Weekend Time - is it Family Time?

[Anonymous]

What do you do with your weekend? Do you make plans as a family?
Sometimes it depends if you have a full time job with a long schedule during the week. Sometimes it does not. I do not want this to turn into a SAHM vs. not debate - so old and tired!
Rather, I was hoping you could tell me if you are a weekend "Family Time" family (and BTW, what are some cool activities, as examples).

Or, do you do something else on the weekends? Disappear? Hide? Other families? Dads? Help?
We happen to be in the Family Time camp, because of exigent circumstances, sports games and other long term commitments. But some of our friends definitely are not. This tends to infringe on our much coveted and very limited family time. It does not make us better or worse, it is just how we do things. The families that infringe tend to not like each other (their own family) so much.

Such an odd situation. Anyone else? What would you say to the other family/ies?

[Anonymous]

We also do family time on the weekends. We try and go to lunch every Saturday so the kids can learn proper restaurant behavior and I get a break from the kitchen. We definitely do not have a planned activity every weekend since yard work, sports, etc. get in the way but we do try about once a month to go fishing, hit a museum, etc. Haven't run into any families like you mentioned but I would probably tell them that I had plans and move on. No need to explain yourself - what you do with your time is up to you.

[Anonymous]

We do family time. I have a 2 year old. I work four days a week, and DH works all five but gets home pretty early.

I do go to yoga on Saturdays, I leave about an hour before nap, and DH does lunch and puts her down. Then after yoga, since she's still sleeping, I will usually go to the bookstore or something for a few minutes before coming home. But otherwise, we pretty much all stick together on the weekends, and I spend my day off with just her (ie we don't make play date plans or anything).

[Anonymous]

I work Saturdays, so the only option for Family Time is Sundays. But, with a 2yo, we're usually trying to get errands/chores done on Sundays.

Not real much Family Time for us on weekends.

[Anonymous]

DH and I both work all week and weekend is always family time.

On Saturdays, we go to synagogue in the morning and they usually have youth groups for the kids. We then eat lunch with friends. We go back home so the kids can nap and meet up with friends/kids in the park in the afternoon.

On Sundays, I usually try to work out int he morning for an hour or so while DH takes the kids to the park (or lounges around the house with them). Then we usually do some sort of activity, the park, the zoo, the pool, birthday parties, a museum, etc. We also often go visit friends or my in-laws.

Weekends tend to be super busy and totally family focused. I try to avoid running too many errands, but often we stop at Target, Safeway, etc..

[Anonymous]

Some people are more social than others...some want to meet up more than others. Some like to feel their time more. It can be a temperment thing...no biggie.

BUT, kids need down time, quiet time, unfilled time. They need things to get quiet and slow...I find this challenging in our city, esp since we are hot and heavy in the bday party circuit right now.

It takes time to find a balance, but it can be done!

[Anonymous]

Personally, I don't think that family time and time with other families are mutually exclusive. I have wonderful memories from childhood of two or more families getting together, kids playing, adults visiting or playing cards. None of us had family right in the area, so perhaps none of us would have had time for this if we were also visiting with grandparents, cousins, etc.

OP, I'm not sure what you mean by other families infringing on your time--you might need to clarify. Is it invitations that bug you or something that interferes more?

[Anonymous]

It is a mix. DH is in school Saturday mornings from 8-4. During that time I take the kids to their sports class and then either errands or an activity (truck touch, playground, park, etc.) When DH gets home it is a mix of errands or going to dinner or an activity.

Sunday is also a mix of errands/activity/outdoor play - but almost always as a family.

The best thing we did was getting a house cleaning service so we aren't spending 3 hours on Sunday morning cleaning the house.

[Anonymous]

We definetly view it as family time. I always thought it a bit strange when people wanted to set up play-dates on the weekends - my gut reaction is "but it's family time." However, recently I've started to realize that focusing too much on family time is probably not neccesarily great for my son's (or my) socialization skills, especially since he is an only child. So now I try to mix it up.

Right now i am working part-time but will probably have to go to full-time soon. So I know I am really going to struggle with this again soon.

[Anonymous]

Almost all family time, but my son is only 3. I imagine as he ages and has more activities with friends, this will decline. But since he's in day care all day all week, we definitely all reconnect on weekends. We do an "outing" each Saturday morning -- the zoo, a petting zoo, the train/carousel, museum, aquarium, pirate rides in Annapolis, etc. He still naps in the afternoon, so we don't do much after that other than go play at the lake or playground.

[Anonymous]

9:10 pp here -

To me, family time does not mean the exclusion of friends. It just means we hang out as a family - by ourselves, with my in-laws or other extended family, or with our friends and their families.

I dont get why they are mutually exclusive.

[Anonymous]

We take it weekend by weekend. Sometimes we hang out as a family, other times we get a sitter and have a date night or hang out with friends or have friends come over. Other times Monday morning rolls around and I scratch my head trying to figure out what the heck I did over the past two days.

[Anonymous]

We both work FT and have a vacation home. We spent 2-3 weekends a month there and when there it is 100% family time. However, we do often bring other families up there and the kids bring friends as well. We try do get all of our "chores" done during the week.

We spend weekends in town when we have b-day parties to attend or commitments with friends here.

[Anonymous]

I guess I don't really get this. I wah full-time,,,dh woh with long hours. I spend a ton of time with my kids before and after school.

On the weekends we have long leisurely breakfasts...hang out in pjs...go to parks in our neighborhood, etc....sometimes this is with friends of ours whose kids are friends with our kids. sometimes it is just us. sometimes the families have family bbqs together. sometimes we will go somewhere together.

we don't ship the kids off to relatives or babysitters...maybe about every 6 weeks or so my kids will have a sleepover at the grandparents.

my kids are 2 and 4.5. We try to relax as much as possible. We are pre-sports games filling the weekends..and little one still naps for 2 hours in the middle of the day...so we enjoy relaxing and just 'being'.

It really isn't all or nothing for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I don't think that family time and time with other families are mutually exclusive. I have wonderful memories from childhood of two or more families getting together, kids playing, adults visiting or playing cards. None of us had family right in the area, so perhaps none of us would have had time for this if we were also visiting with grandparents, cousins, etc.

OP, I'm not sure what you mean by other families infringing on your time--you might need to clarify. Is it invitations that bug you or something that interferes more?

I agree, I have no idea what the OP is getting at.

We have "family friends" , people with kids as well and we get together as each others houses. We have a circle of a few familes that we often see on the weekends. The kids all play and have fun and we get to hang out with our friends and have a few beers.

I think it is fun for familes to be social with other families and do not see that as an intrusion.