SPREADHSEETS FOR HOlidays activities?

[Flobberghasted]

flippign nroa this mum is unhinged

lol theme parks/zoos so expensive
don't know how people manage to keepup that sort of activity all summer
same with cinema, pizza hut etc
sandwiches in park is all mine will get

Reading this, i think the solution is simple - we all become teachers and have the holidays with our children . Well thats what i am going to do anyway... BONUS

I know someone who has a spreadsheet on the wall, scheduling afterschool clubs, who is taking etc , fine, thats organised, pre set dinners, a choice of vegetables, bed time, what to do in the in between times....thats obsessive

my beastly boys love cocktail making too. And baking. And saltdough monsters. And denbuilding They just make a lot more mess and the activity doesn't last as long...

Malory - do you sneak some vodka into yours at some point?!

This just SAHM vs WOHM by another name.

I'll admit it, I have a holiday activities spreadsheet, put together as the various camps/activities are announced, so I know what our options are. It doesn't mean I'm a terrible parent fgs, it means I have to work and can't just take the whole summer off (though will have some days where I can obviously).

At least being organised about means ds1 can do a variety of different things, all of which will appeal to him. So he'll mostly be doing a variety of sports camps which covers either 9-2 or 10-3 each day, and if I start work early enough in the mornings I'll be able to finish work by then on some days so we can do things together afterwards. As I'll still have to work later on some days he can just chill out/play with the other local kids/entertain himself. Given that almost all his regular termtime evening sports activities will be stopping for the summer, and he'll probably go to bed later than in termtime, he'll still have plenty of time to just play.

some of us are organised, some of arent; there are some of us that aren't who are incredably of those who are!

LunarSea - sorry but I think you are being over sensitive
this isn't a wohm v sahm debate at all

some mum's who don't work outside the home do plan every single day like this

Don't have a spreadsheet, do have to work during the summer holidays, so do need to do some organising.

The boys pretty much do what they want for most of the holidays, but we do like to take them out occasionally, so nothing wrong with keeping an eye out for special offers on places we'd like to go.

Can't do the planning for every moment - I'm too exhausted for that at the end of the term, let alone the children!

Actually, I rather like having a leisurely breakfast with the lads, and then going to work, leaving them to their own devices (whilst DH does the housework and gets tea on the table for my return). Does that constitute planning ?

Just because some parents choose to be a bit ott with their planning doesn't really make them wankers though, does it?

serious question Its been on my mind for a bit and there are lots of working mums here. I am SAHM at the moment, but will definately be going back when DD goes to school. I might be doing teaching which does save me the childcare issue in the holidays. This is not definate by any means. So WHAT on earth do you do about summer holidays etc. I don't have any family who can do anything apart from the odd afternoon.

Me and DH (a shiftworker) do it between us, with a little bit of help from FIL.

I used to get four weeks unpaid leave during August, which was fantastic, but changed roles and can't do that any more, so we have to work around DH's shifts and annual leave.

Parents of children who can't amuse themselves because of SN aren't 'crappy parents'. Nor should they be criticised because they haven't been able to 'rear their children to be self reliant'. Lucky you if you can do that. I'd like nothing better than to have my son 'have some mates over' if only he had some. Autism means his social skills are crap so there's nobody here to play with. Sleepover? Pretty unlikely under the circumstnaces, wouldn't you say?

There are lots of different types of families with different needs, different circumstances, different approaches. Please don't criticise structured households because often they fall apart otherwise. Many of you know not of what you speak, and organisation does not equal wanker.

yeh yeh , friend is like that "children shouldn't need all these organised activities". So she puts the children in front of computer and TV whole day (tv is on all day, school days or not.

I love a spreadsheet, I would think all of our big decisions are goverened by them.

We are currently moving and have spreasheets of schools with column for OFSTED ratings, personal reccomendations, record contact, distance from my school, weblinks. It is then linked to a further spreadsheet of places we would like to live, which is then linked to a spreasheet of properties.

When we go on holiday we use a similar system to book accomodation and organise activities.

We also have a spreadsheet system to record activities in holidays but only because I am so forgetful.

We have yearly memebership to local zoo so we can visit as often as we like. I tend to let dd go to the play scheme at the school I teach in for the odd day while I pop into school. Lots of museums are free, we have fab days out at Liverpool visiting the galleries and museums for next to nothing.

We are lucky that dd lives on a road where children play out so se often has days where she can build dens etc witout adult interference. I hope we are that lucky when we move.

I am a teacher so have the holidays with dd, they don;t always match up completely but it is great. Means I get the best of both worlds.

I used to be that mum lucyellensmum with the preplanned dinners and activities, but I have been weaning myself off that!

I don't know how parents do the holiday think. As a teacher I have the odd week without childcare and it sends me into a complete tailspin of stress. When we love dp will be working from home so we don;t have to even deal with that and someone can be at home for dd when she finishes school

I love the fact that the only supposed options we have are :

1. Have a spreadsheet and organise every moment
2. Take the entire summer off at your holiday home and let the children become feral
3. Hire a male nanny ("manny" - yuck!)

Welcome to the bizzarre world of mumsnet!

Is it untrendy just to have an engagement calendar then?

No to be honest an engaement calendar is a spreadsheet.

I have an organised mum calendar which again is just a spreadsheet that I have hads to pay for.

Don't you ever worry you'll suffer from split personality problems, Cod?