It is summertime and it can be a challenge for my kids when they seem to have run out of ideas on what to do with their time and they resort to sedentary activities such as TV, computer time, and mobile phones. In our home, we have a limit on how long and when devices can be used during the day and a curfew for when all devices are turned in for the night.
During the summer, mornings are slow for us. We are night owls, not morning folk. I knew one of my kids has been looking forward to finishing the last few episodes of a favorite TV series and due to a time limit the prior day, they were not able to complete the remaining shows when they had wanted. This morning, I had an impression that this child was up watching TV prior to other family members getting up. Although, I was aware that earlier they had completed a weekly chore of taking the trash to the street and thanked them, I was not happy to see them watching TV at the crack of dawn prior to other more productive activities I would like them doing, beyond the one chore, before screen time.
I asked them to turn it off and ponder ways they could be more active and redirected them to consider how they could better utilize their time before watching TV. Without any further dialogue and to remove myself from a debate I felt was coming, I stepped away to give them time to think about it for themselves. It also gave me time to ask myself a similar question, “what could they do actively in the house when it is over a 100 degrees outside?” A couple of thoughts that came to mind was baking cookies and playing table tennis if the A/C or a fan is on. What are some things your kids have come up with or you have suggested they do?
I get the importance of down time—an appropriate and reasonable amount—to rejuvenate after a long hard day and the need to rest and relax if outdoors in the heat. We are halfway through the summer and I feel that there has been a large amount of down time the last couple of weeks. They have enjoyed plenty of screen time, educational and entertaining, and when they have spent lots of time in this way sitting on the couch, it has adversely affected their behavior and mood. Although they have also been reading, playing the piano, and engaging in a hobby, it is more sitting.
I encourage my kids to be balanced in their activities and to break up their day with a variety of things they can do including first completing their chores. When a child starts complaining of body aches from sitting too long, I invite them to be productive and engaged in more active ways and ask them to consider what they can do to be up and moving between those times they spend sitting down. Often times, they choose to go outside and play basketball, ride bikes or jump on the trampoline. Knowing what to do inside that is active when it is hot, hot, hot outside is much harder.
What have you done when you have faced a similar summer experience with your kids?
When have you had an experience you were prompted to check on one of your children?
An experience that I have never forgotten, a teaching moment, came years ago from one of my four young children. This child was standing on a step on the stairs as I stood across from them chastising them for something I observed that they had done and I was unhappy with their choice.