Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go on a road trip. Busch gardens. NYC. Philadelphia. Or day trips. Port discovery. Please touch museum. Baltimore aquarium. Great wolf lodge.

This is crazy advice. Lol.

How is this crazy advice? I have 3 kids. I’m a SAHM and did this all the time. Philadelphia is an easy trip. I do have a larger age gap between my second and third kids though. I used to travel solo with 2 kids all the time and then when I had 3 kids.

go to Groupon and see if there’s anything fun near you. Additionally, if your kids are into theater or musicals look on goldstar.com as they have highly discounted tickets. There’s a category for children’s appropriate shows.

Scramble, trampoline park, shopping and get food at the mall (my kids love the mall!), library to pick out some new books, pick a movie to watch at home, get started on holiday decorating … those ages aren’t usually too bad although you’ll probably get tired of playing “activities director” for them.

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.

NP here.

It's 5 days with kids that are old enough to eat on their own, use the bathroom on their own, get dressed, etc.
I have four kids and when mine were that age and younger, my husband was active duty military. He would deploy for literally months at a time. Five days is really no big deal, especially when the kids are older like OP's.

No one said it was a big deal, she is just asking for suggestions! No one likes a martyr.

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.

NP here.

It's 5 days with kids that are old enough to eat on their own, use the bathroom on their own, get dressed, etc.
I have four kids and when mine were that age and younger, my husband was active duty military. He would deploy for literally months at a time. Five days is really no big deal, especially when the kids are older like OP's.

NP - Okay? If you were used to long stretches of solo parenting, you probably had a lot of routines established. Solo parenting isn’t the OP’s norm, and without the structure of school, it’s reasonable to think how best to handle the time. The OP also doesn’t sound like she’s making a huge deal out of it, she’s asking for ideas that would be helpful.

OP, I have three, as well. At those ages, I’d look for active things that would tire them out and also try to plan outings with family friends, if you have any you socialize with often (i.e., families with kids yours get along with). Easy trips to the playground with a friendly parent or two helped a ton. Depending on how yours get along, I also find it useful while DH is away to have back-up plans for if they need to be separated, e.g., oldest goes into their room for some quiet time, youngest does a craft, middle does legos or whatever. Keep meals easy. As a PP said, bubble baths or showers are good for passing time.

Anonymous wrote:I would go on a road trip. Busch gardens. NYC. Philadelphia. Or day trips. Port discovery. Please touch museum. Baltimore aquarium. Great wolf lodge.

This is crazy advice. Lol.

Skip thanksgiving dinner. Order takeout and go to the movies. Visit Yolly Jolly Kids. Rockville ice rink. Sky Zone. One outing per day. Long bubble baths. It will be fun.

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.

NP here.

It's 5 days with kids that are old enough to eat on their own, use the bathroom on their own, get dressed, etc.
I have four kids and when mine were that age and younger, my husband was active duty military. He would deploy for literally months at a time. Five days is really no big deal, especially when the kids are older like OP's.

Those ages need help. Four kids is a lot of kids.

8 year olds do not need help spooning food into their own mouths, or putting on a pair of pants, or using a toilet. Do you really think someone sits next to third graders at school and spoon feds them lunch?

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.

NP here.

It's 5 days with kids that are old enough to eat on their own, use the bathroom on their own, get dressed, etc.
I have four kids and when mine were that age and younger, my husband was active duty military. He would deploy for literally months at a time. Five days is really no big deal, especially when the kids are older like OP's.

Those ages need help. Four kids is a lot of kids.

I'd order pizza and hand them their iPads to survive. Then, I'd take them to bounce houses, open gyms, etc. and let them run around.

I would go on a road trip. Busch gardens. NYC. Philadelphia. Or day trips. Port discovery. Please touch museum. Baltimore aquarium. Great wolf lodge.

I’m alone with my kids this year (divorced and didn’t want to travel.) we’re going to ICE and seeing decorations at National Harbor one day. Will go see Wish one day. We are doing the whole turkey dinner thing. Will try to get out of the house for a longish hike one day. In past years we’ve done a tour of new to us playgrounds. There are some newer museums we haven’t checked out (Planet Word and Museum of Illusions).

Some stuff is really crowded the day after Thanksgiving though-because everyone has the same idea.

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.

NP here.

It's 5 days with kids that are old enough to eat on their own, use the bathroom on their own, get dressed, etc.
I have four kids and when mine were that age and younger, my husband was active duty military. He would deploy for literally months at a time. Five days is really no big deal, especially when the kids are older like OP's.

Reminder to do what you and your kids think is fun - not what others think.

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.