Kids Health The Newsletter About Taking Care Of The Ones That Matter Most
Summer, 2018
“Do You Know How to Prepare Your Child To Travel?” 5 WAYS TO PREPARE CHILDREN FOR SUMMER VACATION
Inside:
• What Are Executive Function Skills?
• Healthy Recipe
• Writing A Review Is Just A Click Away
1. Create a summer advent calendar. In the same way that counting down the days to Christmas can help kids get excited about the up-coming holiday, counting down the days to summer can be a fun way to focus on the positive aspects of summer without getting too bogged down by academic- and social-related anxieties which are common toward the end of the year. 2. Touch base with the parents of your kids’ friends. Depending on how old your children are, you may need to help them stay connected with their friends over the summertime, especially since this loss of social contact can be worrisome for many kids. Chat with other parents about your schedules, arrange for outings and play dates, and consider offering mutually beneficial exchanges (e.g., baby sitting days or nights) so social time is easier for you and your kids. 3. Plan a handful of “big” summer activities to look forward to, but leave plenty of room for unstructured time. Every child loves to learn about things they’re interested in. So talk to your kids about the types of activities they really want to do—whether that’s going to a summer camp, taking an art class, learning a new sport, or even participating in some sort of volunteer or paid job. Schedule and talk about any planned family vacations, as well—and make sure to give your kids ample time for spontaneous, unstructured play. Not only can this help your kid avoid feeling overwhelmed, but it may also help them develop more sophisticated social skills, too (some researchers suggest the general trend toward more screen time/less playtime is making our children less empathetic).
4. Establish reading-oriented routines. Most school-aged children are assigned books to read over the summer, and for a good reason: kids are at risk for losing reading skills over the summer months.To groove the habit of regular reading (and mitigate the effects of so-called “summer slide”), it’s helpful to initiate certain reading routines during the school year and continue these routines into the summer. A literary anchor of cognitive stability, so to say, that isn’t contingent on daily homework assignments (which, unless your kid is enrolled in a summer school program, are noticeably absent in June, July, and August). Some suggestions? Start taking a weekly or bi-weekly trip to the library, or establish one to two “reading nights” per week where everyone in the family reads after dinner instead of immediately plugging back into a television or smart phone. 5. Consider your child’s individual personality, temperament, and preferences. Whether your children are typically developing or differently- abled, each one brings a lot of individuality to the equation of what kind of summer schedule will be best-suited for them. So before the school year ends, ask yourself and your children some questions, such as: “If this summer was the best summer ever, what sort of things would you do, learn, or see?” “Can you describe your perfect summer day?” Even talking to them about the upcoming school year—their teachers, classes, goals, etc.—may help bridge the gap between the long stretch of known and unknown.
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