Do You Ever Do Yard Work

[DancingQueen]

while the kids play outside?

Today we went outside and the kids were SO occupied. That I just began raking. They were right there and we were talking the entire time - but I got a LOT of raking done and I was very proud of myself.

But then I started to worry that my dc parents are going to arrive and see my nice lawn and be unhappy with the fact that I was doing yard work while watching their kids.

I'd love your thoughts on it.

[youretooloud]

I do. I've pulled fruit off the trees on the other side of the playground fence before.

I don't usually watch the kids very closely when they are outside. Within reason, they are free to go in and out the doors without me. If it's too hot, I keep the doors closed and locked, and we all go out for a few minutes together... but, otherwise the doors are open.

[SilverSabre25]

Yep...I don't play with the kids while we're outside. I did that for awhile and it quickly turned into kids who had NO CLUE how to play outside without adult intervention. I took myself out of the equation and lo and behold...they figured it out on their own!

So, while they're playing, I knit or read or use the computer (on cloudy, dry days). I weed the garden, rake up leaves, pick up sticks to get ready for mowing later, sit and bask in the sun...and since we have a human-powered lawnmower, I have been known to mow in the evening with DD and dck out with me on the days I have a dck very late (past 6 usually). No one has ever said anything about it.

[SandeeAR]

When we moved in this house (a rental), the back and front yard were FULL of pine needles. Just found out from a neighbor, they had not been raked in the 13 years she had lived there! I have raked on them MANY times while the kiddos played outside. When we get the flower beds built in the back, I will plant in it too while they play.

I treat these kids like they are my own, when they are here. I want this to be their 2nd home. I didn't just stop and watch or play constantly with my own kids growing up. I gave them free rein to play. These parents only have weekends and nights with their kids. Do you think they "only" play and watch the kid non stop? Nope, they go on about life. Just like I do when I have the kids.


I wash laundry and fold it while the kids are here. Fridays, I dust while they play and deep clean the kitchen, after lunch. During nap time on Fridays, I clean my bathrooms. After nap time, I put their sheets and blankets in the wash. Then when they leave, all I have left is the floors and cleaning the toys. I have the rest of the weekend for what I "want" to do.

I also have a small house, one level. When I'm in a bedroom putting something up, and they are in the den, I'm not 15' away.

[Blackcat31]

I do the same as Silversabre does....

On a rare occassion if I have an interested dck, I let them help me rake or pick up sticks. When it is Fall and we have to rake leaves, EVERYONE helps rake, gather and fill bags. The yard is for dck use therefore they can help care for it as well.

[SilverSabre25]

I do the same as Silversabre does....

On a rare occassion if I have an interested dck, I let them help me rake or pick up sticks. When it is Fall and we have to rake leaves, EVERYONE helps rake, gather and fill bags. The yard is for dck use therefore they can help care for it as well.

Oooo fall is the BEST because after they rake the leaves into a pile (or I do it, whichever) I usually let them jump in the leaf piles. They have a blast.

[DancingQueen]

Thank you - this makes me feel a lot better.
We had an incredibly horrible winter. So bad in fact that we were housebound almost the entire winter. It has been horrible. Then we had some nice days but my deck collapsed with the weight of the snow so my backyard was unsafe. We spent the last two weekends going to town on the backyard to get it to the point where it was safe for them to play even if it was still a mess. And today is the first day so we were outside from 9-10:45 and will go outside again right after naps. I just can't wait.
They are happy - I am happy and I was really starting to think I hated my job when in reality I just hate my job when I'm stuck in doors LOL

My yard is filthy - by that I just mean a lot of toys need to be hosed down, leaves everywhere, chairs strewn about rakes shovels, etc... all over. and old leaves and dead grass everywhere. Along with even some litter thanks to my 14 year old who doesn't know how to pick up after herself.

So this morning I raked and organized and stacked chairs and raked some more and picked up litter and fixed some fencing, fixed my broken hose nozzle and much more.

I'm so happy I could burst.


Did I mention it is going to rain starting tonight for about 24 straight hours <banging head against wall>

[dEHmom]

and since we have a human-powered lawnmower, I have been known to mow in the evening with DD and dck out with me on the days I have a dck very late (past 6 usually). No one has ever said anything about it.

I just want to mention, it is NOT a good idea to mow the lawn with children around. Not trying to be a b****face, but it's not safe.

We always make sure kids are in house, or on the opposite side of house (dh cuts back yard we are in front yard, vice versa). Sometimes kids toss rocks in the grass or toys etc, and the lawn mower whips these out. I was about 50 feet from dh when he was cutting grass and a little pebble hit me nearly in the eye.


But other than the lawn mowing, yes, everytime I'm outside with kids I accomplish something in yardwork or gardening.

[DCMom]

I weed, rake, sweep, whatever can be done with 6-8 interested little humans trailing me

I wouldn't mow with a powered mower of any kind, but I don't think that the push, rotary 'human powered' mowers are a big deal. In fact, I would love to find one ~ it reminds me of my childhood, when pushing that thing was my job! Now I think it would just be relaxing, .

[AnythingsPossible]

I too do yard work when we are outside. I consider it as enhancing the environment for the kids, not neglecting them. They play quite well, and I always have an eye and ear on them, just do what needs to be done while I'm out there!

[dEHmom]

I weed, rake, sweep, whatever can be done with 6-8 interested little humans trailing me

I wouldn't mow with a powered mower of any kind, but I don't think that the push, rotary 'human powered' mowers are a big deal. In fact, I would love to find one ~ it reminds me of my childhood, when pushing that thing was my job! Now I think it would just be relaxing, .

thing that worries me about these, is most of them don't have a big enclosed guard on the top (i dont' know if any do, but i'm sure there is some somewhere). If a kid trips and falls while you are pushing this, I'd be worried about fingers or hands getting in the blades, kwim?

I did not realize at first that it was a push mower, , I was just thinking she meant one you pushed around as opposed to maybe a riding lawnmower, my bad

[SilverSabre25]

thing that worries me about these, is most of them don't have a big enclosed guard on the top (i dont' know if any do, but i'm sure there is some somewhere). If a kid trips and falls while you are pushing this, I'd be worried about fingers or hands getting in the blades, kwim?

I did not realize at first that it was a push mower, , I was just thinking she meant one you pushed around as opposed to maybe a riding lawnmower, my bad

nope, by human powered I meant the rotary type but couldn't remember the word for it. I insist that they stay on the other side of the yard from me, and haven't had to do it since last summer when I watched a girl until 8 PM 5 nights a week...if I didn't mow with her and DD, the yard would NEVER have gotten mowed. I would never do it with any other type of mower.

[dEHmom]

I'm super weak I guess, but have no desire to prove to myself or anyone that I can start a gas powered mower . So it has been and still remains dh's job to mow. I also have no desire to stop and start mowing the lawn 50 times to empty the bag (we definitely need a riding mower). DH usually does this once a week and usually either a friday night or a saturday.

But there are plenty of jobs that if I don't do them, they will never get done (ugh dog poo).

[countrymom]

we have alot of trees which equals alot of fallen branches, the dck's love to pick them up and put them in the fire pit, esp. the really big one. I too do yard work outside, I need to buy more rakes because all the kids love to help. I don't mow the yard because we own a rider, my own children are not allowed on the ground when the rider is in use and they are 6-13.

[Evansmom]

I find that when we are outside it's better if I just step back a bit and let the kids be kids. So sometimes I pull weeds, sometimes I rake, sometimes they like to help with these chores too so I let them. Sometimes I just like to watch them play or I read a book. But I'm always listening to them even when they think I'm not.

I LOVE going outside with the kids. No matter what kind of morning we've had going outside takes everything down a notch.