Tips on how to survive the school holidays stress free
So the children break up from school, and all of a sudden parents are faced with children who need entertaining to ensure a calm but stimulating environment. We all know that when children break from their usual routine, they feel free and are ready to enjoy their holidays to the max! A little difficult when we work as well!
This can sometimes be chaotic and difficult at first but with a little planning beforehand, it should hopefully run as smoothly as possible (even if you are a little exhausted by the end of it!).
We have pulled together some tips for having stress-free holidays
- Have variety whilst having routine. When children attend school; they have a routine where they know what is happening next, so the same goes for the holidays. This could be having breakfast and then completing an activity and then having some quiet time before moving onto lunch and afternoon activities.
- Don’t cram too much in! It can be just as detrimental to over-stimulate, as it is to under-stimulate. So just bare in mind that children need some quiet time throughout the day. This could be reading, some time to themselves or some self-play.
- Arrange play dates. Children love playing with other children and will often pass many hours playing together without even realising, so this can help parents to get work done or just have some downtime during the busy schools holidays.
- Look at activities in the home. This can be baking, arts and crafts, building Lego, making train tracks, role play, looking for bugs in the garden and finding out what they are, treasure hunts, the list is endless.
- Get children in the garden if there is one available or create an indoor play space with blankets etc to allow children some free time to explore their imaginations!
- Plan a reward or treat system to keep children focused and hopefully assist with good behaviour. Of course there will be times when children will test you, but remember this is normal part of everyday life with children.
- Plan meal times to ensure children are well fed. This can also act as a way of getting children involved. They can help by preparing food, which can help them feel involved and independent.
- Stock up your cupboards!
