Adventures in Parenting

I haven’t had time to post the last few days – Summer vacation started!

Are your kids home for the summer like mine are? Do you find yourself out of routine, off schedule, and seem to get nothing done?

And it’s ok! It’s ok to do things differently; it’s ok to have no routine; it’s ok to enjoy some free time.

My family stayed up past midnight playing board games! We got a free trial subscription to Netflix and watched movies after dinner. We went swimming in the evening and had dinner at 9:00pm. These are things we would never do during the school year.

However, goofing off the entire summer doesn’t really make you feel good in the long run. At the end of summer, don’t you feel you should’ve made better use of your time?

Here are some ways to make sure your summer is somewhat productive:

1. Set some daily and weekly goals. We tried setting goals for the summer, but we end up procrastinating until August. Then we are discouraged, feel guilty, and it’s too late to reach our goals. Some daily goals might be reading a certain number of pages, and practicing a new language for 30 minutes a day. A weekly goal might be a vegetarian meal a week(if you are carnivore like me, that is a lofty goal).

2. Set your alarm to wake up at a decent time. My son will sleep till noon if I don’t wake him up.

3. Set time to be together. Instead of everyone off doing there own thing, purpose to spend more family time together. You don’t have to go on a a big family vacation. Some day trips and family game nights will bring your family closer.

4. Set a limit on TV time and computer time. Our default position on the couch or computer chair is too comfortable when there is no immediate deadline to meet in the summer. Use a timer to remind us to TURN IT OFF!

What guidelines do you have for the summer?

Photo by Dmitry Kichenko