How-to Dad: School holidays are way too long
stress about finding babysitters, playdates or daycare. It can’t be easy and it can’t be cheap.
I’m lucky, yet I also sometimes envy these parents.
Yes, going to work can suck, but it is also a break from the kids. Yeah we love them to bits, but after five weeks of being locked in a house/bach/tent/ car with them – well, enough said.
Unfortunately my lot aren’t at the age where they can just bike in to town or the playground on their own and hang out for the day.
They’re not old enough to scoot to Four Square, buy a juice sachet and then have a sugar high at the skatepark.
No, for all us parents of young kids – they’re here. At our feet. Biting our ankles, tugging on our shirts and telling us they’re hungry. Or we’re head down at work trying to figure out who they’ll be with next week until school/kindy starts back up again.
Six weeks is torture.
I love and respect the teachers and principals of New Zealand. Underpaid for one of the country’s most important jobs. Nurturing, supporting and teaching our kids.
But c’mon. Whoever came up with this six-week holiday duration was surely taking the mickey.
Most of New Zealand is handed a few stat holidays (and fingers crossed for a couple more) and that’s it. Teachers get six weeks! Surely after four weeks you’ve eaten enough scorched almonds and sipped on enough savs to make it paramount you get back into the teaching routine to preserve your marvellous teaching minds.
Because I sure know my ‘‘Dadding’’ brain went mushy and checked out a few weeks back.
2020 School holidays – four weeks.
Wednesday, December 23 to Wednesday January 20 – what do you say?
Please say yes. Writing this column thing has taken four hours longer than usual because Mila told me she’s hungry 14 times, Alba hurt herself on the trampoline, scooter and poked herself in the eye with a Barbie doll and Nala the two-yearold is currently in toilettraining mode. There is now pee and beach sand on my carpet.
Four weeks. Cool. Lock it in. Done. Goodbye.
Yeah we love them to bits, but after five weeks of being locked in a house/bach/ tent/car with them – well, enough said.