be honest - after school, what do you actually do?

[Cappuccino]

dd1 moans a lot if I pick her up and say we're not doing anything

if I say 'oh we'll just play in the garden/house' or something

she is always on to go out to park or ice-cream or something

I have been ill for a while and don't feel up to doing masses; we do go to the park about once a week, and sometimes she goes to my mum's (which is tedious, I admit)

but I wonder if I am shortchanging her in the Fun stakes because I'm not up to much or if most people just go home and fanny around rather than constantly rush off to activities

she goes to Brownies one night

sometime we go round to friend's house on Friday though tbh it's a friend I want to see, not one with children she particularly likes, though she does play quite happily

am I a bad lazy parent or a normal one?

what do you do after school?

ROSA JESUS CHRIST

Monday: Fanny about

Tuesday: pick up dd and friend from school, friend stays to play until her mum finishes work then dinner.

Wednesday: dd has sports skills after school for an hour. Her friend comes home with us again and plays and stays for dinner.

Thursday: mil has ds1 all day Thursday and picks dd up from school and they go back to hers for tea and play usually very messy play and crap food.

Friday: Dp finishes early on a Friday so picks her up and we usually either slob around all afternoon or go shopping, park or visit mil.

Rosa - why so many activities?

Just remembered she often stays for tea at friend's house on a Monday as her friend's mum picks her up from school that day.

We rarely do much after school. Mondays and Tuesdays we do extra reading together then he plays in the garden whilst I do dinner, Wednesdays he has his after school club so by the time he is home, its dinner, bath and bed). On Thursdays (fortnightly) he goes to various friends houses for tea and on the intervening week, we have at least one of his friends here. Fridays, DH doesn't get home until late in the evening, so GS and I have an early dinner, then shut ourselves away and have our DVD night (GS generally picks the DVD although I have come to loath Peter Pan, Bambi and Return to Neverland ).

We have swimming on Monday, dance on Wednesday & Girls' Brigade on Friday. Most Tuesdays we visit a friend for tea/park, and we sometimes do a drop in art class on Thurdays. All are within easy walking distance & dh does swimming & ballet, so it isn't a big deal. I keep weekends completely free of activities so I don't mind being busy in the week.

It does sound a lot when you write it down, doesn't it. All the ones which are clubs though are free afterschool activities, and two of them I actually run myself.
DD2 is a bit of a joiner and I have actually put my foot down and said no more as she would love to do several other things - piano, synchronised swimming, stagecoach....
They all love dancing, they have to learn to swim (DD1 got her 400m badge recently so has given up) - they adore orchestra.
Sometimes I think they do too much, but they love everything they do and I think as they get older (they are 10, 8 and 5 now) it will narrow down a bit.

I think fannying about is an important part of childhood

it is when dd is at her most imaginitive

I agree CD my two are both fannying about today so far they've collected snails in a bucket, are having a 'party in dd's bedroom, making party hats whilst listening to the Scissor Sisters.

It is a mixture of the following:

Go to friends for tea
Have friend over for tea
Visit Library
Supermarket
Fanny around
Watch TV

Ds (age6) has an afterschool art club on Mondays

Other than that nowt

Occasional friend over to play (but have cut down on this as it was getting stupid)

DD (age 4) has ballet Saturday morning
DS has football

Rosa that list looks scary !

oh I wish dd was imaginative when fannying around

she is just whiny

cd can I send her to you to see if it is something to do with the air?

Ahh but Cap did you start off from scratch fannying about or did you do the the playgroups, baby massage groups etc most days? I am truly a benign parent and my kids are left to fanny about from birth I think this is they key.

I should point out, however, that DD1 is nearly 11 and takes herself to and from a lot of her activities.

Ahh, what relief this thread brings! I have used this issue to beat myself up about for so long. I think i must be the laziest parent around. Last term we actually did loads of activities but then dcs got really tired and grumpy and asked to drop everything. We are back to fannying, and I have to admit too much tv watching .

Yesterday I picked my daughter up at 11.45, we jumped on the bus and went to Pierre Hermé to order a cake for tonight. Then on to Le Bon Marché where we had a sandwich in the basement shop. Then we bought napkins, candles and birthday cards. Then went to womenswear and tried on some dresses. Then took another bus to Avenue Montaigne and did more trying on (Prada, Marni). Then took bus and went food shopping on rue Poncelet. Then walked home and, once home, she vegged out in front of TV for a while and then we read some stories on the sofa.

The previous day she had zonked out after lunch so we went to the park at around 4pm and stayed for an hour, then wandered home having an ice cream on the way and then picking up some stuff for supper in Monoprix.

We don't do anything structured (but mine are 4 and3). They are happy at home or popping to shops/park/friends.

What does she say she wants to do Capp?

ds has football at school on mon, i pick him up at 4.30

tuesday he has cooking at school, then half an hour of afterschool club & i pick him up at 5

wednesday he has tennis, pick him up at 5.

by thurs & fri we're knackered . but usually go to the park/have a friend for tea/go to someone else's one of those days. he's also very good friends with the girl next door so climbs the wall to play in her garden .

Monday & Tuesday - home which means

Tea followed by homework, piano practice, messing around with friends, reading, wii etc

Wednesday French club, Rugby club then home

Thursday Tennis club (DD) Football club (DS) then home

Friday Match practice (tennis) then home

Boys aged 9 and 6.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - nothing, so will try to arrange for them to have friends over or go to friends at least one day each week, but depends how lazy I'm feeling. Now DS1 has 11+ tutoring he has quite a lot of homework so he has to fit that in at some point.
Thursday - afterschool drama, then Kumon [pushy mother emoticon]. DS1 has cubs every other week.
Friday - karate (two consecutive classes coz of ages) and lots of hanging around at local sports club eating crisps and biscuits
Saturday - DS2 piano lesson, DS1 11+ tutor

I try to insist on 10 minutes' music practice for each of them every day that we're home - no time on Thurs or Friday.

Mine don't finish school til 4.30 (France), so with that and various activities there isn't a lot of time to fill in.

On Mondays DD2 has ballet and doesn't get home til 7.30 which isn't very convenient...

But on Thurs and Fri when neither has any activities they have a snack then shoot off to fetch neighbours, play outside in their rooms or with little brother, or watch TV.

I start issuing orders at about 7.

feed the cows on the way home

sometimes stop at the shop

get home, get changed, go and ride and look after the ponies

walk the dog and feed the ducks/chickens

bath

tea

reading and spellings

bed at about 8.30pm

Dd1 has guides and Dd2 brownies on a Monday, and whilst they are there me and Ds snuggle up in my bed and read lots of books.

Thats it though really. They go to their dads for tea on a wednesday, and will also go on Fridays from this week.