How many activities do you have on weekends?
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Anonymous
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DH and I had a big argument because he feels like we spend way too much time at home on weekends and should be out more being active. We have 2 girls, ages 4 and 7, and they are not very sporty, so they prefer to stay home and do art projects, play dolls, bake, etc. On weekends they would probably never leave the house if we didn’t force them to.
We are definitely outdoors much more in the spring/summer/fall, going to the playground every weekend, swimming, bike riding, scootering, etc. The kids don’t like being outside in the cold and complain after 30 seconds and don’t stop. Currently the girls both do a gymnastics class on Saturdays and go to Sunday school on Sunday mornings, so we are really just talking about afternoons. What do other people’s weekend schedules look like with their kids. Do you force them outside when they just want to stay in and play ? |
Anonymous
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What does he propose? Is he willing to plan? I assume the girls also still nap.
My kids are older now so they usually have sports but other than that we are home, unless we see close friends or local family. |
Anonymous
| 3 kids (9, 7 and 3) we have 3 activities on Saturday plus language class for older kids. We have nothing on Sunday so we usually go to a museum and grocery store. |
Anonymous
Also, my older kids like to ice skate so we do that also sometimes on Sunday |
Anonymous
| we struggle with this (introverted wife; me busy at home with projects if there is nothing scheduled). We force ourselves to make playdates, do games, etc. so our kid doesn't suffer from our own foibles. |
Anonymous
Could have written your post, I have 2 girls too and it's true they like staying home on weekends. They like writing, playing at home- creatively, gardening in the backyard, practicing dance/gymnastics at home, etc... It's easy to see why we would also never leave. What I try to do is insert an outing that is family/kid friendly during the weekend such as going to the beach for a hour or more, museum, large park, mall, etc... to expend some energy and see something different. Usuallly that is enough and we have to recover at home from the car ride/the outing/ etc...This might all change as they age? |
Anonymous
| Yes, at those ages, we still pretty much went to playgrounds / ice skating / hikes / walks / movies / museums / indoor pool or sometimes short day trips pretty much almost every weekend. I’d bundle them really well - if your kids are complaining of cold it means they don’t have enough layers - and we’d be out. Exceptions would be heavy rain / strong wind. A day like today is great for outdoor fun. |
Anonymous
| We have one: a swim lesson. |
Anonymous
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Our daughters didn't "do" sports, either. We had many weekends around the house, just relaxing. We had no plan most weekends, anything we did was fairly spontaneous. Let's go have lunch and walk around the mall, or go to the zoo. The pace in the DMV is so hectic during the weekdays and the school starts so early that people need to relax for the sake of their own mental health. Kids need a day or two where they don't need to be anywhere. Adults, too.
Reject the keep up with the Joneses nonsense and let your kids relax a little bit. It will pay off later. |
Anonymous
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Right now my 8 year old has choir and horseback riding on Saturdays. We are in meet season for competitive gymnastics so between Jan-April there will be about 7-8 weekends dedicated to meets. Non meet weekends are our downtime.
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Anonymous
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Fresh air is important, OP. You need to dress for the cold, go on little hikes, pack nice food they like, go to playgrounds. It's cheap and healthy.
We also liked to go to the Zoo an museums when the kids were that age. Pack a warm lunch in a thermos, look at the animals, pop inside an exhibit for a little extra warmth. But really, you guys need to be outside. Mittens/gloves, winter coats with hoods, woolen socks, solid shoes. It's not really cold in the DC area! |
Anonymous
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We have 7yo and 2yo DDs. My 7yo has swimming lessons on Sundays. During fall and spring, she plays in a rec soccer league (8 weeks each season) on Saturdays mornings. No scheduled activities for the 2yo yet. DH and I are both introverts, but I try to get us all out of the house once each weekend, whether it is for a trip to a playground, museum, short hike, whatever. Occasionally, we have a play date or a birthday party to attend, maybe once a month.
DH and I both work full time, and our older DD has Daisies every other week on a weeknight. I like having the ability to unwind on weekends and also need some time for chores around the house, prepping meals for the week, etc. |
Anonymous
| Usually one sports game and one play date or birthday party each weekend. Some weekends dad or I have a hobby event going on, so we are gone and the other parent chauffeur’s solo. We don’t need or want more. |
Anonymous
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Gymnastics
Ballet Swim Semi private music lesson It also feels like we have a birthday party every other weekend, but maybe they aren’t actually that frequent |
Anonymous
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What in the world?! If your kids are happy staying home then let them stay home and play! It’s free and everyone is happy and it creates family harmony.
If he needs to get out more, have him join a mens curling club or something. For my kids, we do 2-3 activities a weekend (gymnastics and math enrichment, art) for DD who loooooves to do things. None for DS 10 who just wants to chill and read and hang around the house (he will do baseball in the spring). 1 a month (art) for DS 6 who is introverted and just likes to play and draw at home in his free time. On Saturday evenings we either host or go to friends house or have a date night. On Sundays we do church in am and church school then I like to have downtime while the kids do screens and my husband hates this and takes them out somewhere for a forced hike or ice skating or something. I cook and we eat and then shower and go to bed. We’re raising humans who are their own people, not robots. Follow your kids leads. |