By Louise Flanagan
The summer holidays are trundling on and the weather is still so hit and miss that cabin fever is setting in fast for lots of us.
I’m a teacher, so I know that I’m not well placed to complain about the hassle of organising childminding when the schools are closed, but I am correcting state exam papers at the moment, so I’m tied to the house and I need a bit of peace to work.
The kids are enrolled in summer camps to give me a chance to get through my workload. They’re having a ball but summer camps can be costly. And packing their lunches has become the bane of my life these days. I thought I was done with that! Which one doesn’t like petit filous? Which one doesn’t take butter in their sandwich? Which one eats cheese strings? All I know is, there’s nothing that all three of them like to see in their lunchbox. And woe betide me if I accidentally mix them up.
When the rain stops, I try to race them all outside to play. It’s as much for my sanity as it is for them to get some fresh air. The bikes and the basketball hoop are both hits at the moment. Our trampoline is out of action with rusty springs, but I’m going to get it repaired to give them another option for outside play. Again – as much for my sanity as for their enjoyment!
Despite correcting the exam papers, I know I’m lucky to have a bit of flexibility and freedom that lots of other parents don’t have when the schools are closed. I have friends who feel an overwhelming sense of guilt that their kids are festering on granny’s sofa this summer, bored out of their minds. You know what? They’ll be grand. Granny should hand them a duster or a mop if they want something to do!
My daughter tentatively asked me if she would have any weeks where she doesn’t have to go running off to camp this summer. Of course she will. But the grass is always greener; kids say they’re bored when they have ‘nothing to do’ and yet they complain that they just want to chill when they have a busy schedule ahead of them. I suppose we’re all guilty of that at any age though.
I’ve also noticed that our bedtime routine is slipping since the holidays began. The long bright evenings don’t help the cause either. The kids are staying up too late and they’re stuck to their beds in the morning.
There’s too much screen time and the creak of the food cupboard opening is fast becoming the sound of the summer; snacking is off the charts. Is my house descending into chaos? Deep down, I don’t think so; we’ll all pull up our socks and get back in the swing of things when we have to.
For now, we’ll make the most of it and enjoy a slovenly pace of life for a while. What’s the point longing for summer holidays and then perceiving the shift in routine as a drop in standards?! Through rain, hail – and whatever amount of shine we can get – I hope we all enjoy the school holidays.
Louise Flanagan’s Parenting Column appears every Thursday in the Donegal News.
Louise is an admin of Letterkenny Babies Facebook page and the author of the children’s book series, Dragonterra and Dream Beasts. www.dragonterra.ie
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