THE summer holidays are here again but the festive season isn’t always a joy.
School is out and children of all ages are home for the holiday often with little to do for almost two months.
Of course they have plenty of plans, but it’s their parents who are expected to drive them around and entertain them on days they are at home.
With few summer camps or community programs, children often end up vegetating in front of the TV.
Lezandre Fortuin says the holidays are a time for family and going out - her mother even plans to take the three children camping.
“It is up to parents to provide activities and excitement for kids who are used to full days and plenty to do.”
“December is good,” says mother Lulama Tshaya, a time for festivities and going to the beach.
“It is a time for resting and recharging. “
Visiting family and spending time with friends always seems easier as the empty days of summer stretch out before you.
With Christmas around the corner malls are full of mothers doing their holiday shopping with children in tow always interested mainly in the colourful toys, sweets and clothes for sale.
The general consensus among parents is that the holidays are too long for bored children and idle teenagers, with frustration on the rise and parents growing steadily more fed up with the festive season.
Shaamila Davids, however, says she likes her children at home and that her boys play cricket every day and often swim.
Going out shopping at Paarl Mall and Cape Gate are also among their activities.
Shaamila mentions that her boys aren’t so glad about the long holidays “because they like school”.
With all the dropping off and fetching from school over for now, and no need to assist with homework or after school activities, parents expect a rest.
But now they have to attend to a whole new range of stressors opening up in the holiday season.
Parents are trading in school runs for play dates and sleepovers, homework for attention seeking kids and Christmas is still on the way.
With gifts to buy and children to satisfy, planning a Christmas holiday is looking a little bleak.
It seems this time of rest and relaxation is only the beginning of a different kind of chaos.
