Things We Won’t Miss When the Kids Go Back to School

We can’t wait for them to start, but come mid-August we’re dreaming about the cold autumnal evenings drawing in. It’s not that we don’t enjoy spending time with our children, but there are certain aspects of the summer school holidays that we certainly won’t miss. So let’s wave goodbye to some of these seasonal visitors that have outstayed their welcome and prepare to settle back into a routine of packed lunches, late homework and missing PE kit…

Food Shortages

That first week of any school holiday is when we’re all reminded exactly how much it is our kids eat. It’s not that we don’t feed them during term time, but there’s something about children having access to snacks 24-7 that turns them into animals in the zoo at feeding time, and it only gets worse as they get bigger. So here’s to delegating at least some of those meal and snack duties to the school canteen so we don’t have to be reminded to go to the supermarket every other day.

Arguments

Social media may do it’s best to convince us that every other family gets on famously all year-round, but we know the truth. Those Instagram and Facebook posts depicting happy families on excursions only tell part of the story. They fail to mention the bickering in the car, or the arguments over the remote control, so at least with them back at school you’ll get a few hours’ reprieve during the day.

Spending Money

Well, school holidays are a bit expensive aren’t they? We’ve already mentioned the extra money we have to spend on food, but then there’s the days out, the cinema tickets, the petrol money, the train fares, the endless ice creams…. We could go on. But we have to admit, most of it was worth it at the time, although our bank balance can now breath a small sigh of relief. Until we have to buy the new school shoes, that is.

Trying to Work and Parent at the Same Time

Many parents now work from home and although incredibly convenient during term-time, this proves slightly more problematic when the school holidays start. Admittedly much easier with older children who actively do not want to spend time with you anymore, it’s still very difficult to ignore all those parenting tasks when you’ve got the physical embodiment of them asking you where their shoes are/what’s for dinner/if they can eat cake for breakfast for large parts of the day.

But on the Other Hand…

Going back to school means having to stock up on all that important school stuff, and as any parent knows, the cost of school uniform and all those extra accessories soon adds up. However, there are savings to be made when you use Debenhams voucher codes, George at Asda promo codes and Tesco discount vouchers - just make sure you don’t leave it too late on their might be a mad late-night dash to your nearest 24-hour supermarket.

As much as we moan, we all know we’ll miss them like mad on the first morning of school, so enjoy having them around while you can. Or alternatively, look forward to putting your feet up for a few hours on that first day back.

By Anna Scott, 22nd August 2016