Summer is a great time for kids to relax and take a break from their busy school year schedules. But without any structure, they often become bored and rely heavily on screens to entertain them. If you’d like to avoid that, here are some great ways to keep your kids content during the summer…
As a kid, I loved the freedom and fun of summer vacation. Sleeping in, no homework, and being able to stay up doing the things I liked on weekdays.
But even while I enjoyed the free-flowing days of July and August, I also tended toward boredom. I’ve seen the same pattern in my own children and friends’ kids, too.
When kids spend most of the year adhering to a schedule, it feels a little jarring to suddenly be without one. Like a long awaited dessert, that first bite is sublime and you think you could eat the whole thing. But halfway through, it begins to lose its luster.
Summer vacation can still be relaxing, but offering your kids some routine can help their days feel less like endless monotony and more like a loose structure they can be free and content within.
Let me share some great ways to help keep your kids engaged and happy through the summer months without having to break the bank, taxi them to a dozen activities, or plant them in front of screens for most of the day.
Great Ways to Keep Kids Content During Summer
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Build a basic rhythm for the days
Kids really do like structure, even if it’s the most flexible kind. A rhythm is like a routine, but it flows more freely, which is what summer is all about.
Set a basic rhythm to your days. Let them know how much screen is permitted. What chores need to be done. How long they should spend reading or working on a quiet project. Add in any activities you have planned or appointments.
Knowing what’s expected of the day makes it more enjoyable.
Plan outings
One summer, the kids and I would set out on a half-mile walk to a neighborhood playground before the heat got too bad. After an hour of them playing and me reading, we would head back home. We’d then cool off with some homemade shaved ice.
Trips to local museums, water parks, sporting events, music fairs, parks, and others are great ways to keep the kids content during summer vacation. Don’t go nuts and keep them going places all day, every day. Instead, pick one thing a week, or keep the activity small like our park trips.
Summer should be relaxing, not stressful because of overplanning and non-compliant kids. If someone isn’t into it, let them stay home or change plans. Be flexible so you can all enjoy these days.
Enjoy small pleasures
I love planning small, simple things that my kids love and that don’t put too much pressure on me. Making smoothies in the afternoon. Movie nights. Doing a 1000-piece puzzle together for the entire day. Having a backyard pool day with fun foods.
Engaging in small pleasures can be enjoyable for your kids as well as you. They are low-pressure and generally make a regular day mid-summer feel special. Even when you’re not doing anything spectacular – because spectacular is really hard to keep up with for 60+ days a year!
Limit screen
I know kids love screens. Many adults do, too. But that doesn’t mean they make us content. In fact, quite the opposite. So help your kids enjoy their summer more by limiting screen time.
During the school year, my kids are allowed 30 minutes of Prodigy as an education-related activity and 30 minutes of fun screen time to watch or play what they like (within our family boundaries). During the summer, I expand that to an hour of fun screen, broken up throughout the day.
These limits can be hard if your child has unfettered access to screens normally. But after seeing how unhappy, argumentative, and dulled my children became after giving them unlimited screen, I know that the change is worth it.
And summer is a great time to help them find fun and satisfying ways to spend their time outdoors, on hobbies, and with friends and family.
Look into summer activities that encourage their hobbies
I’m not a big proponent of excessively busy schedules, especially for kids. They need time and space to explore their own creativity and thoughts. But some kids love having activities to look forward to.
So I suggest looking for free or low-cost summer activities that they would enjoy. Whether it’s sports or crafting or piano lessons, see what is offered for kids in your area. Check with the city, local YMCA, library, or your church.
Engaging their hobbies and passions will keep them content through the dog days of summer.
Don’t let summer slippage happen
It’s so easy to let kids put away their school stuff and not think about it all summer. But like that decadent dessert I mentioned before, it’s not always good once you gorge on it.
Taking a break from school is a great idea. But keeping learning and curiosity out of their days will lead to hardship when they come back to school in the fall. So I suggest making learning a part of their day, if in a very relaxed way.
Take a trip to a museum. Read an exciting historical fiction book aloud together. Watch a documentary on something that interests them. Do science projects that are messy and fun (it’s warm outside, so you can keep the mess out there).
Keeping their minds engaged even when they’re on vacation will pay off when they return to school. And they’ll also discover that learning can be fun.
Keep up the chores
Are kids really content when they have to do chores? Actually, yes. Even though they may not like doing them, they appreciate being an integral part of the family and its functioning.
You should also start as you mean to proceed. Meaning that unless you want to battle about chores when fall comes, have them continue doing them throughout the summer. They may grumble, but being home all day for a couple of months may help them appreciate how nice a tidy home can be.
Give them your focus and time
Even though your kids are off from school, you probably aren’t off from work. However, with a more relaxed routine over these summer months, it’s a great time to connect with your kids without distractions.
Eat leisurely meals with them when your schedule allows. Stay up a little later doing something together that they like. Take them with you on errands. Take some vacation time yourself so you can all get out of town.
As kids get older, they become more independent. Before their preferred activities are all with friends, create the foundation that places you firmly in their lives. They may prefer to hang out with peers in their teen years, but these early years will remind them that you’re also pretty fun, too.
I hope that these ideas give you some of your own for how to keep your kids content during summer. Those free days are really a gift that they won’t fully appreciate until they reach adulthood and no longer have a summer vacation.
But in the meantime, you can give them the tools to make the most of it so when they return to school in fall, it’s with lots of great stories and a readiness to take on whatever comes their way.
Have you got any great tips for keeping kids content during summer? I’d love to hear about them. Find me on social media #thejourneyathome or leave a comment!
Looking for more on summer planning and parenting? Check out these popular posts:
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How to Inspire Curiosity, Creativity, and a Love of Reading in Your Children
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