Monday, July 20, 2009

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Summer rules for the children Parents, do you need some help with your children this summer? Children of all ages are full of energy that seems never to abate. They are also adventurous, bold, and creative. I would encourage you to utilize these gifts to make a wonderful summer vacation time. What is really important in having a meaningful summer vacation in your house is to have sensible and practical rules for everyone. The mistake many parents make is to eliminate rules during the summer break. They reason that their children worked so hard during the school year, it is okay to have no boundaries for just a few short months. That's a great mistake to make. Many toddlers and teenagers start on the road to self-destruction during the long summer holidays. Why? Because unwise parents do not provide the necessary guidelines and boundaries to keep them on a track towards a healthy life. Summer holiday is long — covering almost 12 weeks with a total of 2,016 hours of free time. Here are a few suggestions to take you through a happy summer time: * Establish wake-up times. Do not allow your children to spend endless hours in bed. Wake up times can be later than usual, but they should not be too late in the day. Staying too late in bed can be an avenue to starting destructive habits. * Have daily chores for everyone even if your child has a summer job. * Have sensible summer bed times. Although many parents allow their children to go to bed later during the summer time, it is not wise to routinely go to bed late. Make sure that your children have at least two nights a week when everyone will go to bed by 9 p.m. * Organize fun activities each day. Do not leave the children alone to "find things to do." * Hold a family meeting to discuss summer activities. Get input from everyone. * Make sure that there is some kind of physical activity at least three times a week. Go to the gym, sports track, or the beach. Encourage them to hang from trees, shoot marbles, run in the neighborhood (if the conditions are safe). * Eat nutritious meals. It is imperative during the summer that children have well-balanced, nutritious meals with lots of vegetables and whole grain foods. Do not pack too many sweets just because it is summer time. Remember, sugar suppresses the immune system, impairs brain function, and increases the chances of getting ill or even getting a serious disease. * Ensure that your children get regular baths. * It is wise that your children watch no more than two hours straight of television on any given day. After two hours, let them take a two-hour break. Let them go outside or do some crafts. Do not allow your children to sit down all day, every day, watching television. This can truly numb the mind, making the school year less interesting. * Sit with your children to discuss the kinds of movies, television channels, or programs they will be allowed to watch during the summer time. * Include reading in the summer plans. Encourage your children to read as much as they watch television. I know that's a tough one for most families, but it can be done. Here is great idea. For every one hour of television, they must read for one hour. So if they do not want to read much, then they do not watch television much. It is simple as that. * Have a television black-out time. During the summer vacation period have one short period when no one will watch television. It could be three days to one week in length. Arrange for exciting events during this time — camping, visiting the hospital, reading the Bible to the elderly, one day excursion to a Family Island, vacation Bible school, joining youth groups, etc. * Teach new skills. Summer is a great time to teach your children new skills. Teach them how to cook a meal, bake bread or a cake, sew, knit, etc. No summer should pass without your children learning a new skill. * Continue spiritual nurture. Make sure the entire family goes to church. Do not slack off with the daily family devotions. Pray together. n Barrington Brennen is a marriage and family therapist. Send your questions or comments to question@soencouragement.org or call 1-305-767-4976 or 1-242 323 8722, or snail mail: P.O. Box N-896, Nassau, The Bahamas. Monday, June 22, 2009