Your Guide to a Successful Summer Break by Tina Martin

Break Summer break is a wonderful time for families to relax and connect, but it can also be a trying time for parents. When faced with the free time of summer, kids can easily end up glued to screens, wasting the warm days with TV shows and video games instead of getting outside to enjoy their freedom. It’s important that your kids develop healthy habits that lead to self-confidence. “Self-confidence begins when you can learn from errors, and then move beyond them to consistently improve,” writes Dr. Terry Paulson. That practice can begin with an active summer for your kids. You know that an active summer is best for them—the question is, how do you make it happen?

Plan for success

Parents who are concerned about crafting an active summer break for their kids should focus on a few things: limiting screen time, preventing summer brain drain, maintaining a schedule, and promoting physical activity. Having a plan for accomplishing each of the points before summer arrives will ensure a less stressful summer for everyone. For moms working from home, make and stick to a schedule your children understand. They’ll know when is mom’s work time and her play time.

Monitor screen time

Limit the amount of screen time your kids get each day by restricting television, video games, and computer time to 1–2 hours per day, suggests GreatSchools. Require that your kids spend a little time outside every day, weather permitting, and schedule family chore time so you can have extra hands to help with the messes that come hand-in-hand with summer fun. When the weather keeps your kids indoors, direct their attention to craft supplies, coloring books, and bookshelves instead of the TV screen.

Fight the brain drain

When you’re planning summer activities for your kids, look for options that let them learn and grow while still having fun. After all, you don’t want summertime to feel like an extension of school. Enrolling in a day camp or sleepaway camp with an academic focus such as a robotics camp, astronomy camp, or nature camp will grow your little ones’ curiosity and independence whilealso preventing the summer slide.

Getting involved in the local library’s summer reading program and drop-in activities gives your kids an opportunity to meet new friends while keeping their growing minds active. You can even pique their interest in science and math by encouraging them to learn about storm spotting. They can learn all about the weather during the stormy summer months.

Maintain a schedule

Split your summer schedule between scheduled activities, free time, and family time. You’ll need to find the balance that works best for your household, but an even split between each category is a good place to start. Look for the right balance of structured play and unstructured play for your children, recommends Playground Centre. You want your kids to have ample time to strengthen friendships and exercise their imagination, but you don’t want so much free time that they find nothing to do.

Promote physical activity

Plan family nature hikes and challenge your kids to identify native birds and plants. Take a trip to the local zoo or natural history museum for a fun science lesson they won’t forget. On top of keeping your kids’ minds active, you’ll burn some of that restless backseat energy. Get your kids outside as often as possible, and make sure they have access to friends, even if it means lots of chauffeuring for you. Team sports and scouting groups let kids get active and social while developing emotional maturity through teamwork and goal-setting. Kids who stay active and engaged over summer vacation face fewer behavioral problems and have an easier time transitioning back into school come August.

Creating a well-rounded summer for your kids is no easy feat, especially when you’re busy with a laundry list of responsibilities yourself. However, with proper preparation and measured expectations, you can keep your children having fun all season long and save everyone stress by the time summer vacation comes to a close.

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