Your children are away, now you can play! Don’t do the housework: see friends and family, look for free activities and events and generally do things just for you!

1. Eat the type of food that you enjoy but don’t normally bother to cook when the children are around (hot curry perhaps… Mmmm!)
2. Stay in touch with your feelings. In particular allow yourself to feel sad. What you are feeling is understandable, natural and will pass more quickly if you let it out rather than trying to stifle it.
3. Fill your days with different types of experiences. Write ‘to do’ lists, if it helps, and ensure that amongst the work and practical things you might want to get done while the kids are away, you also have treats (A hair-cut? A massage? A swim?)
4. Test yourself (positively) by trying something new and unusual: Horse riding? Climbing? Join an archeological dig? (It’ll give you something to share with the kids when they get back.)
5. Reconnect with people you’ve lost touch with or haven’t seen in a while. (Why not join a social media site like Facebook if you haven’t already?)
6. Keep a journal/diary.
7. Check out the Netmums Making Mum’s Happy Programme. It’s free and it will make you appreciate all the good things in your life!
8. This is your holiday/weekend too. Whatever else you do, recharge your batteries so that you are happier, healthier and calmer by the time your children come back.
9. If you are feeling uneasy about the situation have a read of our ‘Making Access Visits Easier‘ article, it will give you some things to think about before they go.