School holidays can be stressful for both parents and children. Not having to rush around to get your children to school on time may seem like a good thing but if you are having to work and find affordable childcare or your child gets upset without a predictable routine and you are worrying about the cost of keeping them occupied and fed (research has shown that children grow a lot over the summer) then this could cause upset at home.
Sharing Parenting have put together a list of tips which may help:
Plan
Sit down with your calendar and think about what the days will look like. Get your children involved too (age and stage depending). Set expectations with them and use our planner our on website to set a few activities and free days. Children can decorate it as a first activity.
Plan childcare
The cost of childcare can be very worrying for parents. If you can ask family and friends to help – if you work part time offer to share childcare by looking after your friends children when you are not at work – so they can do the same for you.
If you can afford to, see if you can swap or reduce your hours, take annual leave or work term time only.
Look out for trusted play schemes that offer childcare during the holidays.
I’m Bored!
Don’t be afraid to let your children be bored. They can use down days to help them come up with ideas themselves and be creative. Use of list of free activities on our website to help them.
Encourage them to keep a holiday diary – pick up leaflets, postcards, bus tickets etc. and pop them in a scrapbook or keep a digital diary – get them to take and choose one photo a day.
Routine
Many children thrive on routine and feel a bit lost without it. You may notice their behaviour becoming challenging during this time so help them by sharing the planner and trying to keep regular meal and bed times.
Free Activities
Look out for free activities. Every Thursday during the holidays Newmarket Town Council are hosting free activities for children at the Memorial Gardens and Severals.
The library and many museums are free to visit (keep visits short for younger children and look up one thing to explore before you get there).
Budget
Set a budget for the holidays and share it with your children. You may be able to give them their own pocket money (it doesn’t have to be a lot) to help them learn about choice and consequence and budgeting.
Take food and drinks out with you. It is much cheaper to pack sandwiches and water from home. If you are able to you may wish to buy a small cake or ice cream when you are out as a treat, but you don’t need to buy the whole meal.
Visit local charity shops for board games or toys for variety.
See if there are local groups offering meals for children who usually get free school meals or visit your local Foodbank if you need to.
Learning Opportunities
Take the opportunity to encourage your child to learn new skills. Take them to the local park to ride their bike etc.
You can’t pour from an empty jug
Remember to look after your needs too so you can look after them. Take time to read a magazine or drink a coffee, meet up with other friends who have children so you can chat while they play, at the end of the day treat yourself to a bubble bath etc
Challenging behaviour strategies
Use the positive strategies on our website to help you with your child’s challenging behaviours.
Catch them being good and Don’t say don’t are a good place to start.
Remember ‘The best thing you can spend on your child is time’. Enjoy the moments when you can as you’ll be dropping them off for a new term sooner than you think!