5 Things You MUST Do This Summer – Guest Post.

Summer holidays can be so daunting to some parents. When your children are used to being entertained and challenged constantly by teachers and friends and you don’t have the time (or patience) to play with them all day for 6 weeks, it can lead to misery for everyone. What are the 5 things you MUST do this summer to make sure everyone has a good time?

Family Summer Activities

Switch off

Your phones, the TV… everything. Put it all to one side and be more in the moment. This isn’t something I would be able to do for very long but making the effort every now and then will make the world of good for you and your kids. If you have older kids or even young kids that enjoy using technology then they could probably do with the screen time break too. Showing them that you can live without technology will encourage them more too.

Make a list of things you enjoy and let your children choose from it

If you hate going to certain places or playing certain games then make life easier for yourself by creating a list of things that you enjoy to do, or places you want to take them, that your children can choose from. It will let them feel like they’re in control but you get to do things you actually want to do too. Everyone wins.

Go easy on yourself

There’s no such thing as the perfect parent, we can’t do everything and sometimes letting them watch TV or stay in PJ’s all day is what everyone needs and that’s okay. The housework can wait and a takeaway for dinner once and a while won’t hurt anyone. Remember that even though you are taking care of your kids that taking care of yourself is important and a needs to be a priority.

Take lots of pictures

Whatever you end up doing with your family make sure you take loads of pictures of you all together. Live in the moment but take pictures too. You can print some off and make scrapbooks or save them on the computer to look back on when they’re older.

Have fun

As much as it is hard work, there are those moments in the day when everyone is playing nicely and getting along and those are the moments you need to sit and enjoy. “The days are long but the years are short” is my favourite quote about parenthood because it’s such an accurate description. Join in and be silly once and awhile. It will mean the world to your kids and also make you feel happier too!

What are your top tips for having a fun filled summer with your kids? Do you look forward to it or do you worry about how you’ll cope?

Need some ideas for your list of summer activities? Check out my summer holiday bucket list.

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Did you like the 5 things you MUST do this summer from guest blogger Ayse? Thanks for sharing your post, Ayse, don’t forget to go and check out her blog CoffeeandCwtches for more about her and her family and their life in Wales.

XOXO