"Summer summer summer-time"... the words of a well known song that expresses the anticipation of summertime and the excitement once it arrives. But what will you do with your child(ren) to give them the summertime experience that you deem appropriate?
Here are a few tips to help you decide...
1. Planning
Plan for your children to have a fun and happy environment to enjoy for the summer. Yes, having a week or so home sounds like a promising vacation or down time for you the adult but for the children, especially the younger children, they need and crave stimulation...the kind that can't always be provided at home...so plan fun activities outside the home that can be fun for the children. Parents don't feel guilty, this is recharge time for you. Yes you love your babies BUT, vacation used to be time for you to recharge and it should still be time for recharging still. Hopefully mom and dad will get some much needed down time while the children are enjoying some much needed stimulation...
Also plan for down time. If your child still naps, plan a nap time in your day or at least an hour of quiet reading just for a moment of quiet time for both parents and children...
Safety...looking at any news report, no matter where you live, you can hear reports of children and their accidents, unfortunately fatal yet preventable accidents. So here are my safety tips that can be started this summer and practiced all year long.
1. Water safety: pool and bathtub
A. Talk about water safety with your children. Sit near the bathtub or pool and tell the what your rules are and that you expect them to follow them.
B. Explain to them why your rules are so important. What could happen to them if they went intõ water unsupervised. Don't hide the truth even if its ugly or scary. Hopefully this could save their lives.
C. Talk about stranger danger...again, don't assume that your child knows these safety tips. My motto is A a parent is their child's first teacher...so teach them what you want them to know.
Have a great summer!
Here are a few tips to help you decide...
1. Planning
Plan for your children to have a fun and happy environment to enjoy for the summer. Yes, having a week or so home sounds like a promising vacation or down time for you the adult but for the children, especially the younger children, they need and crave stimulation...the kind that can't always be provided at home...so plan fun activities outside the home that can be fun for the children. Parents don't feel guilty, this is recharge time for you. Yes you love your babies BUT, vacation used to be time for you to recharge and it should still be time for recharging still. Hopefully mom and dad will get some much needed down time while the children are enjoying some much needed stimulation...
Also plan for down time. If your child still naps, plan a nap time in your day or at least an hour of quiet reading just for a moment of quiet time for both parents and children...
Safety...looking at any news report, no matter where you live, you can hear reports of children and their accidents, unfortunately fatal yet preventable accidents. So here are my safety tips that can be started this summer and practiced all year long.
1. Water safety: pool and bathtub
A. Talk about water safety with your children. Sit near the bathtub or pool and tell the what your rules are and that you expect them to follow them.
B. Explain to them why your rules are so important. What could happen to them if they went intõ water unsupervised. Don't hide the truth even if its ugly or scary. Hopefully this could save their lives.
C. Talk about stranger danger...again, don't assume that your child knows these safety tips. My motto is A a parent is their child's first teacher...so teach them what you want them to know.
Have a great summer!
