Don’t Overbook Your Summer!

Every spring, parents look ahead to the summer months and wonder what they will do to fill the time for their children. Often they book the months with several activities to keep their kids busy and make sure boredom doesn’t set in, but it can be a mistake to fill the summer with so many plans. 

Playground Swings and Games of Tag Mean Less Stress

Children need to be kids, to play and enjoy the freedom to do anything or nothing on occasion. Unfortunately, parents often schedule free playtime out of summer days. Do you remember how much fun it was going to the park and using the playground swings? Didn’t you love being able to climb on the jungle gym or run around playing tag? There was a reason for that – it was stress-free and there were no expectations. There were no rules and there was no structure. 

Scheduled activities and team sports have a place in the summertime, but if that’s all children get to do, they can feel overwhelmed by the rules and expectations involved.  When all their time involves rules, competition, or some type of learning, they can feel like they have no time to relax and be themselves. If you are taxiing your children from softball to martial arts to pottery class, ask yourself when your children get the chance to have fun without having to produce something or meet a goal.

Let Summer be Spontaneous

If you can’t answer the question, it may be time to scale back on a few summer activities and give your kids some free time to play without any structure. Letting them play in the backyard with a few friends or taking them to the park is the ideal way to let them explore their imaginations. Just being able to ride on the playground swings or use the seesaw without having to “perform” for coaches or parents or produce any results is relaxing and liberating for children. 

This summer, let your children pick one or two activities they’d really like to do but leave the rest of the summer open for playground swings, the ice cream man, running through the sprinkler, and other spontaneous summer fun!