Summer Fun

So once again the school holidays are upon us – for teachers that means a well earned rest, but for parents it can mean juggling work and child care and surviving holidays with children! For the children and young people it usually means a lot of freedom to do things they want and importantly have FUN.

Parents if you want to make sure that children keep learning while they are away from school click here for some ideas of holiday activities that will mean they will keep on learning.

However I know many parents can find holidays with children a stressful experience – so below are a few tips to help parents make sure the holidays are a relaxing and fun experience for them as well.

Planning

By this stage the holiday will be booked but you can still plan a few things to make sure both the travel and the holiday go smoothly. Whatever the mode of transport, planes, boats, trains or cars after the initial excitement children quickly become bored so make sure you pack some diversions. They don’t need to be expensive, comics, pens and notebooks, or  small pocket money style toys can all help to pass the time.  But make sure you keep them out of the way until they are needed so they are fresh and new when children need a diversion.

When you arrive at your destination the planning shouldn’t stop. Make sure each day you plan in some activities that will be particularly geared towards the children – as parents obviously you want to relax but it is much easier to do that when they have had some quality time with you and some child centred play. It is also worth doing some planning around meals out etc – tired children are never too happy and while late nights might be fun – it definitely doesn’t mean they are guaranteed to sleep later the next day as parents you know your children  so don’t put yourself in situations where you know they’ll struggle – it simply wont help you to relax at all.

Prevention

We can’t guarantee that children or indeed any of us will stay healthy but it is worth making sure you prevent what you can – mothing stresses apparent out more than a child who is ill or in pain. So make sure you pack sun cream, a first aid kit which includes a painkiller and an antihistamine and if the weather is hot make sure children drink plenty, wear sun cream and reapply regularly (which can be a struggle) and have plenty of breaks in the shade.

Positivity

As with so many things your state of mind plays a part. If you anticipate problems and worry about them – they probably will happen! Try to be positive in your thoughts and your words. Often I lie on the beach listening to some parents and it is a constant stream of negatives ‘don’t’, ‘stop’ and ‘no’ for example. It is much better to keep language positive – instead of saying stop doing something tell them what they should be doing – for more information on positive language click here.

The key is to have fun – let your hair down and enjoy spending some quality time with children – they grow up surprisingly quickly and think of your holiday as a time to make some precious memories!!

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