Parenting is tough. Period. That’s even when the children are at school or nursery for part of your day. Throw in a school holiday when you are all at home together and it can turn wild, especially when you are 3 hours in and you hear the dreaded words “I’m bored”.
You don’t need to miraculously turn into a full time entertainer for the fortnight or feel the need to have activities lined up to cover the 12hours of the day, you just need to be prepared. Follow my 10 easy tips for a peaceful Easter holidays:
Plan ahead
Knowing what is going on around your area can really help you plan your itinerary for the fortnight ahead. Make sure you don’t overload yourself or the children, remember that they need time to do their own things too especially if they are a little older. If you have a mixture of ages to cater for, make sure you look out for activities that you can all take part in as you will have some very grumpy onlookers if all aren’t involved. Check out what activities are going on in your local libraries and museums, you can spend time afterwards reading together or looking around the museums and not have to move locations too much.
Learn to say no
Making some firms rules with the children before the holiday starts can help you all get through with minimal conflict. Having a family meeting to set out some rules and discuss what the weeks ahead will bring can often help eliminate any negativity beforehand. Make sure the children feel involved in decision making but affirm that you are the one in charge and it is also a holiday for you too so you want some time to enjoy your fortnight.
Set a budget
School holidays can sometimes eat into your bank balance a bit more than you expected. All the small things soon add up – ice creams, sweets, trips on the bus. Setting a budget per day can really help and not cause a commotion at the end of the holidays when you check what’s left! Having a budget can help when you are looking at what to do – highlight any big ticket events at the start so you can work out how much is left for the remaining days – stagger bigger events through the week too so everyone has the energy to enjoy them properly, it will also give you all something to look forward to. Remember, you don’t need to go out every day for the school holidays to be exciting. Playing in the garden with a bucket of water and a paint brush often keeps my two amused for a while.
Stock up
If you have the opportunity to stock your cupboards prior to the holiday so you don’t have to take the children on a supermarket run, you’ll be thankful. Having enough food, especially snacks if you are out and about on a budget, can help keep the stress levels down knowing that you don’t have to queue for food and you have it all to hand. Make sure you put some treats in your trolley, it is a holiday after all!
Free stuff
Seek out what freebies are going on around the city, it will help keep the pennies in the purse but also means that if you don’t make it out the door on that day that you haven’t wasted any money. Maybe put all the free ideas into a pot and get the children to pick one each day to do.
Be realistic
As lovely as it would be to have a tranquil Easter holiday with no squabbles, no raised voices and no disagreements, in honesty, that is never going to happen. Be sensitive to your children if they have a wobble, it is different for them too. They are used to a very different day at school with their friends surrounding them. It can sometimes be daunting to spend so much time with siblings and parents who they only see for a few hours a day in normally circumstances. Have a room/ place in the house where your children can go to calm down or to spend some time alone.
Share the load
Why not see if other families want to join you on your days out so both you and the children get to see some other faces. This will also give you a chance to share some adult conversation which might be few and far between over the next week or so. Or even better, see if they will have your children for a playdate for a few hours one day and you reciprocate the offer a few days later? This will give you a chance to put your feet up and have a hot cup of tea in the quiet. Make sure you don’t catch up on housework while you get a few hours “off”, you’ll soon regret it once the small people return.
Be positive
Don’t start the holidays thinking negatively about your time ahead. The more positive you feel about spending time with your loved ones the more likely you are to enjoy the time together. Try using these positive statements at the start of each day to work up an appetite for fun!
• I am a great Mum / Dad
• My family is healthy and vibrant
• I am the parent I want to be
• I communicate well with my children
• I am patient with my family
Capture it
Why not spend some of your budget on a disposable camera for each of your children to capture the fun you will have through the holidays? One of your holiday activities could be to tell a story through pictures or to make a holiday scrapbook. Either way, capturing memories of family life is precious and great for looking back on together next holiday time.
Deep breathing
Learning how to breath properly can help you all this holiday (and at any other time that you feel your blood pressure rising!) Practicing with your children and getting them to participate in deep breathing when they are irritated can help calm situations quicker leaving more time for fun!
Here’s how to do it:
• If you ever feel stressed you can use this deep breathing technique which is called the 7:11 to regain control and to induce a feeling of relaxation in your body and mind.
• Breathe in slowly through your nose for the count of seven.
• Pause for a brief moment before breathing out through your mouth for the count of 11.
• Continue to focus on the counting as you breathe.
• Repeat this until you feel calm and relaxed.
• Children may want to do a smaller number - try getting them to breath in for 4 and out for 8.
