This summer is likely to go down as one of the smoothest summers so far.
I think a large part of that is due to the age of my kids. They are becoming more and more independent, and that is a huge help in the flow of our days. I鈥檝e still been contemplating, though, what other things have contributed to making this summer simpler so here are a few of my summer hacks.
Less choices: You heard right. We have been giving our kids fewer choices. I know that sounds counter culture in a lot of ways, but often in our desire to 鈥済ive them all the things and experiences,鈥� we were giving our kids way too many choices.听
On our last vacay, we eliminated so many choices about how we were going to spend our time. We discussed as a family the things we wanted to do before we got there, and then while there my husband and I just made the itinerary without inviting discussion.
This resulted in no fighting, very little whining and a great time had by all. Even if they weren鈥檛 initially on board with the activity, they knew we were going to do it anyways so they flexed and had fun. Kids are resilient like that.
Routine:听We still try to keep some routine in summer. Most kids do well when they know what to expect. For us that means 30 minutes of screen time mid-morning after they have eaten and cleaned up breakfast, and read for 20 minutes, and another 30 minutes of screen time late afternoon, after they have done their chores and cleaned all toys from the main floor.
I get zero arguments about this because they know what to expect.
Meal plan:听We are out and about enjoying summer and doing projects so supper is the last thing on my mind most days. Planning meals and having them ready to go early in the day is a huge life saver for me.. I鈥檓 also loving the Instant Pot as I can have most meals totally done in less than 30 minutes.
听
