Why We Stayed Home

Why We Stayed Home

This morning my six year old son greeted me with the question, “Do we have to go anywhere today?” He asked matter-of-factly and with only a hint of a whine. It made me pause.

As a stay-at-home-mom with a 2 ½ year old daughter and a 6 year old son, I assume I need to have something planned for every day of the week. After all, my son is home all day, every day during the summer. I figured he needed to do something every day, get out of the house, interact with people who are not me. If I kept him and his sister home, wouldn’t they get bored? Wouldn’t they destroy my house? Wouldn’t they destroy each other? Wouldn’t they destroy my sanity?

At my son’s request, we did nothing yesterday. The only place we went was to visit my mother-in-law at her work because we had to drop something off. The kids didn’t even get out of the car. Talan, my son, didn’t even change out of his pajamas and I’m fairly certain he didn’t put shoes on at any point. After a late breakfast, we colored together. Then we headed outside where my daughter “watered” the plants, trees and sidewalk. My son and I made an entire city out of chalk for his Spider-Man figurines to use. We had a relaxing lunch followed by naps. When they woke up, we headed back outside for my chalk drawing. By the time my husband came home, we were covered in chalk and smiles. It was one of the best days we had had all summer long.

Was I wrong? Do I really need to have something planned for every day?

When Matt and I moved our family to Minnesota, we were overjoyed at all the new opportunities our kids would have. Having previously lived in western North Dakota where the only excitement for kids was parks, we couldn’t wait to expose them to all kinds of new things---zoos, museums, concerts, festivals, etc. In my haste to make sure my kids experienced all the opportunities I didn’t, I forgot how awesome my own childhood was. While I may not have had splash pads to go to or lakes or museums, I had a wonderful time riding my bike around town with my friends. We loved to play backyard baseball or cops and robbers (a Ziploc baggie of Oreos was our treasure and my brother used to yell at me for eating them instead of protecting them from the “robbers”). We made our own fun and had a blast. Why couldn’t my kids do the same?

The answer is, of course my kids could. They proved they could when they asked to stay home. And my kids, just like myself, need breaks from time-to-time. Some days are best spent at home, doing nothing but relaxing and hanging out. However, I still believe that if we spent the majority of our days at home, my house would get destroyed and my two kids would not get along as well as they do now. Kids need to get outside, need interaction with each other, and, most importantly, need to be kept busy.

We will continue to visit the zoo once a week as well as the library and go to parks and splash pads. We will also make sure to spend time running errands so that they know the entire summer does not revolve around them. Some days we will spend at home playing or even cleaning the house.

Of course, all kids are different. What works for my family may not work for yours. But I think a blend of activities and imaginary play is just what this family needs.