Ways to Keep Kids Active During Summer.
And here we are again at Sweet Blog, the sweetest blog online.
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Today, following the arrival of summer, which brings with it the summer break (from school), we would like to talk about one of the most critical questions for every parent during summer months - How to make your child busy and peaceful at home during the summer break?
Undoubtedly, this issue is one of the biggest reasons for parents' frustration.
Why is this more relevant than ever? You must be asking:
In our modern era, Children tend to get bored quite quickly, and finding them a non-stop occupation requires a lot of effort.
There is no doubt that at some point, most of us would get frustrated/give up, and from there, things can get nasty. Fast.
They will start fighting with their brothers and sisters, destroy things around the house (because they are bored), and become whiny and petty, which will excessively affect your tolerance and patience.
Moreover, even if they are appropriately occupied, the very need to constantly supervise them (so they do not endanger themselves or their surroundings due to a wide variety of household safety hazards) can exhaust you quite a bit.
Furthermore, even if you're lucky and your child is indeed properly occupied, and you also manage to keep them from safety hazards in an ideal way that doesn't exhaust you completely, someone still has to feed/clean/entertain them! And guess what? That someone is - You.
By the way, although we don't want to be a harbinger of doom, there is something else - The issue of keeping them out of trouble.
You are probably well aware that in the absence of a clear framework (School), There is some concern they will "get lost," so to speak, and get themselves into trouble.
Rest assured that this will also drain your strength (what's left of it, anyway).
To sum it up, there are many reasons for the summer break to be so challenging for parents, but for now, the ones mentioned above will do.
In this article, we will do our best to tell you all about the best tools available in your struggle to stay sane during summer break.
As always, later in the article, there will be a refreshing infographic presentation and a video summarizing its content for you.
'Ways to keep kids active during summer.'
Shall we?
Table of Contents
1. Be Prepared (And Aware) In Advance.
Like anything else in life, preparation is crucial.
If this is the first time dealing with this issue (and it goes without saying if you are already experienced), Do yourself a huge favor and prepare yourself.
'How'? You must be asking.
Well, preparation is an action usually divided into two aspects - Mental and technical/practical.
Be prepared!
Regarding mental preparation:
You better understand in advance you are heading for some quite challenging months.
Your patience will be tested. Your ability to concentrate will be tested. Your ability to perform tasks (efficiently) will be tested, and more.
As mentioned, You're about to face two challenging months (approximately). The more you gonna accept it before their arrival with understanding, the better your ability to function at a high level will be.
Several methods/strategies can expand your practical tool set regarding this issue. They will mainly include actions such as meditation, breathing, accepting reality, and more.
You can read about them in detail here, here, and here.
Take a deep breath
Apart from these practical methods (recommended, by the way, in all areas of life), Generally speaking, it can be said that the guiding principle is to come mentally prepared.
Just say to yourself: "This is going to be a challenging time, and I must stay calm. And even if I occasionally lose my peace, that's okay. I'm human."
Regarding technical/practical preparation:
Things.
Right at the beginning of summer, you should fill your house with various 'means' to keep your child busy.
As mentioned above, your child's boredom is one of the most problematic factors you will have to deal with.
Games/drawing boards/books/textbooks, and more are just a tiny part of 'things' that can help you fill their daily routine with productive means during the homestay. We are sure that following your deep acquaintance with your child, you will be able to think of more examples.
Strict Schedules.
Meet your new best friend - A strict schedule.
Creating a strict schedule is one of the best ways to keep kids active during summer break.
There are many benefits of having one. You can read about some of them right here.
In order to make them feel part of the whole thing, which will increase their desire to cooperate, try to involve your child in preparing the schedule.
An Example Of Such A Schedule:
8:30 - Wake up.
9:00 - Breakfast.
10:00 -Games/TV time.
11:00 - Chores (cleaning/care of the garden, etc.).
Noon - Lunch and nap.
14:30 - Going outside (walking in the park\playground\pool\library\meeting with friends etc.).
16:00 - Reading time.
17:00 - Games and TV time.
18:30 - Dinner and getting ready for bed.
20:30 - Bedtime.
A schedule is a great tool
It goes without saying this is only a suggestion and not something binding. Feel free to add some relevant personal adjustments.
You can read more here about how to ideally create a summer schedule for kids.
2. Be Dynamic.
An ancient Chinese scholar once said:
"If you want to make God laugh - make plans."
If you are scratching your head right now in bewilderment, it is because no Chinese scholar said such a thing, and we just made it up. But the guiding principle is still valid - it's indeed valuable to plan things, but in the end, 'stuff' tends to be dynamic and change. You must learn how to accept this with understanding and even a little smile.
The reason we mention the need for good adaptability is the fact (which we assume is well known to you) that when it comes to planning activities with kids - everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
Hello Mr. Murphy...
Smile in the face of change
Lighten things up a bit and learn to adapt.
Suppose you invested time and effort in planning an activity with your kids, and eventually, reality got slightly different; don't sweat. Just make the necessary adjustments.
Putting aside the fact that this recommendation is one of the best ways to keep kids Active During Summer, it will also do wonders for your health.
We hope this article - 'Ways to keep Kids Active During Summer' - will help you to some extent to stay sane during the summer break at home with your Kids.
And if not, that's what granny is for. You can always cry and ask for her help.
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