My husband and I were coming back from the grocery store and got stuck at a traffic light behind a big SUV. While we waited, the SUV had a Disney movie playing on a small screen in the back seat.
That got us talking about the differences between kids nowadays and how things were when we were growing up. Back in those days when summer rolled around our parents sent us to the back yard with cardboard boxes, our bicycles and the instructions: “Don’t go too far!” and “be home by dark!”
We didn’t have the internet or video games or any of the techno gadgets kids have nowadays and somehow, our summers were filled with endless adventures and we miraculously survived.
With school out barely more than a week, if you’re a mom who’s already sick of hearing the words, “there’s nothing do” or “I’m bored!” and ready to send away for a do-it-yourself-Lobotomy kit, rest easy. I’m a veteran of the summertime “I’m bored” wars and here to tell you that it is possible to survive summer vacation and maintain your sanity but you may need to get creative.
Kids don’t have to be entertained or mentally stimulated by outside sources, clubs, sports or other activities 24/7. It’s okay to let them rely on their own imagination from time-to-time. I’m sure this sounds like obsolete advice in the 21st century, but it was true when I was growing up and it’s still true today.
I vowed when my kids were little I’d be a hands on mom and never too busy to stop and play with them. If my daughters begged me to play Barbies or babies, I did my best to indulge them. The same was true for my son when he asked for help with a jigsaw puzzle or invited me to play Pokemon. I didn’t want my kids in therapy years later proclaiming, “My Mom never had time for me. She was too busy cleaning house.”
Summer vacations don’t have to be structured and every minute planned. But if you need some ideas, here are a few that worked for me over the years.
Local libraries offer free movies, story times and summer reading programs for kids from toddlers to teens (all at no cost). Check with your local library for details.
Let your child be “kid for a day” one day a week. Let them decide the evening meal and enlist their help with preparations. This is a great way to pass on old family recipes from great-grandma that you’d like to leave as a family legacy. Make sure dinner includes dessert as most kids love baking cookies and cakes.
One night a week make dinner from a different country. Encourage your kids to do some internet research (with parental guidance of course) to find out foods of that country and research the local customs. Encourage them to share at dinner what they learned about that country.
Let your children get involved with weekly grocery shopping. (No, I’m serious!) Let them help make a list. Give each child a calculator and let them keep running totals for everything you buy. Have them compare prices and sizes of products to figure out the best buy for the money. This is a great way to help with their math problem solving skills and learn about budgeting money. At the register have them compare their totals with the actual total to see who’s the closest. Reward them for their efforts.
Let them write and star in their own music video or movie. Have your kids help you plan a yard sale with toys and clothes they’ve outgrown. Have an indoor picnic or make a trip to the park to play in the fountains or feed the ducks.
Summer vacation doesn’t have to be about moms counting the days until school begins again. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to have fun. The biggest lesson I learned from my tenure as a full-time stay-at-home mom is your kids will value the time you spend with them more than the things you buy to entertain them. They may say that want the “stuff” but they really want your attention.
Take it from someone who knows, they grow up too fast and these times when they’re driving you crazy will be gone in the blink of an eye so enjoy your kids at each and every stage! They’re a gift from God!
Blessings in Christ,
Kathy
www.kathleenkurlin.com
Excellent ideas! One of my childrens favorite summertime thing was checking out old black and white DVDs from the library and watching them together. Doesn’t cost a cent. Now, my 32 year old daughter has a “classics” collection of her own, of the good, ol movies of yesteryear and an appreciation for the quality and innocence of days past, not to mention happy memories of watching them together when she was a child.
great ideas! I’m going to try some.
thanks.
I like your ideas Kathy!! Thanks for sharing them!
These are great ideas, Kathy. When my kids were little, whenever they mentioned the “B word” I’d look around the house and start naming chores they could do to contrarrest their boredom. It worked wonders!