Getting to the holidays is a time that we get so excited about. The long break, time out in the sun, relaxing, spending time with friends and family and going on adventures.
That is… until you become a mum!
Then the school holidays can often cause 10x more stress than they ever did before.
You can find yourself wishing the holidays to go past faster and just wanting to get back to your weekly school routines where you can stay on top of your household work, you have space and more breaks and no kids winging for snacks or being bored 24/7!!
Well, what if we told you that the summer school holidays didn’t have to be this enormous mountain you have to tackle and conquer every year? What if there were some things we could put into place to help navigate this time and make it one that can actually be “semi” relaxing for you, allow you to build stronger relationships with your kids and create amazing memories along the way too.
Here are our tips for setting you up for success in the summer school holidays, so you no longer have to survive them, but can actually start thriving.
Let’s dive right in.
1 – Get good at negotiating
It can be one of the hardest things for a parent to do, but it is important to learn how to ask for help. You don’t have to face the holidays alone. It can be difficult, but have those hard conversations in advance, talk with your partner about sharing some of the workload, ask the family if they can come over to look after the kids for a few hours once a week, and if you are working, speak with your employer about flexible working arrangements.
2 – Plan ahead
This is the biggest game-changer to setting yourself up well for the school holidays- plan ahead. Look into activities and holiday programs that are on in your local area and get your kids booked in now before it gets booked out, research fun things you can do with the kids and start writing a list. One idea we have that is great is to but a big A3 piece of paper and create a calendar for the school holidays, then plan out all the days and hang it in the home for everyone to see. Include relaxing days at home, day trips, park days, beach days, camping, anything. This actually helps with the home environment because the kids know what they can look forward to and they can visually see it themselves what is coming up. Then let them decorate it so they get to feel part of the process.
3 – Connect with other parents
It can be difficult to maintain relationships with friends when you are a parent with young kids, especially if you are working. But we encourage you to try to connect with some other parents who your kids are friends with. This can be great during the school holidays as you can go out on day trips together with all the kids, or you can do play date swaps so that you both get to have days at home without the kids.
4 – Plan out the snacks
Okay, so this is the big one!! SNACKS! Why does it feel like when our kids go on school holidays that they all of a sudden want to eat 7x as much food as they ever did at school!?! Planning out the snacks in advance can be a great option for you to feel less stressed during the day. One tip we have, is to always have a fruit bowl on the counter that is topped up and a container in the fridge that has cut fruit in it. These two places the kids can go to at any time to get a snack if they want one. This saves them from nagging you all the time that they are hungry, but they are also getting good snacks during the day when they are really just “bored eating”. Another option is to do a big platter for lunch and leave it out on the table for the kids to pick at over the afternoon when they are feeling snacky.
5 – Get the kids outside
Trust us, time outside does wonders for kids!! It helps them get energy out, refreshes them, calms their mood down and for some reason kids just seem to get along better when they are outside compared to inside. So schedule time every day to get outside with the kids. This could be going to the beach or park, or even just running around in the backyard for 10 minutes after dinner. If there is a string of bad rainy days, then put on the gumboots and jackets and make it a rainy adventure just to get the kids outside for a little that day.
6 – Find time for you
Book that massage, go for a walk every morning before the kids get up, have a cup of coffee in the quiet and maybe think about booking the kids into care one day a week so you can get a break to catch up on all those jobs that are getting you stressed. It is important that you look after yourself because when you get worn down, agitated, angry, frustrated and stressed, it affects the atmosphere of the household. It is okay to feel these things, and it is totally understandable during the school holidays, but taking time out for yourself can really help you to manage how you are going during the holidays and can make your time more enjoyable with your kids.
7 – Relax the ridged structure
We know this is very difficult for some personalities and easier for others, but one thing that can really help in the school holidays is to relax the rigid schedule you usually follow during the school term. Coming in with the expectations that your house is going to be messier, your kids are not going to get up at the same time every day, they sometimes won’t want to eat all their dinner and other times will eat all day, and that your kids will push the boundaries and potentially show behaviours they don’t usually. This is all okay. Kids are resilient and they generally will fall back into their usual routine once school goes back. So decide what boundaries and routines are important for you to maintain during the holidays and let the rest go.
We hope that this list has given you some great ideas of things that you can do to have a more enjoyable school holiday with your kids this Summer.
May this Summer you be able to create amazing memories with your kids, may your relationship with them deepen and may this be the best Summer you’ve ever had with your family.
Please let us know if this blog was helpful too you or if you have any other tips to add, as we always love updating our blog posts with the great ideas you share with us.
