After months of anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer… it has officially begun!!!! For most children and families, summer provides a slower pace and a decrease in the amount of activities and expectations. Kids may revel in this freedom for a few days…maybe a week, but eventually comes the dreaded statement, “I’m bored.” And unfortunately, boredom can lead to an increase in negative behaviors, such as fighting with siblings, whining, yelling, and talking back.
So what can parents do to balance the carefree days of summer with keeping children occupied, engaged, and happy? Having some degree of summer structure is the most helpful first step. Create a schedule of what you would expect a summer day to look like. Ideally, this would include a balance of planned activities and free, unstructured time.
Plan ahead of time by allowing children to brainstorm activities for the following day. Have them actively participate in what the time frames might look like. Ideas could include a trip to the library, a hike along the neighborhood stream, learning how to knit, an evening bike ride. This allows the kids to feel a sense of participation and control. It also helps children know what the expectations are for each day and to have specific things to which they are looking forward. Create a fun board outlining the next day’s schedule. Allow the kids to color and decorate it to again get them involved in the process.
A schedule might look something like this:
8am – Wake Up, Make Bed, Get Dressed, Eat Breakfast
9am – Swim lessons
11am – Trip to the library to check out books
12pm – Lunch (Make our own pizza!)
1pm – Free time – TV, play time at home
2pm – Meet neighborhood friend at the pool
4:30pm – Shower, change, wash up for dinner
5pm – Dinner
6pm – Take the dogs on a walk
6:30pm – Plan tomorrow’s activities.
7pm – Free time until bed.
8pm – Get ready for bed, read until lights out at 9pm
If you have never implemented a summer schedule before, your children may need some time to adjust. Of course, there will need to be some flexibility and compromise, but hopefully you will find that by creating structure and some expectations for the summer each family member will be much happier!!!!! Rest assured, you will still hear the infamous “I’m bored,” but hopefully there will be longer stretches in between. Happy Summer from the staff at Crossroads Family Counseling Center, LLC
Written by Darah Curran who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the State of Virginia with 15 years experience working with children, adolescents and families. Darah has provided support for pediatric and adult individuals and families in outpatient and inpatient medical settings. Her areas of focus include adjustment and behavioral issues, social skills development, chronic illness, grief and trauma work. Darah believes in the strength of the family and encourages each member’s involvement in making positive change for the child or family system.