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Too busy for the kids

Adele Hamilton, editor of Parent24
Adele Hamilton, editor of Parent24
“Not now, I’m busy!”  You can be sure that at least once a day for the rest of the year I will say this to one of my children. I would love to say that what I am busy with is writing Harry Potgieter and the Big Bucks, or perhaps concocting the ultimate cure for hangnails. Sadly, I am much more likely to be terribly busy folding washing, catching up on work email or washing the dishes. Here’s my pre-holiday resolution: at least once a day I shall put down a chore to do something time-wasting and fun with my kids.

Of course this happens a lot less with my teen, who is often too busy himself to dry the dishes or put away his folded washing. That’s why I am determined to find some ways to stay connected to him. For the 9 year-old it’s more about keeping him occupied so he doesn’t melt into a puddle of inertia in front of Disney channel or give himself square eyes playing golf on the Wii. Even though we’re not going away, we must take a day or two to go somewhere different – gives the kids something to talk about when they get back to school, when everyone else is banging on about their holidays in London and Londolozi.

And if I ever really think I’m too busy, I’ll take a moment to read the story of this mother of 10...

So how busy are you? Share the gory details!

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