I must confess that I always view the approaching long summer school holiday with a mixture of relief (no more school runs) and dread (endless Harry Potter reruns).
Generally by about 10:15 am on Day 1 the kids are already bored and, having exhausted the huge and completely random stock of craft materials lurking in our dining room, are demanding ice lollies and entertainment.
Telling them that, in their parents' youth entertainment was a day spent running amok in a quarry, a woodland or a field cuts no ice with them. We'd take packed lunches of crisps and cheese sandwiches which would keep us going until tea.
My friends and I made our own adventures without anything digital in sight.
I remember returning home from a day on my bike warmed with sunshine, pleasantly tired and ready to fall into bed.
Falling asleep in the summer was a lengthy process because it was the 70's and mum had installed day-go orange curtains which meant my bedroom was lit up like a disco until the sun had long set. Black-out curtains were for wimps.
So what do we parents do? Although there are loads of places to go, things to see and local summer activities, the whole 'keeping your kids from killing each other' thing can be rather stressful.
Unless you have unlimited time and money, you can't take them out every single day so you have to box clever.
We are firm believers in, er, developing a love of nature.
It worked for David Attenborough, didn't it? Who knows what previously undiscovered species Ieuan is about to find... eventually.
This post is an entry for the BritMums Confessions of a Summer Parent Challenge, sponsored by Anchor.
