Cut Back

Those of you who have children and work part-time or full-time may have experienced a negative reaction to my last post about the magical summertime because it's not practical or reasonable for you. Well, I understand! Afterall, I've been a super busy parent for most of my parenting life and I know how challenging it can be!

Being realistic about how much you can really do each weekend will help you gain more joy about what you plan for yourself and your family. Cutting back on some of your family’s extracurricular activities can help you create a more relaxed atmosphere. For example, arranging 3 or 4 outings over the course of a weekend may leave everyone cranky and exhausted, but plan just 1 and you might really be able to enjoy that more! Planning too much in the evening and on the weekends, cramming too much into family vacations, may leave everyone feeling rushed and frantic.

So, if at all possible, leave some unscheduled and unstructured time this summer so that you can take advantage of what occurs spontaneously. Leave some time to Each your children to do whatever they want—even if it appears that they are choosing to do nothing at all. It's not really wasted time, although it may certainly appear that way! Children will be more resourceful, self-sufficient and independent if they have more opportunities to do so.

My 2 children have done so much more together when I forced them to turn off all screens in the house (the TV, computer, laptop, Playstation, and Nintendo DS). They played with the sprinkler, made some beautiful pictures, played some board games, and begged me to let them set-up a lemonade stand (although we live at the end of a super quiet culdesac!). They get so much more creative with how to spend their time when they need to entertain themselves.

Striking a balance between their unstructured time and planned activities may help everyone in the family be happier and more content. Time to relax, talk, read, have a catch, or go for a walk together is important, too! Take some quiet moments to reminisce about the simple summertime activities that brought you pleasure when you were a child. And, perhaps they can become family traditions that you share with your own children and one day, with your grandchildren.

Yours truly,

Coach Natalie