Comments on: Time will be filled with something

By: Elisabeth

Elisabeth — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 00:54:04 +0000

In reply to Ifiknew.

Honestly, I think you get the kids you get.

Mine will have their moments of getting inspired to create something independently or read a book quietly, but mostly they just want to be engaged with someone (bonus points if its an adult).

I DO make my kids spend a lot of time doing things independently; sometimes 1.5 hours of room time during a busy day (they’re 6.5 and 10.5) and I also have them go to their rooms relatively early at night. So they have LOTS of time to cultivate these skills…they just don’t seek it out beyond the times I insist they do low-key things.

By: Ifiknew

Ifiknew — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 19:33:03 +0000

In reply to Elisabeth. My kids are the same way about stimulated and adventuring. I wonder if there's anything to do to have more of the former type of kids or if we get the kids we get. Mine are 2 and 4 so I delude myself with thoughts that they will be more chill as they grow up..

By: Sarah K

Sarah K — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 17:53:01 +0000

I feel like whatever time we spend at home really ends up being filled with either housework (for me) or screentime (kids). My favorite weekends are the ones that include a lot of family outdoor activity, church, and some adult socializing. In Norway all the stores are closed on Sundays so shopping on Saturdays can be miserably crowded and I try to avoid it. Now my kids are big enough that they can run some errands by themselves, which is really nice.

By: Elisabeth

Elisabeth — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 14:37:04 +0000

Weekends (and downtime in general) are just not very relaxing with kids. Or, I guess, a specific subset of kids.
Several of my friends have kids who just like to putter around the house; they do art projects or play in the driveway or cuddle the dog and read a book independently.

My kids love to be stimulated, adventuring…doing something. So it’s easier for me to plan things in than try to “relax” at home (unless screens are involved and even that has a lifespan).

I suspect these minimalists you speak of either don’t have young children, or they have a very particular breed of them.

Yesterday, by the time we got home from church, I was exhausted. But I realized that if the kids had been elsewhere I WOULDN’T have wanted to rest. I had lots of energy for activity…I just didn’t have energy for activities that required parental support.