I dread the six-week summer vacation – it’s hard and boring, says Cara Delahoyde

THE sun is shining and parents are lining up at the school gates, ready to take their little ones home for six weeks.

But how many of those moms and dads actually enjoy spending 42 long days crafting, bickering with siblings and handing out snacks every five minutes?

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According to Cara Delahoyde-Massey, mother of two and winner of Love Island, not much.

The 34-year-old openly tells us that school holidays are hard on parents and boring for children, and she wishes more mothers would be honest about this.

She admitted in her podcast that she is not looking forward to the six-week summer break from school, The school track.

Cara won the second series of ITV’s Love Island in 2015, alongside her current husband Nathan Massey, 32.

The couple now have two children: six-year-old Freddie and three-year-old Delilah, whom they affectionately call Pinky.

“It’s been six weeks already and we’re all dreading it,” she said.

“But we can’t say that we’re dreading it, because ‘we have to enjoy the time with our children’.”

Cara lashed out at those who ridiculed her mother, saying she should be “grateful” that she had that time with her children, and expecting “someone to complain” about her opinion.

“Let’s face reality: the autumn break and school holidays are tough,” she continued.

“They’re hard for the kids, they’re boring for the kids, they’re hard for us… they’re boring!”

She understood that it was easier for older generations during the school holidays because ‘we had more freedom’.

“When we were younger, you could go to more places on your own,” she said.

“I can’t let my children do that anymore!?”

Cara also hit out at mothers who claim school holidays are a breeze.

Tips to stay organized during the summer holidays

Don’t know how to keep your summer vacation organized? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Senior Fabulous Writer, Sarah Bull, has shared her top tips…

FOOD: What I find difficult is keeping track of how many snacks my children keep asking for.
Although they have one break and then lunch at school, their demand for food during school holidays seems to be all day long.
To make it a little easier, I decided to bring snack baskets for them.
They both have a certain amount of food (the same, so there is no arguing) and when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Not only does it make my life easier, but it also teaches them to space things out and maybe even learn whether the “hunger signals” are actually hunger or thirst signals.

ACTIVITIES: Keeping your kids entertained can be tough, and six weeks can be a really long time.
One thing to take advantage of is an outdoor space. If you have a garden, you can put bikes or scooters there, or even a trampoline.
It keeps them busy and also ensures that they get some form of exercise every day.
If you don’t have room for a climbing frame or other activities, you can also give the kids a bucket of chalk and let them draw on the sidewalk.
Or another one I did was give the kids a ‘magic solution’ that I wanted painted on the wall (it was just water and dish soap) to protect it. They spent a good hour on that!

CLOTHES: Since my daughter, who is now 6, started school, I have been using clothes drawers for her and my 10-year-old son.
On Sunday I put all their clothes, underwear, socks, etc. in the designated drawer for the week.
Mostly it’s uniform, but I also use the drawers during the holidays.
It simply makes things easier, more organized and less stressful – for all of us.

“You just hear people saying, ‘Oh my God, it’s so exciting, I’m going to do a lot of crafting and crafting, and I’m going to do this, and I’m going to do that,’” she said.

“No normal mother does that, sorry.

“We struggle every day.”

This isn’t the first time Cara has spoken openly about her dislike of school holidays.

In May, she shared her despair on social media after hearing her little ones cry out “mama” over and over again all day at home.

Hundreds of other parents responded to the comments and shared their recognizable feelings.

One of them even joked that Cara forgot to mention that children say “I’m hungry” after screaming to get their mother’s attention.