After nearly three months of staying home together 24 hours a day, seven days a week, families are feeling a little frazzled. While we’re happy to be done with homeschooling for now, many moms and dads aren’t sure how they’ll survive the summer without the baseball games and swimming pools we’re used to. Some parents may feel pressure to create a storybook summer to make up for canceled activities, but child psychologists and pediatricians urge them to relax expectations and let their kids get bored. These ideas may help you keep your cool with the kids this summer.
- Maintain a loose routine- Sticking to a bedtime and a morning routine is a good idea even in the summer. You can encourage your kids to read by not allowing screen time until they’ve read for a half hour. And a kitchen timer will help your kids know how much time they have to do their tasks.
- Let your kids help set the agenda- Talk about all the things you can do and have everyone write down activities they like and put them in a jar. Then, one by one, pick them out and do them.
- Give your kids a challenge- Create a scavenger hunt list of things for them to find, or give them some supplies and a time limit and tell them to build a fort or put on a play. They’ll have to get organized and work together and hopefully you’ll get some free time.
- Have your kids do chores- Parenting experts encourage chores for kids to reduce overall chaos and give them a sense of belonging in the family. But don’t demand the kids do their jobs on your timeframe, instead, give them a calendar or an expectation. And remind them that you’ll have more time to do fun stuff if you’re not doing all the housework and maybe you’ll stock up on popsicles if they keep up with their responsibilities.
- Relax the screen time rules -If your kid clocks more time on their tablet this summer, it’s ok.
- Let your kids solve their own squabbles- As much as you want to jump in, try letting them work it out and say something like, “Yeah, I guess that does sound like a problem, I’m sure you have the skills to figure that out.”
- Let your kids see their friends- Some parents are okay with outdoor, socially distant playdates or bike riding, others aren’t, but either way, your kids need a chance to connect with the friends they’re missing, in person or on a screen.
Source:Cleveland.com