How do you manage to occupy your dc and get work done during the school holidays?

[Earlybird]

How do you handle half terms, Easter, Christmas and summer holiday breaks?

Don't want dd to default to telly and/or computer for hours on end when I am working.

Am thinking perhaps I should draw up some sort of semi-structured 'schedule' for dd so she doesn't drift about getting bored/grumpy.

Our situation is slightly complicated by the fact that dd is an only child, so what she can do on her own is more limited than it would be with a sibling.

I do structure things so my working day is more compressed during the holidays, but obviously I still have to work!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Is there a teenager who is on holiday at the same time who would be grateful for some extra cash.

Otherwise you probably need to link up with other mums in the same situation.

I think that generally it is easier to get a friend to look after an 'only' for you than a whole brood!
DS's best friend is an only child and we often have him round in the hols so his mum can work cos really he is no trouble at all and he keeps my DS from being bored!

Can you work in the evenings atall? You could at least get some done then.

My local authority had some great FREE courses for kids last summer which was a godsend. Activities ranged from jewellery making, dj'ing, music, cooking, crafts, swimming, street dance, sports, art etc.
I'm not sure how old your dd is?
Does your local authority have a children's/families information service?
Try googling - summer uni

Thanks for feedback/suggestions.

Dd is 9, so certainly not as demanding as a younger child.
She is signed up to do a few summer activities, but there are weeks when she will be at home with me. She has the ability to entertain herself for limited periods, but as a deeply social child, doesn't want to be alone for a long time (understandably).

Part of the beauty of summer is having unstructured time, but I wonder if it might work best for both of us if I put some structure into her day - i.e, an hour reading per day, an hour of telly/computer time per day, etc.

I think I could arrange to be finished with work by 3.30 (ish) each day (normal sort of school hours) so I could do things with her in the late afternoon/early evening.

School holidays are the times I become am most aware of the challenge of working independently.

Would love to hear from anyone else with advice or anecdotal experience.

Personally, I think there is a lot to be saif for unstructured time in the holidays.

One anecdote and an observation for you - I remember when my sons were younger that some of their friends, who were signed up to activities after school almost every day after school, would come round to play, look at me expectantly and said "What are we going to do?" and look completely astonished when I would point at the toy box, paper and pens and garden and tell them they could do what they liked, because I was going to do some work.

My sons, who were brought up in the same spirit of benign neglect that I was, where I clearly remember lying on my back rubbing my feet up and down the wall whining that I was bored, eventually found what interested them. Boredom is not painful, but it is eventually a source of creativity. I think it is an important lesson in life to learn how to deal with it.

I have also always noticed that in September all the children seem much older than they were when they broke up from school in the Summer, and I am sure that it is they have to be more self-sufficient and adaptable than during school time, parcelled out to friends with different regimes, eating other people's food etc. My memory is that most of my "firsts" and my sons's "firsts" happened over the Summer - learning to swim, to ride a bike and skateboard, first time crossing a road alone, first time I learned how to do housework, first disco, first kiss, first festival...I bet it is the same for most people.

So generally, I would let her do what she wants. The only exception is if she is addicted to computer games, in which case I would limit that.

I agree that boredom can lead to being resourceful and/or finding something creative to do.

I think the trickiest phase will be the transition between the structure/active nature of the school year (maybe over-active), and the wide-open days of summer.

I'm afraid that dd is accustomed to collapsing in a heap in front of the telly when she's home - which I haven't minded during the school year as she has had a day full of other things. But that cannot be her summer routine. And yet, I will still need to get work done at home so can't entertain her.

I think it will be time to set up some new home 'ground rules' and lay out some new routines.

Our local leisure centre has daily activities for kids - all day on Mon, Wed and Fri and 2 hours on Tues, Thurs.

Could you drop your days down to maybe 3 full time a week and 2 days off. So that you could find courses/activities for her on these 3 days?

Or start canvassing other mums to see if they work from home and get a schedule going to mind each others kids?

Personally, I tend towards having some structured cared-for time - & then being more around outside of those hours. I find it difficult when I'm trying to work much with them around. Especially if things are unstructured. If you're going to have her around all the time, then yes, I'd set aside a clear time when you're working/she has some clear activities/times.

Mine are 6 & 4, so I'm using childminders/grandparents at the moment, but I'm looking forwards to the time when this can be local playscheme/leisure centre/sports clubs.

9-3.30 seems like a long day to expect a child to entertain themselves (although I assume 9 yos are more self sufficient than mine!)

I'm fine with a degree of structured time too - this is two way in that I know that at certain times I can truly concentrate and that is important to do your job thoroughly. We also have time when I'm working but not fully, so am keeping on top of things but am involved in what the kids are doing. I guess it depends on what you're doing but the worst feeling is not dealing with either work or children properly.
I did some time swapping with a friend last summer but actually felt like I was either working or looking after children (harder when its not your own).

I also dread school holidays for the same reason.

Here are my top tips (I have two DSs aged 10 & 8)

• E-mail all parents of kids' friends to find out when away/on holiday (good for last minute playdates). Arrange at least one or two playdates a week.

• trawl all the local papers/libraries etc for all the things that are potentially available and make a calendar list (I use Outlook). I find it's easier to get the kids to do their own thing for a morning or afternoon if I promise that we'll 'do soemthing' for at least a couple of hours at some point in the day.

• Buy some new toys/ DVDs etc and keep hidden for summer. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy something to occupy them than to pay for an kids club/ activity day.

• If you DO book clubs or activities, then let the other parents know, as kids often want to go together, and then you will be able to save time sharing lifts etc.

I do find that 'scheduling' helps a little. We have rules like no computer time until after 4 p.m.

Do you have local friends in the neighbourhood? A 9 year old should be able to play out with friends a bit if the weather is good?