There’s another week left of school holidays and I’ve run out of money to spend on my children. This is going to be the longest week of my entire life, of all our lives.
A tad dramatic? I don’t think so.
I have three children – Philip, 12, Giovanni, 8 and Caterina, 7 and like all kids they are intent on squeezing out every last drop of freedom and fun left these school holidays before getting stuck into the school year. But whatever they think of has to be completely, totally free.
And what is truly free these days?
Even a trip to the beach involves a tank of petrol and drinks and snacks. You can’t pack drinks and snacks to go to the beach because they boil in the sun.
Heard of Stingy January? We discuss the money-saving month on this week’s MMOL.
There are only so many times you can take the dog to the local dog park for a run around and then you have to remember to take the long way home to avoid driving past any shops the kids might spot and want to stop at for drinks and snacks.
I know, I know. It’s GOOD for kids to spend time being bored and doing nothing. It inspires their creativity. Children’s lives are too structured.
Give them as much unstructured time as possible. IT’S GOOD FOR THEM!
Except they have already had a lot of unstructured time these school holidays, plenty of boredom and ample opportunity to be creative. My daughter made a cubby house out of cardboard boxes left over from Christmas, my son poured bubble solution into his water pistol and my other son started drawing again.
Top Comments
Take them to the library or go bushwalking.
Sheesh.....we live in the sticks and seem to be able to have fun without spending a cent.