âĒ Written by Rich McNabb âĒ Proofread & Edited by Claude AI
Every school holidays, I take at least a week off instead of putting the kids into holiday programs or after-school care. Here's how Molly, Charlie and I sit down together and plan what we get up to. No holiday programs, just time actually.
Every summer school holidays, I take at few weeks off of work instead of putting the kids into holiday programs or after-school care. The Sunday before, Molly, Charlie and I sit down together with a to-do list app to brainstorm. We capture as many ideas as we can, beach days, wet weather backups, catching up with friends and family, a mix of no-cost and low-cost activities.
It’s all about flexibility and freedom, having options to decide on the day based on the weather and how everyone’s feeling. Going in with nothing set in stone sounds chaotic, but because the ideas came from all of us, it ends up feeling like something we planned together anyway.
Since 2015, I’ve been using my favourite parenting hack. Send the kids to school while Ali and I take the day off work to hang out. Gym, surfing, brunch, then pick the kids up after school for mango gelatos at the beach, followed by Thai food and Oreo cheesecake ðĨ
Some holidays, Ali was still working, so it was just me and the kids, solo parenting and making the most of every single day. We nicknamed ourselves the “OG skate crew,” which, looking back, mostly meant I didn’t have a job at the time. It’s still what we call each other when it’s just the three of us hanging out, years later.
Spending the school holidays like this is a big part of why I’ve got such a good relationship with my kids today, just hanging out and doing stuff together. Besides, the skatepark is never as much fun when I’m there by myself.