Love all these helpful suggestions.

Single parent and honestly there aren’t a lot of breaks until middle school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where is their father, divorce doesn't stop you from reaching out to him so you two can support each other raise your kids. Be good co-parents.

Maybe she’s a widow you POS

I was thinking that she suddenly got custody of a family member’s kids.

Anonymous wrote:Where is their father, divorce doesn't stop you from reaching out to him so you two can support each other raise your kids. Be good co-parents.

Maybe she’s a widow you POS

My friend was a live-in nanny and was desperate to get out of her house on weekends. She offered to babysit for a few hours on Saturday or Sunday afternoon while my DS was taking a nap. That was my only free time. I ran errands as fast as I could.

Later, we did playdates and then sleepovers with his friends.

Agree with Sunday school, screens, babysitters as much as possible. Get an au pair or something if you can afford it.

Single mom to a 8 year old in Maryland-
Gymnastic class - hour and a half
County pools - I sit in the hot tub while my DC swims or I do work, the rec sessions are around 2-2 1/2 hours and there is a glass partition where you can watch.
I have done Little gym type parent nights
I do a swap with another single mom every other Friday night.

There is a dance studio out near me that doesn't allow the parents to stay there. Something like this would really only work for you though if the kids are close in age and can be in the same class.

I know a kid that does gymnastics a few nights a week for 2 hours at a time. Something like that would give you some time to run errands by yourself.

2-5 hours dance class 4 days/week.
Playdates.
Screens.
Independent play & projects.

You’ll need to hire a sitter.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess what I’m hoping for is a kids night out type thing but during the day. Why are they all at night. Play dates are a good solution.

Play dates are good for short term, long term you will need a roster of sitters!

When my kids were this age, everyone did play dates and you can get 3-4 hours. Coordinate them for the same time, if possible. You must be willing to reciprocate. If you’re in a sudden situation, other parents will likely be sympathetic and glad to help in a pinch. Just make the situation known.

Easy spanish 123 has a Saturday morning program from 9-12; I know there is a similar program at Blue Giraffe for Russian - there might be others for other languages.

Luckily all my family live in Cali and Hawaii, so family visits are terrific vacations.

I did all my travel and breaks prior to adopting my daughter at 41, lol.

Silver spring gymnastics had a kids night out where you could drop kids for 3 hours and the kids bounced around on mats and eat pizza. It’s in Maryland though. But I agree with others that you need to get a sitter on your roster both for your own sanity and if you ever need one for emergencies.

Get a babysitter.