So we’re ankle deep in the holidays, and the weather’s been amazingly kind to us so far, hasn’t it? Here in Dorset we’ve had pretty much wall-to-wall loveliness.
There is the temptation as a parent to endlessly fill the days with Doing Things. Keeping them busy, keeping them active and outside and doing ‘real’ things in the open air.
But actually, there’s value in everything.
And I see a definite value in downtime.
In letting them just ‘be’ – slumping in a chair in front of nothing-TV, Minecrafting for a few hours with their mates, eating a bowl of popcorn in front of stupid YouTube videos.
We all love some time off, don’t we? And when you’re a kid, surely that applies too.
Why on earth do they not get a few days just being left alone, left to do whatever their brain fancies?
I can’t imagine anything worse than having someone hounding me all day, telling me to go-and-do-something-less-boring-instead.
For mine, Netflix is invaluable. It’s in use every single day, and more often than not it’s a shared thing. It’s just not about going to hide in a quiet corner and being solitary with a screen.
Oh no – it’s about excited “oh, d’you remember this?” between the boys, shared memories of younger years as they re-watch classic Spongebob episodes – and it’s funny how old habits die hard. though the bodies are bigger, they still seem to think the best way to watch is all piled on the sofa together like a bundle of puppies.
It’s about introducing Bear, the youngest, to their favourite childhood films – a happy lunchtime conversation reminiscing about a French holiday from a few years ago, and in particular our visit to Futuroscope, led them to showing her Arthur and the Invisibles – and she was utterly entranced.
And of course there is not much that can beat the whole family in one room, sniggering hysterically at Adam Sandler in Bedtime Stories (doesn’t matter how many times I see that film, Russell Brand translating for Adam Sandler-with-a-wasp-stung-tongue kills me every time).
Whether it’s a rainy morning. or a baking hot day and we have retreated inside for some cooling down peace, Netflix is a perfect summer accompaniment.
How about you – how much TV time do your kids get over the summer, and what are they loving to watch right now?
