Blog

As the summer holiday nears, you can sense your children’s excitement. For parents, however, the prospect of finding activities to keep their active youngsters occupied isn’t quite so exciting. In fact, it can be very daunting. Below we look at some steps parents can take to prepare for a satisfying summer for everyone.

Identify wholesome activities

Summer camps are a great way to keep children active and they’re a great way to make new friends, keeping your children amongst peers during the long break.

When at home, consider activities that peak your child’s interests. If they are particularly artistic, set a target to draw/paint/create something. If your child is really interested in history, ask them to research a particular event or time period. Set a deadline where you will inspect their work so that they have motivation to work on it.

Plan, plan and plan some more

You may have heard the quote, ‘Failing to plan is planning to fail’. When it comes to the summer holiday, it’s particularly true. If there is no plan, inevitably your children will find restless boredom filling their time rather than stimulating activities. While TV and video game time are good ways for them to relax, without other activities, they can easily become absorbed in screen time.

Create a summer calendar and include any family breaks, events and prearranged activities. Identify any down time and fill it with constructive activities that your child will enjoy.

Keep to a routine

While you hopefully have a schedule in place to provide your children with plenty of activities, it’s not only extremely difficult to fill every waking moment, but it’s also really expensive. As a result, there will inevitably be some down time. The summer break signals an end to your child’s usual routine. Late nights and mornings can become the norm, leading to often grumpy or lethargic youngsters.

To avoid this, keep the youngsters on a routine, maintaining bed times and meal times. A routine (with an initial bit of encouragement from parents) will provide your child with personal control and give them a sense of stability and independence.

Planning your own time

For working parents, it’s always difficult to find the correct life balance. During the summer holidays, children are likely to crave more of your time. Keep this in mind when booking annual leave and see if any arrangements can be made to have a bit more flexibility in your working hours. Summer holidays are an important and memorable part of a child’s life. Do your best to be as much a part of it as possible.