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Summer is Coming!
Tips For Parents To Make Summertime Living Fun and Easy.
by Anne Jordan RN, Parenting Educator
(Originally
featured in our Summer 1998 Issue)
As spring turns to summer,
your children will get increasingly excited about vacation from school,
extra time to play outside and sleeping in late! As a mom or dad managing
that change in schedule, just thinking about long summer days can make
you want to freak out! What to do to make the summer fun and keep your
sanity? Here are some ideas to make your summer season the best ever for
you and your kids:
Start Early. Most important thing is to
start before school is even out and have a family meeting to discuss
summer and the changes that will be occurring. Make agreements about wake
up time, bedtimes, TV and Nintendo limits, etc. It's best to reach family
group consensus about these agreements, not just Mom or Dad setting the
rules. When everyone is clear about the family agreements, things seem to
run much smoother.
Specialized Day
Camps. Check
out those summer specials for day camps or art, music, drama, computer,
or other specialized camps in your local newspapers, parenting
publications, local YMCA, etc. Find your kid’s passions and go for the
things they love to do, not necessarily what you want them to excel at or
think they should do! (However, try not to over schedule these
opportunities. Kids also just want to stay home and play with friends or
hangout around the house).
Volunteer
Possibilities.
If you have young teens, check out the volunteer possibilities early in
the year, such as helping out an animal shelter if they have an interest
in animals; or volunteering at a daycare program if they show a love and
interest for children. Organizations of all kinds are always eager to
find help from young people that have an interest in what they do.
Individual Ideas. Allow your preteen or teen to make up flyers about
their expertise such as lawn service or baby-sitting ability. I have even
heard of some young teens that created little day camps in their backyard
for neighborhood kids complete with puppets, games, snacks, water play,
etc. Doing things like this helps young people feel valuable, powerful,
and may even allow them to make some extra money.
Ask Around. For your peace of mind, ask
around for recommendations on high school or college kids that might want
a standing job baby-sitting for you each week. Even if it is
only for a few hours, for a stay at home mom or dad, that time you can
have alone is important for you to have and call your own. Use that time
to schedule your appointments, grocery shop in peace or just take a walk
in your favorite place alone.
Do not over
schedule your kids. In this hectic, rushed pace we find ourselves in, summer time
should be a time to unwind, relax a little, and discover the joys a
summer day can bring. Encourage outings in your own backyard or
neighborhood pool. Rushing kids from camp to camp, lessons to lessons,
etc. may not be fun for your child all summer. Kids today need time to
just be and discover their world and have time to themselves.
Plan trips to
local hometown sites. For example, the zoo, or the local museums, or visit a farm with
animals. Do something special like this each week so everyone can look
forward to a new adventure and rediscover their own community.
Don't forget about
relatives.
Out of town or even in town, they may enjoy helping out now and then and
keep your kids overnight or even for a short "vacation".
Visiting a grandparent or favorite aunt can be a wonderful memory for
kids as well as give mom and dad a break. Encourage support of your
significant other in helping out with their favorite summertime
activities. For example, if your hubby likes to roller blade and you like
to bike, switch off taking the kids to do these things with you. Better
yet, find something everyone can do, like go to a professional ball game
or other sporting event and have a good time as a whole family.
Most of all, remember
what you enjoyed doing as a kid in the summer time and let your kids find
their favorite things. I remember being quite the entrepreneur, always
trying to "sell" people at my lemonade stands or my homemade
bakery goods. My children also enjoyed selling real snow-cones and have
learned lots of neat things standing on the street corner in our
neighborhood. They have some great stories to tell after a "day at
work" selling snow-cones. Sometimes the simplest things make the
fondest memories.
The author and her
husband, Tim Jordan, MD, own and operate self esteem building camps
called Kids Camp and Teen Camp in
various locations near St. Louis Missouri. This RCB based camp
encourages kids and teens to understand and feel their feelings, take
personal responsibility, and fosters personal growth. For more
information call: 314-530-1883 or email at: Anne2u@aol.com
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