Advice from parents of older children - how do I most of summer holidays with my little boys?

[AreYouAGod]

This summer my boys will be 7 and 9. I’m very aware of how every year flies by quicker than the last.
For parents of older boys, what do you wish you had done more of when they were this age? What are your most treasured memories?
What things will they refuse to do with me when they get older but do willingly now??
I just don’t want to look back with any regrets.

The title should say ‘how do I make the most of summer with my little boys?’

Simple pleasures - time in the park , dog walking, swimming in the river , blackberry picking , picnics !
I have two DS age 13 and 15 and they are mostly grown out of this stuff. Very happy times and I miss them

Just enjoy them. I loved my summers with my DC when they were this age.
We did all the usual stuff: swimming, cinema, outings to various places like NT houses, country parks etc.
But we also liked bike rides into town, the library, playing in the back garden, board games. There was also TV and chores. Chatting. We had Wii tournaments. They didn't have phones so we never had that issue to deal with.
We also liked trails. There was a Shaun the Sheep trail in London one year, and we had a mini break to Bristol to do to there too. There is another Wallace and Gromit one in Bristol this summer, and DS1 now lives there so we are going to do that together with his GF.
I was so lucky to be at home with them..
Still love spending time with them at 21 and 20. But I miss holding their hands!

Agree x picnics , parks , beach days
I miss being able to take them to the local park and they have fun for a few hours for free now it costs me a fortune x
Or general walking to places to instead of car journeys .
Walking dog and going into the woods for hours now I get frowned at lol x

Doing stuff where you can actually join in and do it together rather than just watching them. Join in with the water fights, buy your own water pistol and nerf gun, get your own Pokemon deck, play cricket and football with them. Teach them things while they still think you know more than them! Teach them to bake, teach them to play chess.
My too memory of my sons at that age is den building in the woods. We all loved that!

We spent a lot of one summer witb loom bands and a loom, making characters!

Mine are still quite little but their favourite thing so far this summer is when I declare that it’s tea on the beach. We live about 35 mins from the sea but I pick up from school and we drive to the beach and have sausage sandwiches - either made before we go or cooked on a stove on the beach. Bonus is that the beach is pretty much emptying out as well!! I let them stay up late and we just enjoy a lovely bright evening together building sandcastles etc.

Agree with PP. I have 2 DC nearly 18 and 19. What they remember is the dog walks with a picnic where Mum got wet getting the dog out of the river, not the expensive days out I spent ages planning!

Picnic is very important, if you live somewhere like we do where in summer you get lots of rain followed by a decent day. The kids and I would bake and make stuff a few days in advance, great bad weather activity, literally making our own bread for the sandwiches etc. Kept them occupied for ages

I loved that age with my boys. We went out pretty much every day all over the place. I asked them what their favourite memories are from childhood and the ones that stand out for them are those with extended family.
They have fond memories of Natural History Museum and just running around being free.
parks, picnics, balls, ice creams, friends, zoos and some holidays and a game of dodgeball stand out.

Swimming
Bike rides
Train & bus trips
Taking a packed lunch with us & walking everywhere
Different parks/playgrounds
Mario Kart tournaments
Watching movies if it rained
I loved my boys being that age.

DH and DS used to build amazing sandcastles, a complete replica of the Titanic to scale worked out before going away spring to mind as does a Mayan Temple. People used to joke that you could charge money for that. It started with a Mermaid in Scarborough and progressed.

Also lots of bike rides and picnics, spotting animals in the local woods and along the canal, saving a bee with sugar water is an especially fond memory.

Swimming, picnics with games & hide & seek in the woods (with boundaries how far they can hide!!). Also when the weather was good - getting the sprinkler out in the garden & water fights (before they get too rough!). Lots of silliness & fun. Take aways were a big treat & doing something where we met or took a friend - especially national trust or a walk which they might find boring.

Baking & board games when the weather was not so good. Anything with a ball entertained them too. Simple things with an added treat after - ice cream, milk shake or choosing some sweets after football or frisbee in the park.

Mine are teens now and unless it’s a visit to London or food related they aren’t that interested in doing things with us! Enjoy!

Honestly?
I regret thinking and worrying the way you are, I honestly do.
The whole you only get ‘18 summers’ with them thing is such rubbish!

Ds is 20 and hand on heart, the last few summers I’ve had with him have been some of the best.
We go to gigs together, the pub and stay up late watching films and snacking!
Yes, I adored spending summer with him when he was little but what nobody told me, is you feel exactly the same when they’re huge. You just learn to adapt, to parent differently.
I recommend always keeping up with their likes & hobbies (we do when they’re small so why not when they’re older?)

How about baking? They'd probably love to spend drizzly days learning to make simple items like banana cake, soda bread, a pie, scones, biscuits...

Argh, the spam, it’s burning my eyes!

Sorry OP - as you were.

Thank you so much for all your suggestions.
I just love spending time with them so much. They are such good fun. I don’t want to miss any opportunity to create memories they will treasure!

Going with a big crowd of school mums and all the kids to a woodland. Massive shared picnic, and the kids ran riot in the woods, building dens, playing capture the castle, having water pistol fights. Making as much noise and mess as possible! Some of our happiest days.

Hmm the 9 year old isn't really a little boy any more, and he is at, or very fast approaching the age where he won't want to go out and do stuff like that with you in the holidays. From 9 on its doing exciting things, or hanging with friends or having down time at home.

This is a lovely thread. At this stage we were doing family favourites that have given us the memories, but also the building blocks for what we can still enjoy together today (nearly 14). Beach cricket, sandcastles and massive dams, the best ice cream shop, going back to the same campsite year after year. Enjoy!

Camping.

Someone upthread mentioned swimming in rivers. Please don’t, too risky.

What rubbish!
This only happens if you don’t adapt and grow with your child as they mature.
My ds is 20 and I still do multiple things with him every summer, I always have done.
My relationship with him is better than ever, he’s my friend now, as well as my son.

And 9 still is a little boy. Yes, they are approaching a big time of change but should absolutely still be offered opportunities to play and be a child etc

Nonsense. Of course 9 is a little boy. Our son and I did everything together, my husband was physically very limited and there’s a 9 year age gap between him and his older sister. We had fantastic times, multiple mini breaks camping and Airbnb-ing during the school holidays. He loved them and has such fond memories.

22 now, he still sometimes asks mum if she’d like to go with a drive or walk with him on his days off if he’s not out with friends.

Just getting to the end of each day - everyone fed, no one dead - was enough of a thrill for me.

camping is good for filling in time as every little thing is such a hassle. By 9 the oldest was making friends on campsites which kept him occupied. We also spent a lot of time visiting and staying with family, including a holiday home with a pool so a lot of memories are swimming, splashing, bbq, grandparents and cousins around.

at home, we had a big circle of mum friends so spent a lot of time in parks, running wild, playing football, climbing trees and having picnics. Company for them and for me.

i don’t think I ever set out to ‘make memories’ and I’m sure many of their favourite times were with other people. They knew I was always around, even if I wasn’t playing football with them.

Keep it simple. The memories mine cherish are things like paddling in the river, going to different parks and playgrounds, forest walks with friends, making obstacle courses in the garden and water slides out of tarpaulin. Odd beach day maybe. They are now all over 18 and honestly it's not expensive treats and days out that they remember.

And absolutely second the joys of hanging out with teens and 20s. They can be just as much fun