If you and your kids were always out of the house before Covid...
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Anonymous
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We are not a family of homebodies and pre-Covid we were rarely home, especially on weekends. My kids love being busy and having activities. We would typically spend Saturday mornings at soccer then at one of several friends’ houses for brunch and a long play date (kids hang while adults hang), and Sundays we would do a couple different activities - museums, zoos, mall, etc.
Covid has been really hard because now we are home all the time. Unfortunately we don’t have a backyard which makes it harder, and I am not bringing my kids to playgrounds since my youngest is only 2 and is a thumb sucker so I hate him putting his dirty hands in his mouth all day (he pushes up his mask to suck his thumb). We do still do thinks outdoors like hikes and nature walks, and we bring a ball to the park, but that only lasts so long. Just curious if anyone else was like this pre Covid and how it’s impacting you. We have tons of toys but my kids don’t really play together and are constantly bored. Honestly DH and I are so bored too. |
Anonymous
| We are home, not really bored as we do other things. Its nice being home at night to eat dinner as a family, board games, lots of movies and video games together, bike rides, walks and a few other things. We aren't eating out, seeing friends, etc. |
Anonymous
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I feel like we still spend a good portion of our weekends out of the house. Usually we'll do breakfast at home, then head out to a hiking trail or a park in the suburbs. We'll either pack a lunch and eat out there or we'll find a popular sandwich or taco place for takeout and eat it in a park. Sometimes we'll bring a soccer ball to kick around or books to lie around and read outside. By the time we get home mid-afternoon, everyone is usually pretty ready for down time, so we'll spend a few hours getting cleaned up, relaxing, sometimes the kids will watch a little TV or play video games. Then we'll do a long walk in the city and pick up dinner somewhere fun, take it home to eat and then watch a movie with the family before bedtime. On Sundays we do the same but do a grocery run and make dinner, usually something the kids can help make and that will give us some leftovers, like spaghetti and meatballs or grilled chicken and veggies.
When the weather is bad we struggle a little, but as long as it's not pouring, we usually make it work. And we've been able to keep it varied by doing the occasional socially distanced barbecue at a friend's house, doing a weekend at a lake, and doing a couple weekends where we took longer day trips out to West Virginia or down to Charlottesville. It's honestly the weekdays that are killing us. I feel bad because I think the kids get cooped up but it can be really hard to get them sustained amounts of time outside. That's why we really go all in on the outdoorsy stuff on the weekend. I think the key is to just find the pandemic version of what you used to do. If it was organized sports, play pick up games. If it was meals at restaurants, do fancy take-out. If it was socializing with friends, plan a socially distanced get together or schedule some Zoom happy hours. Also, you never know when you might stumble across a fun, new safe activity. We were out in VA recently doing errands and decided to stop in a winery nearby that was open. We figured if it was crowded at all, we would just turn around and leave. It turned out that they had a reservation system, but they also had a big field adjacent to the winery building where you could sit out at a distance from others, and you could buy glasses of wine at a little tent they set up at the edge of the field. It was great! The kids had fun running around playing games, and my husband and I relaxed in the grass sipping wine and watching the sun go down. It was totally random and lovely. Keep your eyes open for opportunities! |
Anonymous
| We were like you at our old house. I suggest you live in a house that you enjoy living in. If I were still in my townhouse during this pandemic I would have the same question. Take walks, bike ride, visit farms and camp. |
Anonymous
| We still go out every morning for a hike or to play on the beach (live in California) - we just do it earlier and never with other people. Afternoon we spend at home which is different since covid but actually pretty nice! We started cooking together on weekends. Then usually a run or walk in the evenings. |
Anonymous
| We were always out. But my kids had their huge meltdowns in May and now they've adjusted to the new normal. |
Anonymous
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That was us - I'm trying to make us a schedule of things to do, especially on the weekend.
Today I ran 2 errands and have a drive by birthday party. My DS is in a class; we walk with friends. I make sure everyone exercises and does something productive. We are also a bit bored, but we are getting used to it. My DS even signed up for an optional zoom class for 3 weeks - he wanted something to do! |
Anonymous
| We're not like this but our friends are. They have scheduled a few out of town trips and weekend getaways (they drove). Personally, I wouldn't be traveling right now, but we are content to stay at home so I suppose the calculus is different for us. They're the kind of people who can't sit still and are always on the go so right now they are still getting out as much as possible. I guess you have to decide what your comfort level is and what your finances allow. We have a beach house where we live now but we were considering renting a lake house for a change of scenery but it wasn't worth the logistics of dealing with our dogs and getting the boat there and everything else, although from a safety level we were comfortable. Is a getaway an option for you? |
Anonymous
| Not us (we have a big house with yard) but my friends in the city bought houses on the Eastern Shore, close-by lakes or moved temporarily out of the area, to, like their parents' retirement home in Delaware, near the beach. |
Anonymous
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Yes, pre-Covid we were always out and about. The kids had 5 activities each--four on the weekend (two Saturdays and two Sundays) and 1 during the week. Our weekends were spent going to activities, out for brunch with friends, entertaining at home, birthday parties, shopping, and eating at restaurants. We also did a ton of traveling--6 week-long trips per year (cruises, Disney, beach), plus lots of long weekend trips (skiing, amusement parks). We were rarely home, and we liked that lifestyle.
So staying home has been really tough. March and April were the hardest months for me, when everything was closing down. I got really overwhelmed with everything happening so fast. At first it was awful, and I couldn't cope with the huge change in lifestyle (like March and April). I was a complete mess. Then I slowly adapted as the months went on. It helped that the weather got nice (I love summer). I think we all slowly adapted to our new normal. Now the kids never talk about their activities or their friends, it's like they've forgotten they ever took piano lessons once a week or soccer. They're happy to not have in-person school. They seem fine with playing all day and watching tons of TV. They're fine with distance learning and don't mind the fact that the next year will be all virtual learning. We get outside to play in the backyard every day from 5-8 pm. That helps. I am getting a ton more exercise than I did before--before I was mainly sedentary. Now I take a lot of walks, in the neighborhood and at local parks, I walk at least 1.5 hours per day. I started doing walks with friends, that helps a lot too (with masks and 6 feet apart). On the weekends we usually choose a different park to go to. That is our "exciting" weekend plans. DH doesn't mind this lifestyle at all. He's more of a homebody and spends his free time in the garden or in his garage workshop. He does miss the travel though. It's harder for me because I thrived on the crazy busy lifestyle and I loved our travel. We canceled all our 2020 vacations. No traveling for us this year. When the pandemic is over, I can't wait to return to that crazy busy lifestyle, but for now I'm managing being more of a coach potato. |
Anonymous
| That is really sad OP. Time to learn how to entertain yourselves and be comfortable just “being.” It will be a good learning experience for you. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
+2 |
Anonymous
+3! There’s something wrong with your life if you need external entertainment all the time. |
Anonymous
| There are so many fun things to do around here. We’ve been rediscovering the region. |