The school holidays are something that you either love or dread as a parent. On the one hand, you may gain the opportunity to spend more time with your kids and enjoy a slower pace for a few weeks. If you work then it’s a bit more of a juggle to figure out what to do. However, they don’t need to be too stressful. Here are some of the parenting hacks that can help you embrace the school holidays.
The wake up clock
It is typical. During the term time you need to drag your kids out of bed to get to school on time but during the holidays they seem to wake up earlier than ever, am I right? So why not create a wake up clock? This is where you take a standard clock and colour in an hour in red, an hour in yellow, and then an hour in green. Place the red coloured hour at a time that it isn’t acceptable to wake up, for example, between 5am and 6am. Then the yellow one in the hour after that then finally the green should be between 7am and 8am. It is also an educational way to make them accountable for time.
Paddling pool baths
If it is the summer holidays then the chances are the paddling pool will be in the garden. Whether you have been at home all day with your kids or just getting in from a day at work, the paddling pool might still be in use into the evening. So why not utilise the paddling pool and do bath time outside. Start washing them in the paddling pool with their soap etc, and then just before they get out of the paddling pool rinse them off with clean water. It’s a fun way to get one evening job out of the way.
Getting creative and crafts
Crafts will be high on the agenda during the school holidays so there are some great options to keep your kids occupied. You could do painting in the bath to keep mess to a minimum. Or maybe try getting an old white bed sheet, spreading out in the garden, and then letting your kids go crazy painting on it. Taking your crafts outside often means less stress and mess. A quick search online will help you to identify specific crafts relevant to the time of the year, such as Easter or Christmas.
Plan the holidays
It is important that you plan your holidays. Think about the days you can meet up with friends or the days you may want to head to a specific attraction. You don’t always have to be doing something expensive every day, but if you can do one thing per day, be that a walk locally, a play date, or a trip to the local soft play, you can feel assured that there has been an opportunity to get rid of that built up energy.
Seek out events
Finally, social media and local websites are great sources to find out about events locally. Often these are either free or require little cost and they can be a lot of fun for your little ones. It also helps you when it comes to planning what you can do with your days.
Hopefully, these hacks will help you to embrace the school holidays.
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