“Yay! School holidays!” said no parent, ever, unless they were also a teacher and could get a break themselves.
Here’s a few tips to make holidays less expensive, less stressful and more than a marathon session of video games.
1. Get them to plan ahead – “What is the one movie you want to see?” “What is the one restaurant you want to eat in?” Stress the idea that, yes, there will be some treats, but not every day. Getting their input will also get more buy in for the ideas.
2. Get them making snacks like popcorn rather than buying it. Messing about in the kitchen means exactly that: mess. Think of it as ‘happy mess’.
3. Visit free things like museums and parks.
4. Sleep marae style on mattresses in the lounge and tell stories in the dark.
5. Work deals with other families. “I’ll have all your kids this week, and maybe you could take mine sometime so I can get a break as well.” When kids have friends around they tend to entertain themselves more readily.
6. Get them back into school-time bedtime routines well before the resumption of term so that you don’t get holiday-lag tiredness.
7. Get them reading – kids who read for pleasure in holiday time do not suffer the academic regression seen in most kids after longer holidays.
8. Divide the day into three – morning, afternoon and evening – and plan something for just one of those times, not for the whole day.
9. Work is a great thing for older kids. If you can find them a job at your workplace or with family, fantastic.
Remember, it’s good for kids to learn to be a self starter and to play by themselves, and also to have quiet time where they just read. Don’t feel you have to fill every moment with scheduled activity.
For more, check out theParentingPlace.com