Teenagers and school holidays

FBaby

red_devil wrote: »

Id be scared leaving kids alone i would be scared they might put on facebook that they are alone and come home and find the house trashed. Sorry but you hear some horrible things today.

Surely you are not serious? I am not scared because I know my children wouldn't do that, and they wouldn't because they know if they did, their life would be very miserable for a very long time (Cinderella had it good compared towhat they would be ordered to do)

Idiophreak

FBaby wrote: »

Surely you are not serious? I am not scared because I know my children wouldn't do that, and they wouldn't because they know if they did, their life would be very miserable for a very long time (Cinderella had it good compared towhat they would be ordered to do)

...but to be fair, the parents of every kid that's done the Facebook party thing would probably have said the same thing...until it happened to them.

YORKSHIRELASS

red_devil wrote: »

Id be scared leaving kids alone i would be scared they might put on facebook that they are alone and come home and find the house trashed. Sorry but you hear some horrible things today.

Well this is true. Equally one of them might try to cook something and really badly burn themselves, or set the house on fire. Or they could open the door to some sort of criminal who realises they are alone and ransacks the house for valuables. All sorts of things could go wrong.

BUT there has to come a point where you leave your kids alone surely? I am not talking about going away for a weekend just leaving them for a few hours while I am at work. My neighbours are retired and dont go far, I am only a 15 minute drive away and we are lucky to live in a fairly "safe" area.

I am not criticising your comment, its a fair point, but its about judging the risk I guess.

candjsmum

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

Hi

Just wanting to sound out a few opinions.

Up until now I have worked at home a lot during the school holidays so I am around for the kids. From the end of this month my job is changing and I am going to need to be in the office for 4 hours every morning. I wont be able to be home until 1.30pm.

My kids are 13 and 14, so old enough to be left alone, but it just feels a bit unfair leaving them every day, especially during the long summer holidays. No-one in my immediate circle of friends and family leaves their kids like this.

It got me thinking that there must be loads of families who are in the same situation. What do you do when your kids get too old for childcare?

My hubby runs his own business so can be flexible with his hours, be he cant work from home either. He could possibly start later and finish later but that would be all.

Am I making a fuss over nothing? At the moment the kids say they dont mind being on their own but I have a feeling this might change when the reality of it sinks in.

Yep they will be fine. Don't let the scaremongers put you off with the "what if's". My 15 year old DS has been left on his own for a year or so for a few hours during the school holidays and he's survived. I did the same with DD who is now 18. Either he's still in bed when I get back enjoying the peace and quiet or up doing his own thing. I'm sure he has a mobile like mine does and can contact you if needed, as you could also text to check he's ok. Its a case of trusting them and letting them have a bit of independence.

FBaby

Idiophreak wrote: »

...but to be fair, the parents of every kid that's done the Facebook party thing would probably have said the same thing...until it happened to them.

No I don't think so. They are probably those who think their kids are angels. I don't think that, I think that the difference is that my children would know the consequences clearly and as such wouldn't find it worth contemplating it. If I were to go away, I would make it extremely clear what they would be facing if we came back in a war zone.

daisiegg

FBaby wrote: »

No I don't think so. They are probably those who think their kids are angels. I don't think that, I think that the difference is that my children would know the consequences clearly and as such wouldn't find it worth contemplating it. If I were to go away, I would make it extremely clear what they would be facing if we came back in a war zone.

Plus, I don't think it would be such a novelty for a couple of teenagers to have a parent-free house in the morning during the school holidays that other kids would be queuing up to wreck it. Half of their friends are probably home alone too.

whitewing

They could do some cooking. Not every day, but a couple of times a week.

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks all

There have been some really helpful posts. I will take on board the idea of leaving them some cooking/housework/gardening tasks to do. Not something I would have thought of myself but if OH and I are out working then its fair to expect them to do something to help.

I am going to check out local options for things they could do if they wanted to. And I am going to let the neighbours know what I am doing so they can be on hand if there was a problem. I know they wont mind, they have offered before.

Nearer the time I will set out a few ground rules and we will take it from there. I wont get any time off at Easter (but OH might) so we will get chance to try it out.

In any case this really has to work because I really dont have any other options!

Spendless

I lost my job just as my eldest had completed his first full term at secondary school. Not having found alternative employment by the following summer, I asked what he'd liked to do with me and his younger sister, suggesting all the things we'd enjoyed the previous summer. He didn't want to do any of them, now considering my suggestions lame. His idea of spending the summer hols is to get up late, watch tv, play computer games, skype his mates and that's about it! I sometimes buy him some books to read as an alternative to him spending hours on the pc.

He's now almost 14 and 'm working 9-5 in an ad-hoc job, so can frequently be working during hols. I try to arrange it that husband takes AL and/or I have given 'no availability' to my workplace for some days/weeks of each school hol.

In your case after your sons get up late, you'll be in within a couple of hours. Realise it can be daunting if you've never gone through it, but I believe they will be fine.

Something I have considered doing for mine, if they got up early enough is to drop them off at a complex on my way to work where they could get breakfast, ice skate/swim, go to cinema and then catch the bus home to spend some time out of the house and to break up the day. Don't know if that's an idea for you, drop them off near where you work to do <whatever> and they could meet you for lunch when you were finished?

samroo

My son (now 15) actually prefers it when I AM at work during school holidays!