Shavuos Morning & Kids

amother

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 12:35 pm

As per the minhag, my husband stays up all night, davens naitz, then sleeps until about 2 PM... this leaves me with bored children for an extended morning... it's too hot to go outside after 10 AM, I don't want friends over because my husband is sleeping (and vice versa), and because of the age range of the children (baby, 2, 4, 6) it's hard to find a single activity that keeps everybody happy...

WHAT DO PEOPLE DO ON SHAVUOS MORNING WITH THEIR KIDS?

I am trying to plan in advanced because I find myself dreading Shavuos...

TIA,
An embarrassed mother

mom23

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 12:47 pm

Believe me I am sure you are not the only mother here wondering how to entertain young children while you husband is sleeping. In the past I went to the dollar store before Y"T and bought some inexpensive new toys to entertain them with. If your 2 year old is going to nap at some point during that time, maybe you can play a more mature game that the 4 and 6 year old will enjoy.

Also if possible maybe you can find another parent with similar aged children and offer to watch her 4 year old, while you send out your 6 year old to her. Sometimes a new playmate is all the entertainment kids need.

Good luck, and enjoy your kiddies!

cookielady

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 4:05 pm

I would give my kids ice cream for breakfast. That was always exciting to them when they were little, then it was off to shul to hear kriah.

justanothermother

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 6:13 pm

cookielady wrote:

I would give my kids ice cream for breakfast. That was always exciting to them when they were little, then it was off to shul to hear kriah.

This year I am trying ice cream shoppe in the late morning. Kids get poker chips for behaving well, they can redeem them for extra toppings in the shop. I bought 3 flavors of ice cream, sprinkles, nuts, choc sauce, caramel sauce, waffle cones, colored cones, mini candies and crushed chocolates.

The toppings should keep them motivated to earn chips, and the ice cream making and eating process should take a bunch of time - I hope.

amother

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 7:22 pm

posting anon because I dont want to sound like a complete idiot. but I dont get the big deal. arent kids home shabbos afternoon? what do you do with your children then? why is finding a way to entertain kids of different ages such a "unique" and "pressing" issue specific to shavuos morning? how about entertaning kids every afternoon for a 3 day yom tov? how bout stam a sunday afternoon? lond summer shabbosim? I dont get it.

justanothermother

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 7:34 pm

I also make plans in advance to keep everyone entertained for YomTov afternoons.

I find Shavuos morning harder than usual because it stretches out.

On Shabbos DH gives the children breakfast before shul so I can sleep in. We walk to shul to walk DH home and then start lunch right away, so the morning is pretty short and goes fast.

flowerpower

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 8:35 pm

So should I appreciate that dh is a deep sleeper and even a moving bulldozer won't startle him?

Maybe you find a shady park area and let the play there?

Twizzlers

Wed, Jun 04 2008, 9:00 pm

justanothermother wrote:

cookielady wrote:

I would give my kids ice cream for breakfast. That was always exciting to them when they were little, then it was off to shul to hear kriah.

this is such a cute idea! I hope I remember to use it when my kids are old enough to appreciate that!

amother

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 8:43 am

amother wrote:

hello? theres no one on here who can answer my question???

amother

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 9:01 am

justanothermother wrote:

amother wrote:

hello? theres no one on here who can answer my question???

hello??? I thought I did.

ok but still...I have two kids and I dont get it. were talking 7 am (thats when I get woken up shabbos morning) till 2 pm, versus the alternative on a regular shabbos afternoon, of, say 130 or 2 pm, until 8 pm? I understand its annoying but why is it DIFFERENT? It just seems like the op is making a bit of a mountain out of a mow hill (sp?), perhaps im missing something about motherhood!

shalhevet

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 9:09 am

amother wrote:

justanothermother wrote:

amother wrote:

hello? theres no one on here who can answer my question???

hello??? I thought I did.

Sorry, but I completely agree with the OP. I can only sympathize and say it gets easier. The difficult factor here is keeping the children quiet and occupied while dh sleeps. And then there's the whole afternoon ahead too.

(And for those who said their dh sleeps like a log, it somehow seems to work differently when they have to sleep, rather than when you want them to get up... Wink

)

greenfire

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 9:15 am

when do you eat the yom tov seudah ... I'm of the thought that should be done together - should the kids wait for 2pm to eat lunch ?!?!?! Rolling Eyes

anyways wake up get dressed take the kids to shul and give them prizes for behaving ... listening to aseres hadibros, etc. ... then give them lunch put them in for a nap or quiet play till the dh wakes up ... and then let em run amok ... Tongue Out

like "amother" asked ... why is this day different from all other days ... What

amother

Thu, Jun 05 2008, 12:30 pm

shopaholic wrote:

Sorry - can't help. If DH does end up staying up, he still gets up at a reasonable hour so its not an issue.

Ditto. Dh stays up all night, goes to sleep for a couple of hrs and wakes up in time to go to shul. When he gets home, we all eat together and then he learns and plays with the kids all afternoon.

Yes, he must be exhausted but he doesn't let learning all night take over the whole next day!

Other amother, I don't get it either.