Thanksgiving alone with 3 kids, WWYD?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. i didn’t even know that Groupon was still a thing I do solo parenting often when DH is on business trips but this is usually combined with work, school, activities and planned outings. This situation is a last minute change of plan for 5 days. I am definitely planning to get a neighborhood teen to help for a couple of hours so I can get a break.

For the PP who is used to doing this, good for you i guess! I wish you had more constructive advices, it is not a competition !

There is really nothing to advise. It’s five days. What would you be doing if your husband was home? Just so the same.

DP - if you have zero compassion for someone who handles a situation differently than you, why post at all? Dumping on people who don’t have your skill set isn’t helpful.

Good luck, OP! Fingers crossed for good weather this weekend.

I’m not ”dumping”-I’m being practical.
Spending time with your older kids for a few days shouldn’t require hiring help.
And the extremes in advice is bizarre. One poster suggesting that Op’s 8 year old still needs help feeding, dressing, and using the toilet-while other posters suggesting op take the kids to water parks by herself!

No, you're not. Being "practical" in this case would be offering helpful suggestions. You're being smug and rude.

I did offer a helpful suggestion and I am not being smug nor rude. You are being defensive and are name calling.

The helpful suggestion is to just do whatever you would have done if the husband was home. You don't need to hire a mother's helper to spoon food your 8 year old or help him use the toilet. You also don't need to drag 3 kids to NYC or Great Wolf Lodge by yourself--especially if you are incapable of just existing with them in the house for five days without the help of a middle school girl. That would be a disaster!

I was going to suggest kalahari. My kids are all better swimmers than I am. They have taken swim lessons since preschool and did swim team since kindergarten. My kids are well behaved and good travelers.

Some parents have kids who seem very difficult. Others are easy.

I have friends who travel to Asia by themselves with 3 kids since kids were babies. Going on an outing or short trip to a close by city isn’t that big of a deal.

According to at least one poster in this thread, OP's kids are at an age (5-8) where they still need help lifting a fork from a plate to their mouth, using the toilet, and putting on every day clothing. With three kids that are that dependent, there is no way anyone should be taking them to a waterpark on their own. It's way to dangerous.

Waterparks require vests. What exactly do you think is going to happen while waiting in line for a water slide? I have been taking my kids to the pool solo since they were toddlers. At young ages, they would wear puddle jumpers. There are shallow areas.

If OP and kids can’t swim and not comfortable, that is fine but I do not think unable to go on outings with elementary kids is hard. It doesn’t have to be a water park.

Also, no not all waterparks require vests for every patron. I just looked at Great wolf lodge and it says those under 48 SHOULD wear vests, but it doesn't say it's required. And it's not about what happens "waiting in line for the water slide"-it's what happens as you go down the slide/get dumped in the pool. They aren't going to let an entire group of 4 all go down in one fell swoop. At some point the kids will be in the water, out of mom's sight.
The lifeguards aren't going to put up with multiple kids from the same family needing to be rescued every time they go down the slide.

Well if they are not good swimmers, they should wear a vest. My 6yo can swim laps and has been able to for quite some time. I have not thought about swimming problems since they were 5. Learning to swim was a priority for us.

NP. It was a priority for us, too, but we live in a neighborhood where we have access to an indoor pool year-round and the ability to provide swim lessons. Most people don't have one or both.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

*how* you teach your kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

I'm not that pp but I'm the military wife.
Because there are no suggestions to give. It's FIVE DAYS. Not a year. Not forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

I'm not that pp but I'm the military wife.
Because there are no suggestions to give. It's FIVE DAYS. Not a year. Not forever.

I’m a SAHM with a husband who works a ton, often unexpectedly (big law). I can (and did) think of a lot of suggestions to give. You seem upset about something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

I'm not that pp but I'm the military wife.
Because there are no suggestions to give. It's FIVE DAYS. Not a year. Not forever.

I’m a SAHM with a husband who works a ton, often unexpectedly (big law). I can (and did) think of a lot of suggestions to give. You seem upset about something.

How many times has he gone to work and not come back at all for 7 months? And if he has done that--even once!--were you able to contact him at all? Like if you sent him an email, did he respond in less than 3 weeks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

Seriously! So irrelevant and rude. At least they’re bumping the thread so maybe some people who try to be nice and like being helpful actually respond with some suggestions— (Mine are upthread)

[Anonymous]

My suggestion is to go play outside in the am in your yard or a playground, have lunch at home, rest time until 3pm and then more outdoor time. Make easy dinners or order something like pizza etc one night. Bedtime at 8pm. Then chill and watch a movie yourself. Don’t plan expensive trips because it almost always ends badly especially if you don’t do them regularly on your own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

I'm not that pp but I'm the military wife.
Because there are no suggestions to give. It's FIVE DAYS. Not a year. Not forever.

I’m a SAHM with a husband who works a ton, often unexpectedly (big law). I can (and did) think of a lot of suggestions to give. You seem upset about something.

How many times has he gone to work and not come back at all for 7 months? And if he has done that--even once!--were you able to contact him at all? Like if you sent him an email, did he respond in less than 3 weeks?

Sounds like you are very unhappy being a military spouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a long-time SAHM, I'm baffled why everyone keeps suggesting she take them somewhere, especially somewhere new, far, and overwhelming. Just do all of your normal stuff, hit some parks, throw in a few extra movies and takeout, have a PJ day (or two) and call it a weekend.

I wonder if one of the critical points of difference among folks here is size of living space.

I can't imagine spending two days in pajamas at home on top of each other! For me, staying home is a recipe for crankiness and mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a long-time SAHM, I'm baffled why everyone keeps suggesting she take them somewhere, especially somewhere new, far, and overwhelming. Just do all of your normal stuff, hit some parks, throw in a few extra movies and takeout, have a PJ day (or two) and call it a weekend.

I wonder if one of the critical points of difference among folks here is size of living space.

I can't imagine spending two days in pajamas at home on top of each other! For me, staying home is a recipe for crankiness and mess.

I suggested previously that she go on outings or a short trip. We live in a 10,000sf house. I would still go out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a long-time SAHM, I'm baffled why everyone keeps suggesting she take them somewhere, especially somewhere new, far, and overwhelming. Just do all of your normal stuff, hit some parks, throw in a few extra movies and takeout, have a PJ day (or two) and call it a weekend.

I wonder if one of the critical points of difference among folks here is size of living space.

I can't imagine spending two days in pajamas at home on top of each other! For me, staying home is a recipe for crankiness and mess.

I’m not saying she shouldn’t go to a park or local museum. I’m saying she doesn’t need to load them up and go to freaking Kalahari by herself! Y’all are nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

+1000

Because she has had it soooooo much harder. Because “military wife.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you new to the area? You don't know how to be a parent to your kids alone? Weird question. Do what you normally do.

Wednesday-Sunday with three kids, holiday long weekend, solo adult, and no school or daycare? That's a pretty long time. It's reasonable to be thinking about plans.

I do it (and so do many other single parents) 24/7.

Ok fine, but since you are such a pro, why not be nice and offer suggestions to a mom who is asking for them? Why be rude and dismissive of her? Is that her w you teach your kids to treat others?

+1000

Because she has had it soooooo much harder. Because “military wife.”

The poster in your string of quotes is not the military wife. It's a single parent.
Because you are soooooo incompetent at reading, in addition to parenting.