Summer is a comin’. While most adolescents gladly welcome this long-awaited vacation time, parents often struggle with what can be the overwhelming task of keeping their kids of all different ages occupied and productive while still enjoying the time off. Of course, you want them to have fun soaking up the summer sun while unwinding from the pressures of school, but you may worry about facilitating the effects of changes in their normal, but probably different, routines.
In planning for this extended break, you can have a satisfying summer with just a few daily guidelines everyone can manage. Whether you have a toddler and a teenager or a college student and a kindergartner (or any combo in between), you can incorporate these three simple elements into a daily schedule to maintain a pleasant structure for your multi-age household.
These summer tips are provided by Haven Family Psychiatry.
Whistle While You’re Workin’…
Productivity can be a key to maintaining discipline between school years. Not only does it help them develop a sense of work ethic and self-discipline, but it also keeps them in healthy work habits for going back to school in the fall. For your teenager, help him find a job somewhere that interests him. If your kid loves entertainment, encourage her to try a local movie theater. If he or she enjoys working with kids, perhaps a job at a day camp or babysitting a few days a week would fit the bill.
As for the little ones, it’s never too early to get them started with the concept of accomplishing daily tasks. For an elementary student, maybe prepare one or two easy-peezy household chores for them to tackle each day. (Stick with something simple like sweeping the kitchen or helping load the dishwasher. No one wins when a seven-year-old tries to power wash the driveway.)
And work doesn’t always have to be physical labor. If your child struggles in a particular subject in school, try enrolling him in tutoring for an hour or two every other day. Use this work time to help him catch up and prepare for the coming year.
Fun idea: Encourage your child to find a way to serve someone else each day. Whether that’s assisting a grandparent in a grocery store outing or washing cars for neighbors, promote random (and creative) acts of kindness, and watch kids have a blast coming up with fun ideas to be productive and helpful.
Move it! Move it!
If your child is spending a good part of the day in front of a screen (whether it’s for studying, work or entertainment), make sure to carve out an hour a day for some physical exercise. This is the weather kids wait for all year. Aim for outside activities like swimming, hiking and biking, or even gardening. On those rainy days (inevitable, aren’t they?), racquetball, indoor gymnasiums (Premier Athletics) or Wii games can be great options for working up a healthy sweat for the day.
With a little more flexibility in the schedule, summer is also the perfect time to try something new. If your child has always wanted to take a dance class or learn karate, find a local class for him/her. Register your kid for a new summer sports league to prepare for school tryouts in the fall. You can find fun activities for the whole family like paddle boarding and canoeing at local places like Ijams Nature Center or The Cove at Concord Park. (For more ideas, just keep browsing through Knoxville Moms Blog or check out this week’s events at Knoxville Mercury.)
Explore new places, and help your kids pursue new hobbies while staying active in the process. Who knows what new passions you’ll find and memories you’ll make?
Don’t forget to breathe!
While maintaining structure for everyone outside of school schedules is helpful and needed, remember that summer is a time to recharge. (It’s called “summer break” for a reason, right?) Set aside an hour or so a day after work and exercise time to let your child rest. For a preschooler, this could be a nap or coloring quietly by himself. Reading, listening to music or writing may be great outlets to recharge for your college student who is home for the next few months. Anything that creates time for everyone to process and reflect in their own quiet spaces will help them feel well-rested, improve emotional regulation and keep sanity within the tribe.
Finding activities to occupy all different ages in your family this summer may sound complicated and a bit daunting, but it’s certainly not impossible. By practicing these suggestions of work, exercise and rest each day within your household, you and your loved ones can have a more productive, playful AND peaceful summer.
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About Haven Family Psychiatry and Dr. Quigley:
Dr. Kimberly Quigley is the Medical Director of Haven Family Psychiatry. Dr. Quigley has 15 years of experience in partnering with children, adolescents, adults, mature adults and their families in deciding if and how psychotropic medication can be used to help them attain their personal goals for wellness and wholeness in their lives.
