Quote · Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe
S12 EP52: I am spent
Where this was said
Rob's Date Day with His Daughter
At 30:40 · chapter starts 28:40
Rob had two separate one-on-one days with his daughters over the weekend, both deliberately unplanned. The first involved a trip to the Glades shopping centre with the goal of floating: no agenda, no bookings. For about ninety minutes this was fine. Then came the creeping awareness of nothing to do, and his daughter herself admitted that having a plan is actually good. They ended up in an arcade playing Mario Kart with sweat dripping off their noses in 34-degree heat, then bowling, then a spontaneous stop at M&S for a new top (for her), and finally Miller and Carter for a fillet steak kids menu at about £16 for two courses. Rob uses the story to interrogate a longer pattern: 15 years of hectic professional life have made him treat weekends like a tour schedule, packing them with destinations and activities until they feel like work. He's actively trying to break the habit — but as Josh points out, he's been saying this for four years.
Rob reflected that over-scheduling weekends with activities can make family time more stressful than relaxing, and he is now actively trying to leave weekends unplanned.
While watching Clarkson's Farm, the kids asked to see the dogs making puppies. Rob got them out just in time — because when they pressed play, the dog completely missed its target and the resulting scene was graphically explicit on full camera.
