Summer!!! Fun or frustrating?

It's almost summer time!  Time for long lazy days and lots of family time.  It may also be a stressful time for  families...

There was a season where I used to silently dread going into summer.  It wasn't something I talked about with others because my other mom friends were excited about summer plans and down time with their kids.  I, on the other hand, was feeling nervous.  The big transition from the structured school year to unstructured days with lots of down time was really really rough for some of my kids.  Maybe you are excited about summer or maybe you're feeling nervous or pure dread like I did at times.  Here are a few ideas to start your summer off right.
1. Think about your kids and how much structure is the right amount.   I've over scheduled and under scheduled summers in the past.   There's no one size fits all.  Does your child like to know what to expect in the day?  Write a loose plan on a dry erase board.
2. Make a summer "bucket list" with your kids.  We call it a "hopes and dreams" list of nearby activities and summer favorites each person would like to do in the summer.  Maybe it's the beach, or a bike ride to the local ice cream shop, or a trip to the zoo.  Write them down and you'll have ideas when you need something out of the house.
3. Hydrate!  bring water bottles with you everywhere.  We know kids get crabby when they are thirsty.  I love to have each of my kids get used to bringing a little "go bag" when we get in the car.  Their bag could have the water bottle, sunglasses, hat, book for the car, and a snack.
4. Think about your child's sensory needs and struggles and make a plan together for outings that may be harder for them.  
5. Continue to build in quality one on one time, but think of small manageable time frames if you have multiple kids home.  You can cook dinner together, work in the garden, take a bike ride, have a glass of lemonade on the porch.  It doesn't have to be big or expensive for it to be quality. 
6. Take care of yourself.  Listen to your body and take good care of it.  

There is so much more we could say, but this is a start.  If you and your family are in a challenging season and could use help getting on track please reach out to me.  My new self-paced parent coaching packing is coming out very soon!  It will give you all the tools you need to be the agent of change and move your family from survive to THRIVE!  
Send me a message if you want to be the first to hear when the course is open.
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