Family

The Ultimate Parenting Cheat Sheet For Summer

Are you parents who LOVE summer, or do you secretly dread the massive changes in your household schedule? Are you scrambling to find daycare or day camps for your kids that are affordable and fun? Are you wringing your hands as you anxiously look for waitlists to open up and take your kids?

Summer can be a stressful time for many families. While the schedule disrupt may seem like a small frustration, many parents are left scrambling looking for things to keep kids occupied and cared for during work hours.

Here are some simple suggestions to keep kids busy and having fun while you get to enjoy the summer as well:

  1. Picnic Dinners: This is the very best cheat for summer meals! Kids love picnics! They are super easy to put together and you don't have to heat up the house for the meal. Cut up cheese, cold cuts, veggies and fruit, buns and crackers. This is the EASIEST summer meal you can pull together.
  2. Afternoon ½ day summer camps: If your kids are late sleepers and you are also looking forward to a slower schedule, choose afternoon ½ day summer camps. The pace is slower for the whole family. Afternoon camps tend to have lower registrations as most parents are scrambling to get kids out the door in the morning so they can head to work. Afternoon camps were a lifesaver in our house.
  3. Splash parks: If you aren't fortunate to live in an area that has access to natural water areas (lakes or oceans), free community splash parks are fantastic! Our favorite ones are the parks that are filled with sprinklers, water cannons and at least a waist deep pool for sitting and soaking on a very hot day.
  4. Local festivals and family events: These free festivals are usually packed with kids activities like face painting, crafting and sports opportunities. Find out fun things about your neighborhood, city and local government. Get involved and see what your town has to offer.
  5. DND Days: We lovingly call those DO NOTHING DAYS! We have no plans. We sleep late. We eat breakfast AND lunch in our pajamas. We eat ice cream right out of the bucket and we laugh, a lot. I urge you, even if it's for only one day this summer,  to have zero agenda. Make no plans and put the tech away. Have a good old fashioned day.

Make this the summer you have fun as a parent too! Set aside the agenda and just have fun this summer!

Want more fun parenting tips this summer? Check out my website A Passionate Parent and join our Facebook Community