Your Mind Your Body

Summer vacation is around the corner for most of our children. While the kids are shouting with joy, parents may find themselves trying not to shout. Having the kids home all day for eight weeks can be a challenge.

Kids still do best when they have some structure. So, while flexibility is important, and the times to wake up and go to bed may be later, it’s helpful for kids — and parents — to schedule routine naps and time for quiet or reading.

For parents who work outside the home, a tempting option is to leave middle and high school students home alone during the day. But this should always be a last option.  If this is the only choice you have, consider stopping home in the middle of the day or having a neighbor pop in unexpectedly to check on the children. Assign chores that must be completed.

Summertime can be fun and a time to develop responsibility in creative ways. Encourage your older tweens and teens to:

• start a dog walking service
• begin a lawn-mowing business
• be a mother’s helper
• babysit

For parents home all day with their kids, the biggest complaint they hear is “I’m bored.” Today’s children really are not used to providing their own activities. And while there are tons of things to do and places to go, many are too expensive to do on a regular basis. Here are some fun and inexpensive activities to help you all enjoy the summer.

• Try for at least one hour of physical activity for each hour of computer or TV time.
• Invest in swimming lessons.  This is probably one of the most important gifts you can give your children.
• Check out your local YMCA. They have great activities for the whole family.
• Spend the day at a park, lake or beach. Pack a lunch and bring plenty of snacks, drinks and sunscreen. Look for places that have bathrooms.
• Go bike riding. Look up local bike trails geared for families.
• Plant a vegetable or flower garden together.
• Find a brook and bring a strainer and plastic containers. Kids can spend hours catching tadpoles and other water creatures. Don’t forget to apply bug spray if you are in the woods.
• Write a play together, assign everyone parts and perform it for friends and family.
• Go to the library. You get great books and check out movies, and some libraries have other perks like free passes to parks and museums.
• Go to a museum. There are often days when admission is free or discounted.
• Take out the hoses, squirt guns and bubble makers and let everyone get wet and cool down.
• Wash the car together. Don’t worry about how clean the car really is. Sure you can teach the kids the “how to’s” of car washing. But it is amazing how you can relax with a glass of ice tea while the kids are soaping, spraying and wiping the car, each other and probably you!
• Set up math challenges and problem solving situations to keep the kids learning even when not in school.
• Do chores together. Let the kids take turns choosing the music to play while you work. It is amazing how fast chores get done and how much fun can be had as you dance around the house.

The bottom line is, relax, have fun, be physical and be flexible. And don’t forget to schedule naps and quiet time.

photo by Adwriter

Filed under: Children, Lifestyle & Behaviors, Parenting, Stress, Women, Work/Life