A Summer Bucket List
Do you remember the dog days of summer? Anyone who grew up before the fateful invention of the internet knows that a three-month summer break felt like an eternity by mid-July. If you weren’t playing sports or doing chores, chances are you were facing down that tidal wave of boredom, and those “I’m bored” moments were a nightmare for parents.
As a grown-up, your relationship with boredom is different. With a busy schedule, you likely relish having no plan, no place to go, and no one to see. For kids, modern entertainment and technology keeps them more stimulated than ever before, but that doesn’t mean they’re happy. In fact, Psychology Today reports too much screen time disrupts sleep and desensitizes the brain’s reward system, causing kids to be more irritable, exhausted, and depressed. In other words, computers aren’t great babysitters.
The truth is, there is always something for the kiddos to do. It’s simply a matter of peeling their fingers away from their iPads and teaching them what summer is all about. Sit the family down and create a summer bucket list. Grab a big piece of paper or a whiteboard and start jotting down activities. Let the kids help create the list. They’ll probably come up with some less-attainable ideas (financially or logistically), but it’s good for them to dream! If you can’t cross it off the list this summer, maybe it’s a big goal to work on for next summer.
That said, encourage free or inexpensive activities. With better weather, outdoor activities in the park or backyard are easier. Add gardening, water balloon fights, stargazing, and chalk art to the list. These activities are so classically enjoyable, even the gloomiest adult can have fun.
Keep adding to the list until you run out of ideas. Once the summer bucket list has been made, tack it to the wall and refer to it when you need an idea to cure the boredom. This exercise alone teaches kids to use their imagination and helps them better understand the value of time. As an added bonus, if your kids aren’t easily motivated to do chores or yard work, the bigger ticket items on the list might serve as rewards for good behavior and hard work. After all, summer wouldn’t be summer without a little sweat — just like the good old days.
Erin
