Playday Family day plan Saturday Plan · USD 12
Saturday with a 6 year old and a 2 year old
One outing, one nap, two meals and the point in the afternoon where it usually goes wrong.
The hard part of a family Saturday is not finding somewhere to go. It is the 90 minutes between the nap ending and dinner, when everyone is tired and nothing is planned. This day is built backwards from that window.
One thing in the morning, home for the nap, and a short walkable thing afterwards. Two outings in a day with a two year old is how a good Saturday becomes a bad one at about four in the afternoon.
The day
Hour by hour
- 08:30
Breakfast at home, slowly
Do not go anywhere before 09:30. Leaving early with a two year old buys you nothing and spends the best mood of the day on a car park.
- 09:45
Leave for Bute Park
Eighteen minutes. Park at the north entrance, not the main one, because it is free on a Saturday and closer to the playground.
- 10:00
Playground, then the miniature railway
Playground first while both of them have energy. The railway runs every 20 minutes from 10:30 and takes 12 minutes, which is exactly the right length for a two year old.
- 11:15
Snack on the grass, not in a cafe
Bring it. The queue at 11:15 on a Saturday is fifteen minutes and neither child will wait.
- 11:45
The river path, as far as anyone wants
Flat, buggy friendly, ducks. Turn round the moment the two year old is done rather than the moment you reach anything.
- 12:15
Leave. Genuinely leave
This is the single most important line in the plan. Leaving while it is still going well is what makes the afternoon survivable.
- 12:45
Home. Lunch, then nap
The nap is why the morning ends at 12:15 and not at 13:30.
- 15:00
The library, ten minutes walk
Free, indoors, no pressure, and the six year old gets something that is hers rather than shared. Saturday storytime is at 15:30.
- 16:30
Home, and nothing else
The plan ends here on purpose. Anything you add is borrowed from tomorrow.
Ages
What each of them gets
| 6 year old | 2 year old | Adults | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playground | Good | Good | Sit down |
| Miniature railway | Fine | Highlight | 12 min sitting |
| River path | Good | Buggy | Actual walk |
| Library storytime | Highlight | Too long | Sit down |
Storytime is the one activity aimed squarely at the older child. Take her to it and let the two year old wander the picture book corner with one adult. Trying to make both of them do the same thing at these ages is the usual failure.
Practical
Cost, weather and what to bring
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Parking, north entrance | USD 0 | Free on Saturdays. The main car park is USD 7 |
| Miniature railway, 2 children | USD 9 | Adults free with a paying child |
| Snacks and coffee | USD 11 | Bring the snacks, buy the coffee |
| Library storytime | USD 0 | Free, no booking |
| Something unplanned | USD 14 | Ice cream. There is always ice cream |
| Total | USD 34 |
| If | Then |
|---|---|
| It rains | Museum instead of the park, same timings. It opens at 10:00 and is free, and the nap still happens at 12:45 |
| The 2 year old skips the nap | Go home anyway. Quiet time in a room beats the library at 15:00 |
| The 6 year old is bored by 11:00 | The railway again. It is USD 2 and it buys twenty minutes |
| Everyone is fine at 12:15 | Leave anyway |
- Snacks for 11:15, packed the night before
- Change of clothes for the 2 year old
- Buggy, even though the 6 year old will want to sit in it
- Suncream or waterproofs, depending
- Library card, if you have one
- Nothing else. You do not need the scooter