Let’s face it, summer is the time of year where kids are out of school, vacation mode is turned on and we become notorious for losing track of routines and rituals. Part of this is great, especially if you’re sitting on a beach enjoying a vacation. However there are still things that every mom or dad will have to take care of – work, or planning the daily meals. It can end up feeling more stressful at times, because many of us are still juggling while our kids are off. Leading to, yep, you guessed it..summer feeling like MORE work!
Not to mention, summer comes and goes quick — often times families feel like they wanted to do more together and with our busy, tech induced lifestyles— we can get wrapped in the “chill mode” so much that we forget to make quality time a priority.
The good news- summer can be filled with fun and quality time being present and making core memories with the family. The big difference is finding ways to balance the planning with the vacation mode still activated.
Here are a few great tips to help you make the most of summer 2024 with the whole family and create your ideal summer routine which will lower stress for the whole house.
Get your calendar out
Whether you use a traditional pen and paper calendar or google calendars, write out everyone’s activities and imagine you were having someone come to house/kid/pet sit – what things would you put on the list? Once you write it all out you can start to see where there are busier times or more time for chill.
Taking 1-2 hours to map out July/Aug events can also be really helpful for the whole family.
Kids and adults both thrive with some kind of routine so even a loose one can be helpful
Set your new routines
It can be really easy to get “off track” during summer and binge eat, watch Netflix or simply just not really take care of your wellness
Plan a few am/pm activities you can do MOST days that will give you movement, nourishment and quality time
Taking a family walk daily, cooking together and trying some outdoor activities is a great way to practice self care together
Family Plans
Have everyone help to make a list of summer activities you would like to do
Choose a few things you can do this week and make them a priority
Each week have your family look over the list and pick a few things to do together
Make your HEALTH a priority
Just because it is summer doesn’t mean it’s time to forget the MOST important thing: SELF-CARE.
Create some fun ways to be active with your family
BE in the moment
Most important – make sure you are embracing these moments with your family.
If you have to work – see if you can schedule certain days off to just BE with the ones you love
Turn electronics off when you can to be as present as possible. Set aside time for screens so everyone can have some balance
Take things off your plate that are NON essential or create a list of PRIORITIES and take everything that isn’t OFF your list right now
Kids are only kids for a short period- making the most of this time together is going to impact everyone in your family so make sure you are spending your precious energy wisely and doing what is MOST important for your family this summer.
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By Jaime McFaden
