Yep, it’s that time of year again. The school holidays. And if you’re a mum, you’ll no doubt have seen a myriad of blog posts about “How to survive the Summer Holidays” etc. I totally understand that it can be hard (and expensive!) to keep children entertained throughout six weeks of holiday when they’re used to being at school five days a week normally. Not to mention the eternal childcare juggle if you’re a working parent! But what about if you don’t have a school aged child? What about if you have a toddler? Then what?

I really love the blog posts and Pinterest ideas that suggest fun things to do with the littles during the school holidays. I really do. And I try to adapt many of them to Baby Lighty’s age and using things we already have at home to recreate them. I also have to say that as two year olds go, Baby Lighty is pretty good company, especially now that he can talk. He makes me laugh every single day. But sometimes, it would just be nice to have a conversation about something other than Paw Patrol, or Lego bricks. Which is why the school holidays still feel like a massive void to me. And I often worry that they feel like a massive void to my two year old, too.

Here are several reasons therefore why I hate the school holidays:

1. All the baby groups stop. All of them. And whilst I totally appreciate that the fantastic staff that run them need a break, and that it would be too much to have older children that would usually be at school there too, not having our usual baby groups to go to is a biggie for me. We have a pretty good routine during term time. Baby groups Monday and Thursday, with the option of doing something like baking classes, rhyme time or seeing friends on a Tuesday. I work full days on Wednesday and Friday, so that’s our week filled. Without this structure, I feel a bit lost; not to mention lonely without the chatter of my mum friends to look forward to.

2. I don’t drive, which I know is my own numpty fault, but it does make it harder to get further afield to do interesting things like visiting farms, parks and beaches.

3. When you do eventually get out somewhere fun, it’s PACKED!!

4. I actively try to do things indoors that we may not do normally. For example, I recently created a beach in our tuff spot. When this goes well, it’s a lot of fun. But if Baby Lighty doesn’t play ball, or I’m tired, I start feeling like the worst mum in the world. No one likes shouty mum during the summer holidays!

Our homemade beach…

5. There are only so many trips to the park or the library with just your two year old before this becomes a very lonely affair!

6. I suddenly realise that I need to be more organised and proactive and ask friends if they’d like to go on play dates.

7. But then, with many of my friends’ other halves taking time off during the summer too, or if they are trying to make the most of the summer before their (slightly older) little ones start school, I don’t want to be a burden and / or encroach on their family time.

8. My house is a constant mess, because we’re in so much more. And when I do try to tidy up, I’m torn so much by the little cry of “Mummy want play bricks?” or “Mummy want do story?” that I get very little done. The bricks always win out over the tidying.

9. For some reason, every single local activity day or holiday group falls on one of the two days that I work, so that we can’t attend. Every. Single. One!

So where does all this leave me? Well it leaves me with another few weeks to fill, that’s for sure! Will I still feel like this when Baby Lighty’s at school? Possibly. Although I’ll probably be back on the blog then bemoaning the fact that I didn’t make the most of this quality time with him over the school holidays! Sigh…and in the meantime, roll on September!!

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