How many hours do you spend away from home everyday?

[Adaline'sMama]

with your kids?

Lately I have been reading threads about SAHM's who have littles who spend all day, most days away from home. It surprised me because I am usually gone from home either less than one hour or 1-2 hours. About 3-4 times a month we are gone all day long, but other than that we just dont go out that much. Given, I live in a rural area, so I know if we lived in a city we would go out more often, but for us its not a pop the kid in a ergo and go situation. We dont need to go to a park really, because we have tons of space to run around and play. We go to the pool a couple of times a week, but I combine that with the errand of grocery shopping and we get to the pool, swim, grocery shop and get home in about 2.5 hours. So, Im interested to know how many hours most SAHM's (around here anyway) are away from home.

[limabean]

I voted 2-4 hours. Most mornings, we take a 45-60 minute walk, then stop at the park on the way home for an hour or two. And then lots of times we'll go out again in the afternoon, usually just for a short bike ride to the neighborhood park for another hour or so of play, but sometimes to grab a few ingredients for dinner or get a couple of quick errands done. Other times, though, we'll just fill up the kiddie pool or something and stay home at that time of day -- it just depends. 

So we're away from home for a few hours a day, but it doesn't feel hectic at all, since most of our outings are very leisurely. My neighbor is constantly on the go, and that sort of lifestyle would make me crazy, but it works great for her and her kids. 

[crunchy_mommy]

I voted more than 6 hours but it's really not that much EVERY day, though it averages out to more than 6. Some days we do just go out for 2 hours or so. If DH wasn't unemployed, we definitely would be gone a lot more, but we try to spend time with him.

If we have something planned (3-5 days a week), it is often a 30-60min drive to get wherever we are going. So we plan to be out for the whole day. We might go to the beach for 7+ hours (long past when most people have gone home!), or we'll go into the city and spend a few hours at the children's museum, a few more at the park, and run and errand or two. If we visit friends, we stay for a long time (unless they have other plans or something). We basically just stay out until we run out of things to do in the area.

But the other 2-4 days a week, we don't have any real plans, so we stay close to home & might just do an hour or two at the library in the morning and a couple hours out at the park or running errands later in the day. We like going on long walks, and will just grab some snacks and extra diapers and walk for a few hours. Even when we don't have time for long walks or have been out all day already, we often do a short (hour or so) walk.

DS and I prefer to be out as much as possible, but DH is a real homebody, so we have to balance it out, at least 'til DH finds a job. I cannot stand being home all day long unless I'm really sick or something.

[newmamalizzy]

I voted 2 - 4 hours.  We have plenty of toys and fun things to do, both inside the house and out, but somehow we both end up getting bored and need a change of scene.  DD's quite social and loves to interact with strangers, so I try to get her out among other people every day.  We usually go out for an hour or two mid-morning and mid-afternoon.  One trip is usually fun (park, playing with the kids next door, library, etc.), the other is generally errands. 

[Peony]

It varies widely but even on the days where we do the absolute very basic, it would be 2+ hours gone. Somedays are all day, but what is most common is heading out in the morning, coming back for lunch and a couple hours, and then heading out again in the afternoon. In the summer we do a lot of pool time in the afternoons, parks in the morning or one of my older kid's activities followed by the park/pool. We do have lots of outdoor toys at our house and a neighborhood park we could walk to, but those options are missing the most important thing, other kids to play with so we drive 10-15 minutes to town to go to parks there. During the school year it is something in the mornings a few times a week and then home for a while, and then off every day at 2:30pm to pick up kids at school and do afterschool activities. The only days I ever stay completely at home is when I have a child to sick to even sit in the car to do the pick up and then it is a big deal to get kids where they need to be. 

Back when it was just #1, we would stay home a couple days a week and then go out others, rarely all day, usually half the day. And then the older they got and the more of them there were, the busier we got and the less we are home. 

[Chicky2]

I voted less than an hour.

We are rural homeschooling homesteaders.  We moved out here to BE out here!  We can take care of the livestock (we have all kinds), swim, jump on the trampoline, swing, slide, climb trees, swim, take walks/bike rides.  We go out once a month or so, other than the grocery store, which is every 2 wks when I do it right!  We have violin and piano lessons in our home.  For the last 8 years this has worked great for us.

[Daffodil]

It varies a lot - there are days we don't go anywhere, and others when we're gone all day.  I voted 2-4 hours, because my guess is that's what it might average out to.  My kids aren't really little - they're 5 and 8.  We do stuff now that we couldn't have done when they were younger, like going on a hike that lasts several hours.  But they also entertain themselves at home better than they did when they were younger.  I might have spent more time away from home when they were small just because we all stayed happier and less bored if we were out doing something, and because I couldn't get much useful work done while I was home with them anyway.  Things we've done away from home this past week have included swimming lessons, homeschool beach day at a nearby lake, going to get the muffler replaced on the car and then stopping at the grocery store, and going over to my sister's pond to get pond water for our salamander larvae and to let the kids play in the water and catch frogs.

[mommariffic]

It depends!

We normally spend mornings at home because I do things around the house, bake, cook, and the kids play and by the time all that's done it's time for DS nap. When he wakes up we have lunch, and sometimes we go out in the afternoon - a park, friends houses, running errands etc. Sometimes we stay home and play in the yard (we live in a really urban area now so the yard has no shade + is a sun spot for the morning..) garden or hang with the dogs. BUT some days we adventure and we are gone for most of the day, really depends! I do enjoy staying home though, and in the winter we are home 90% of the time. 

[Magali]

Less than an hour.  If we get out it is for my walk that is about an hour.  There isn't much to do around here.  I mean we could go to the coffee shop and hang out with some retired guys and eat gross muffins, or go swim at a foul lake or drive 35 mins each way to a library that has a really crappy selection of English books....yeah, right now we are real homebodies. At least we have a pool so we get out swimming as much as the weather allows otherwise I would go crazy. 

[Marissamom]

it averages out to about 1-2 hours, though some days a lot more, some days not at all. 

[OkiMom]

Some days we are gone a lot other days we aren't. Tuesdays-Wednesdays- Thursdays we are usually gone between 8am-12pm. Tuesdays is a playgroup or visiting friends day, Wednesdays is story time and Thursdays we go do something fun together. Add in a couple hours a week for running errands and Sunday services we are probably out of the house 17-20 hours per week or 2-3 hours per day. I don't count going to the park since its right down the street or playing outside.

[hippiemombian]

For us is usually 1-2 a day, which let me say, drives me crazy we are home so much. Usually we get out to the store or go for a walk. Some days its the park or the pool. Where I live summers are brutal so we don't tend to go outside much. Spring, fall and winter are nice though and we usually find ourselves out most of everyday.

[Chloe'sMama]

like everyone here, it depends.  Most days we are out for a few hours, but some days not at all (while others I may go to my moms house for the day)

[callahansmama]

We walk with the local walking club three days a week for an hour and on the alternate days we go to playgroup for an hour or so. We hit the grocery store a couple of times a week and sometimes there is a playdate thrown in there. I would like to get out every morning and afternoon but with the abundance of bears in our area I don't feel comfortable walking or going to park on our own. I find that getting out keeps my son from getting bored as he is 14 months old now and on the move all the time.

[MrsBone]

Well, before DD's arrival in May, DS and I would be gone fo 2-4 hours a day, every day, sometimes all day. But not when he was younger. He is weaned, pretty self sufficient and doesn't need naps anymore, so we didn't have to work around that. Once DD arrived, it's gotten to where we don't go anywhere some days, and the days we do go anywhere, we're only gone 2 hours or so, unless we're going to relatives house where DD can nap, then we'll stay out longer. I knew it was going to be like this, but I wasn't sure how I was going to make sure I got in DS's social time as well. I live in the country and everything is a 15-20 minute drive. The closest thing to do near my house is parks and a community pool, which is nice, but at 116 degree highs for the day currently, we're trying to stay in as much as possible. I tend to get cabin-fever-y after 2 days home, but I try and remind myself that I'm giving myself plenty of time to clean, and plenty of play time with DS.

[newmamalizzy]

Originally Posted by callahansmama 

We walk with the local walking club three days a week for an hour and on the alternate days we go to playgroup for an hour or so. We hit the grocery store a couple of times a week and sometimes there is a playdate thrown in there. I would like to get out every morning and afternoon but with the abundance of bears in our area I don't feel comfortable walking or going to park on our own. I find that getting out keeps my son from getting bored as he is 14 months old now and on the move all the time.

I LOVE the wildernessy details you throw into your posts.  Sounds like an amazing place to live.

[seawitch]

I don't enjoy going to playgroups and we don't have the money for structured activities or admission prices to places... and it's just too hot in Florida right now to get out and about to parks and the like. We spend most days at home, except on days when I run errands or go to the library (sans kids, mostly).

[anjsmama]

I voted 2-4 hours...  we usually do two outings. We leave the house around 9 am and do 1 errand (yes, there always ends up being 1 errand everyday!) and a trip to a park of some sort. We are usually back by 1130. Then we leave again around 230 (after nap) and do either park, library, nature walk, pool, or whatever. We try to get back around 4 to clean up a bit, DH gets home at 430. We live in a 900 sq ft apt and the kids are 3 y/o and 6 m/o... there just wouldn't be any sanity here all day. There's no grass space, we live on the second floor.. 

In our old home, we had 1800 sq ft and a fenced in 1/2 acre backyard. We never left the house. We did 1 day that was just "errand day" and the rest of the time we were at home, aside from special trips like beach once or twice a month.

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by seawitch 

I don't enjoy going to playgroups and we don't have the money for structured activities or admission prices to places... and it's just too hot in Florida right now to get out and about to parks and the like. We spend most days at home, except on days when I run errands or go to the library (sans kids, mostly).

See, this is my issue. I live on 11 acresto be able to just be out side, and my DD isnt really old enough for parks just yet (weve been, but basically if there are other kids there she either gets trompled or moms are constantly saying "be careful of the baby!" and shooting me dirty looks like "your baby is keeping everyone from being able to run and play". )

Pretty much everytime I leave the house, I spend some money. To go anywhere is at least 15 minutes in the car, usually 30 and so its not like we are just going to run back home if I get thirsty or if DD wants a snack that I haven't packed. I always wind up spending money, aside from gas. When Im out for 6-8 hours a day, I wind up spending at least $20, inevitably. So, we just stay home most of the time. I know some moms are out all day every day with their kids, and it just seems like there is no way I can afford it. I want to go out with her, because otherwise, Im just constantly picking up after her and our house is trashed and Im pregnant and tired of picking it up.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Adaline'sMama 

Pretty much everytime I leave the house, I spend some money. To go anywhere is at least 15 minutes in the car, usually 30 and so its not like we are just going to run back home if I get thirsty or if DD wants a snack that I haven't packed. I always wind up spending money, aside from gas. When Im out for 6-8 hours a day, I wind up spending at least $20, inevitably. So, we just stay home most of the time. I know some moms are out all day every day with their kids, and it just seems like there is no way I can afford it. I want to go out with her, because otherwise, Im just constantly picking up after her and our house is trashed and Im pregnant and tired of picking it up.

We are out all day but we don't spend money!! I could never afford $20+ an outing! Usually I pack a big cooler with lots of snacks/meals/drinks. We pack tons of diapers, the Ergo, and anything else we might need (I'll admit, it does take a lot of foresight, planning, & practice!!) We go to parks & playgrounds, we drive up to the city and walk around there for hours, we go to playdates and run errands on the way home, we hike, swim at the pond or beach, visit local farms, spend hours at the library, keep tabs on all local free events, etc. On the rare occasion we need or want something I haven't packed (VERY rare) I stop at a place like the grocery store so I'm paying the same amount I'd pay anyway -- i.e. if we want ice cream, we don't go to an ice cream stand or truck or whatever, but pick up a pint of whatever dairy-free ice cream is on sale at the grocery store and only spend $2 and have plenty to share. And even that is a special (once every couple months) treat. So I guess I just feel bad that people feel cost is necessarily an inhibitor to getting out more if they want to -- because it doesn't have to be (well, assuming you can walk or afford transportation, which is the same cost whether you're gone one hour or ten)!