{"id":1299,"date":"2025-07-10T13:15:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T13:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/?p=1299"},"modified":"2025-07-10T13:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T13:56:12","slug":"working-parents-summer-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2025\/07\/10\/working-parents-summer-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Working Parents and the Summer Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Summer should feel like a break. Especially for parents. But if you run a business, the summer holidays often bring a very different kind of pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school gates close, routines go out the window, and suddenly you\u2019re trying to manage childcare, activities, and snack requests while still answering emails and keeping things running. For business owners and managers with young families, the summer break can feel anything but restful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Holidays where you can\u2019t fully switch off<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even when you do take time off, it\u2019s rare to completely switch off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you tell yourself you\u2019ll just check in for \u201ca few minutes\u201d each morning. Or you wait until the kids are watching a film to quickly respond to a few messages. Before you know it, you\u2019re sat in the car park of a soft play centre, replying to emails with a lukewarm coffee balanced on your knee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That low-level hum of responsibility is always there. A constant background buzz you can\u2019t quite mute, because for many small business owners or managers, there\u2019s simply no one else to hand things over to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So even when you\u2019re away, you\u2019re not really away<\/em>. And that takes its toll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The emotional toll of constant switching<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s often underestimated is the emotional exhaustion that comes from constantly switching gears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One moment you\u2019re cutting up apple slices or resolving a sibling argument. The next, you\u2019re back in business mode, replying to a customer query, making a decision, chasing up a payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not just multitasking. It\u2019s the mental strain of constantly changing focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it can leave you feeling like you’re never fully present in either role. Not quite the parent you want to be, and not quite the focused business owner you need to be. That split attention wears you down in ways that aren\u2019t always visible but build up over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guilt \u2014 whatever you choose<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You want to make the most of the summer with your child, but the business still needs you. So maybe you send them off with a grandparent for the afternoon. Or book them into a holiday club for a few days, just to get a clear run at your to-do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even when you do get through the work \u2014 when you’ve cleared your inbox, ticked off the urgent tasks, and finally feel on top of things, it can come with a pang of guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You start wondering if you should\u2019ve kept them home instead. Maybe you could\u2019ve gone out, made a memory, done something fun together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when you are with them, part of your brain is still ticking through unread emails and customer requests. One part of you is building Lego towers or queuing at the ice cream van, while another part is quietly working through mental checklists:
Did I reply to that message? What\u2019s due tomorrow? Has payroll gone out?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feels like your mind is constantly split down the middle. You\u2019re there, but not fully there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s the part that wears you down. The sense that you’re never quite doing enough in either role, even when you’re doing everything you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of filling the summer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the pressure of simply filling the days. Coming up with new ideas to keep kids entertained \u2014 and trying to avoid too much screen time \u2014 can feel like a full-time job in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to mention the cost. Days out, snacks, transport, activities, ice creams… it adds up fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when your energy is already stretched thin, the daily question of \u201cWhat are we doing today?\u201d can feel overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when do you get a break?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere in between keeping the business afloat and keeping the kids happy, there’s a question that often gets pushed to the bottom of the list: When do you get time for yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n