You've had approximately fourteen conversations about how much money you spent on that family day out.

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Primary School

5 Behaviour Management Strategies to Steal from Teachers

By Ciara McGuane

Ah, Midterm break. Sure who doesn't love an excuse to ignore school lunch boxes for a full week? I don't know what it is about this time of year but I can't be alone in feeling a little bit frazzled after a week away from our regular routine? I mean, I've had plenty of time to prepare for it. We all knew it was coming around and yet for whatever reason it always ends up being a bit of a circus.

I suspect this is the case for a lot of families. Is Midterm a bit of a chaotic week in your house? Are you trying to do it all (or nothing at all) and actually just getting swept up in the madness?

Here are 10 truths about an Irish household (or at least, a few of them) over Midterm.

1. You've planned loads of outdoor time for the family but naturally, a storm that sounds like a person has decided to pop into Ireland the week that the kids are off.
2. Your meal plan has gone out the window because you completely forgot how torturous it is to do the food shopping accompanied by all of your children.
3. You've had approximately fourteen conversations about how much money you spent on that family day out.
4. The term "movie night" has lost meaning and has now become a reason to simply watch TV with a massive bowl of popcorn and goodies.
5. You are genuinely craving a bit of Broccoli after days of eating too many treats and takeaways as a result of number two and four.
6. You've realized the harsh reality that parenting is largely a case of spending three hours tidying, cleaning and organizing so that your children can destroy it all in twenty seconds flat.
7. Your children really enjoy the sound of their own (albeit, beautiful) voices. Your day is full of questions you don't know how to answer and stories that take a solid hour for your children to tell.
8. You don't know how those "crafty" parents do it. You bought the bits and bobs and excitedly set up a little station at the kitchen table but spent the majority of the time telling the kids to be careful and not spill things.
9. You have a newfound respect for teachers in general, but mostly you think that your children's teacher deserves an actual award.
10. Next year you are definitely going away.