School is Out for Summer!!!

Well, here we are again! It’s the start of the summer holidays and the kids are off school. Thankfully the weather is gorgeous, the economy is buoyant and we can expect a wonderful time off with plenty to do and plenty of money to do it.

What? I hear you cry??!! Have you lost the plot??

…the holidays bring the added stress of having to sort childcare coupled with the guilt that they are off and you are stuck in work

Excited about another rainy summer?

Yeah, I know, I know! It’s raining cats and dogs, Ulster Bank has most of our money, and the tax-man has the rest, the kids are bored – ALREADY – and you feel like taking to the hills – and leaving them to it!!

For many of us the summer holidays bring mixed emotions.

If you are lucky enough to be able to be at home with them during the summer break, the holidays bring longer lie-ins and no stresses about school uniforms being clean and ironed, lunches being prepared, and homework to be done. It also brings more time to spend with your children, taking them for little trips out and enjoying their natural exuberance for once, not restricted by school schedules and routines.

Unfortunately, if you aren’t able to take time off to be with them, the holidays bring the added stress of having to sort childcare coupled with the guilt that they are off and you are stuck in work. However, whenever, you are at home with them, whether it’s for the two months or during your annual leave, the stress of entertaining the little troops – who may be in different age groups – as well as balancing running the home is a struggle for most of us. It is not easy to juggle parental responsibilities with the constant whine of ‘IM BORED!!!!’.

CREATING THE SUMMER OF THEIR DREAMS

The key in the middle of it all, I think, is to firstly try to stay SANE!! Getting stressed out about what to do to keep everything balanced is going to make it all seem much worse. Taking time out to de- stress is invaluable in terms of keeping the kids entertained, and in keeping you energised to create the sorts of memories that most of us enjoy from our childhoods.

…if you waited for the weather to be good in this country, you would never do anything

So what can you do? Now I know every family situation is different, and it’s all trial and error for each family, including my own, but here are a few ideas of what you can do to help you stay in that ‘sane’ zone and for the kids to be happy too:

1. Make a plan! The holidays are very short and if you don’t plan what you are going to do,
before you know it, it’s the last week in August and you’re out shopping for uniforms. It also
helps the kids in terms of understanding what they are going to be doing from day to day
and so they are less likely to nag. Draw it up and stick it on the fridge.

Remember! Kids LOVE rain

2. Throw the kids outside – yes, in all weathers. Don’t let the rain stop play. It’s only water – and if you waited for the weather to be good in this country, you would never do anything – let them run on out in it. If it’s cold wrap them up. If it’s wet stick the waterproofs on them. The secret is that YOU SHOULD JOIN THEM – let your own inner child out for a run!

3. Keep a sense of routine in the house as much as possible. It is too much for kids to go from a very regimented routine to no routine. Structure helps everyone, so keep to a similar schedule as school especially in terms of eating and sleeping (though of course a laterbedtime is to be expected).

4. Remember to praise EVERYTHING the kids do. From the little games they make up, to the mud pies, to the pictures they draw, to how they play together. They are used to
constant feedback at school and they thrive on it. It also encourages them to engage their
imagination and creative minds, and entertain themselves.

Whats "One Direction" doing here??? o_0

5. Get the older children to help with the smaller ones and set up a reward chart for good behaviour and make a point of ignoring the bad. Challenging behaviour is just a cry for attention and children will take attention whatever way it comes. Only YOU can ensure that the only attention they get from you is as a result of good behaviour. Take a few deep breaths and think about how you are reacting and whether it is going to improve or enflame the situation. If it’s going to make it worse – step away for a few seconds and BREATHE!

6. We all know that times are tight and not many people are able to go away on holiday for any length of time at the minute. However, there are lots of truly wonderful places right here in Ireland that can be visited inside a day and the only cost is the price of the diesel, the chippie tea on the way home and a few sandwiches for lunch. You have to feed them at home anyway right?

7. Check out the various summer schemes that are available in different areas. Some can be expensive but some aren’t too bad and the kids LOVE them. Don’t sweat the small stuff – so what if the house is a mess and the washing is piling up….it’ll all get done – in time!

…here are lots of truly wonderful places right here in Ireland that can be visited inside a day and the only cost is the price of the diesel, the chippie tea on the way home and a few sandwiches for lunch…

8. When you finally get the kids to bed, stop, breathe and RELAX!! DO NOT rush around the house trying to get the housework done. IT DOESN’T MATTER!! No-one ever lies on their death bed and wishes that the house had been tidier or that they had been better at ironing. Many do, however, wish that they had spent more time with their families, and had taken better care of their health, so that they would have had the luxury of that time.

9. Take a break from the kids at least once a week. Enlist the help of family/neighbours/fellow parents in terms of childcare, and take yourself off for a good walk or for a wander around the shops (and no I DON’T MEAN TO TESCO TO DO THE SHOPPING!!) or even better go and listen to a guided hypnosis CD or read a good book. Remember to always put the oxygen mask on yourself first.

So I hope this helps a little bit in terms of helping you to create a fantastic summer break – and for you all to come out the other end happier and healthier.

As for me….I’m off to walk my talk and take the kids to the park….in between the raindrops that is!

Have fun!

© Veronica A Morris

A Chartered Marketer for over 17 years, Veronica A Morris, is now a Holistic Life Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist.  She is Mummy to Daniel, aged 7 and Ellen aged 9, and lives in the beautiful hills of Co Tyrone with her children and two mad Labradors, Coco and Willow.