Surviving the Boredom of Summer Sameness

After spring break, every kid starts counting down the days until summer break. They can’t wait to put their books and brains away for a couple of months and focus on fun. However, it doesn’t take long before they are bored, bored and bored. Without school to fill their days, children find themselves endlessly searching for something to do and driving their parents nuts in the process. Luckily, there are a few things parents can do to dial down the dullness of summer.

1. Plan Ahead! – Start looking at Summer Camps or other summer activities before Spring Break. There are so many things to choose from that there is something out there for everyone.
2. Stay away from too much screen time – A little goes a long way. It’s far too easy to sit around and stare at a TV screen all day but even that gets boring after a while.
3. Keep to as normal a schedule as possible – Most kids want to sleep in and stay up late when school is out. While this is okay every now and then, it wreaks havoc on a child’s mood and behaviors overall. Keep meal times and chores the same over the summer. The more consistent their schedule, the easier the transition will be back to school in the fall. Kids welcome a structured schedule more than they realize (they just won’t tell you that).
4. Plan family outings regularly – We can’t all go away to a summer home on the weekends or take long extended vacations. Therefore, keep an eye out for family friendly activities in your local community and make the most of them.
5. Come up with fun projects – Encourage your child to use their imagination as much as possible. Do a bit of online research and you’ll come up with hundreds of fun, crafty, and creative ways to keep your kids busy.
6. Play dates! – Just because school is out doesn’t mean that children should disconnect from each other. Connect with other parents and coordinate your summer schedules.
7. Staycation! – Camp in the back yard, go on a picnic at the park, make regular visits to the neighborhood pool (or just have fun with the hose and sprinkler system!), host a field day for the neighborhood kids, go on a scavenger hunt, have family movie nights – The ideas are endless. And when you get stuck, Google and Pinterest are great resources for fun family ideas for staying at home.

Throughout the school year, families are plagued by being over scheduled and forced to run on empty all the time so summer can feel slow and dull after all of that hustle and bustle. Take advantage of this time and make the most of summer. Take every chance you get to spend some quality time with your kids and make it the best summer ever.