Categories: lone-parenting
Tags: Parenting
Date: 21 July 2009 08:09:28
For the brave I direct you to Tim Dowling's article in the Guardian today about What are you going to do with your children this summer? I say this is for the brave because whilst some of it is stuff we could all do to carry some of it through you would really need nerves of steel....or a large house where you could easily escape to a different wing whilst the impact was being felt. At the very least a pair of ear plugs would be required to enable you to deal with the "I'm bored", "I'm hungry" and "I'm bored and skint" comments that would have to be dealt with. That said, if you do have the bottle to follow them through they actually look like a good set of tips.
For the less brave I give my alternative version of how to deal with the summer holidays and a teenager.
1) Find wholesome but cheap activities to volunteer your child for. In Third Party's case she is being shipped off daily on a bus to help with a holiday club in a nearby town, for one week.
2) Plan your summer ahead. Work out when you are going to be spending "quality time" together and when you need to avoid each other. Work out how you are going to do this...note quality time may be spent indoors, but works best with an "outing". With Third Party and myself the avoiding each other takes the form of her going off to see friends in different parts of the country or me going to work in the post-grad room, rather than attempting to work from home. The quality time will involve a series of outings to (i) Shipmeets, (ii) festivals, (iii) see friends for a couple of days. There might also be the odd excursion to nearby towns to do something fun but within budget. You will see our adventures tend to take us to places where others are. Thus during a summer spent together in a confined space, remembering evening activities also tend to stop for the summer, we ensure that we get to mix with others as much as possible. Also planning these things in advance means you can buy the cheaper train tickets...enabling you to stretch your budget further. However, tip with this....if you are going to Leeds do not, I repeat, do not buy tickets to Sheffield because you just have a large town in Yorkshire which isn't York stuck in your head...and the earlier bit of an internet thread has been the bit to enter your consciousness. This increases your costs when the tickets to Sheffield are non-refundable. It also gives your family and friends way too much amunition to take the mickey out of you with.
3) Stock up on milk and cereal. This is the ultimate snack food. Compared to the other junk they could be working there way through bowls of cereal are good value and relatively healthy. If they are hungry they can go get another bowl. Also during the summer you can vary what they are offered.
4) Encourage your child to spend their own money on the cheap DVD's they want from HMV. If they buy with their own money what they want to see it is likely to get atleast a couple of viewings over the summer..thus being more time without the wail of "I'm bored". Also if they have friends who do likewise they might be able to start their own video lending service, swapping titles with each other. This saves you money because you don't have to go and rent it if they borrow it.
5) If you are going to drag them around somewhere they will find boring try to make it somewhere they can wander around and take photos in. It gives them something different to do with the mobile phone.
6) Make sure their mobile is fully charged at all times. If you are going to drag them around somewhere you want / need to go they will be much quieter if they are getting RSI of the thumb...or using it as a MP3 player.
7) Always make sure you have a good light hearted novel ready. When it gets too much rather than engaging in the argument walk away and read a chapter of the novel before returning.