Summertime and You’d Think the Living Be Easy

Aw, the warmth of the sun on your face, the sound of busy birds and infuriating bees, the sudden awareness of your pasty paleness. Must be nearly summer. And with summer comes every parent’s nightmare; their own children. . . in the house. . . like, constantly.

By now I am sure many of you have all ready taken steps to prevent such a cumbersome invasion of privacy. Sports league dues have most likely been paid.  Cabins at overnight camps have undoubtedly been reserved. Pristine uniforms have been sized and purchased for everything from ballet to karate. This is all well and good. Children should be exposed to new experiences to round out their education outside of a D39 classroom.

But we all know that there can be too much of a good thing. An opposing philosophy preaches the benefits of unstructured free play. During the school year it is difficult to relax from the pace of school, plays, sports, and any number of other activities. That is the beauty of summer; it allows our families a clean slate to dictate our own pace by which to live, at least until late August.

Yes, children do need supervision and organization, but constant year-round structure?  That seems a touch extreme, don’t it?  Children also need opportunities to develop their individuality through imaginative play and exploration. Some of my fondest memories of summers in Wilmette weren’t of enrolled summer camp classes, but of tagging along with my sister and brother to at dusk and just horsing around.

I get the fear with not taking steps to enroll your kid in some kind of activity.  That fear being your child will waste their summer on the computer or in front of the tv.  Or you fear that an opportunity to make new friends will be wasted. Valued concerns. As for the TV and Internet, I recommend coming down heavy with parental powers and limiting the techno-time in the house.  Shrill nagging “It’s a beautiful day, get off your butt and outside” is a time-tested tool to get youngsters out and about. As for friends, give your kids some credit. It is actually easier to win someone over outside of a classroom rather than in one. Sure, organized sports are a tremendous way to build a circle of buds. But seasons only last so long.

All I am saying is to leave a few weeks of the family calendar blank.  Let your kids go out and explore the town for themselves. Let them grab their bikes or scooters and head out to Centennial for the day.  Let them just figure things out and see what happens.  If it doesn’t work out, then August is right around the corner.  But for now, get out and enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face.

Cheers,

James