husband has taken some time off and that has helped things no end as although I still feel like chief entertainment officer, it has enabled me to have a bit of a break or take older dc out which I have found a lot easier.

I miss the 'me time' I get during school hours (not all week as work part-time) and although I am not wishing time away and enjoying bits of the hols, I am looking forward to when they go back to school.

A week or two isn't too bad and largely do-able but the 6 week break is way too long for both me and dc. and I usually feel overwhelmed by the thought of all those weeks to fill especially when we don't have a holiday planned (like this year). Having said this, I don't much relish a holiday away either as it just seems like more hard work with dc of this age.

And I agree with keeping things low key. I have learnt this over time.

I work part time so my dd goes school club one day a week but I also put him in an extra half day to give me a break in hols. Sometimes schools do sports camp too. We have a dog walker who comes twice a week in hols to make that easier. On other days we tend to do chill mornings then go out in afternoons - park, childrens centre, country parks, library, soft play, museum, cafe. Also visit relatives/see friends. A mix of free and small charge activities. There's often themed stuff on like Easter trails. Dd gets extra screen/tv time in hols and we do baking, reading, garden, crafts , messy play, extended bath time or if warm padding pool. Duvet time with a film and popcorn. Dh will book a day off too if he can.

Our dog is a boisterous lab who needs 90-120 mins a day!! In hols dh walks him before work and either dog walker comes in afternoon or one of us walks him when dh finishes work. I tend to prep meals night before so cooking is not and issue an I lower my cleaning expectations!

Can you afford a babysitter to come for a couple of hours on some days? x

I think routine and a vague plan is key.

If the baby is in a nap routine around the school run, I'd keep to that as much as possible. Getting out when baby is awake and then letting the 5 year old have screen time when the baby naps (so you get some down time/time to do other stuff).

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Have snacks at set times and drinks easily accessible so you don't have to deal with being asked all the time.