For many of us here in BC, Canada, the holidays came a bit sooner than expected and caught many parents off-guard. One day the kids were at school with two weeks to go and the next minute they were home with all their school “stuff”! It was officially the end of the year.
I am sure that many parents, like me, were scrambling, and didn’t have time to really thank their teachers and administrative staff for another fantastic school year: I would like to say a collective THANK YOU from all of us. So with that, the summer holidays are upon us.
- What do the holidays mean for you?
- What do you do during the holidays?
- What do your kids do?
For our family, we see the holidays as a time to be largely free from routine, schedules, sports programs and the general hubbub and busyness of life. Kids nowadays have so many more scheduled activities than kids used to that it can leave them precious little time to just be kids and play. The importance and value of self-directed and un-scheduled play for children is vital to their development and cannot be understated and the holidays are the ideal time for them to do just that.
Summer is the perfect time for children to get outside and play, a time to be free from schedules and routines. As parents, it is up to us to make sure that our children have enough time to do this. I encourage you to take a look at your calendars and, if possible, unlock them from as much schedule and as many scheduled activities as you can to give them the freedom and wonderful opportunity to just be kids and play, to create and have fun.
Yesterday, a Saturday, we randomly all happened to wake up very late, 9.15am to be precise, and everything for the rest of the day just progressed as and when. While we were having lunch we all chuckled when we realized that it was 3pm to which my daughter said:
“Today is like a Savary day, we are on Savary Time”
“Savary time” is a phrase we use that means – we wake when we have had enough sleep, eat when we are hungry and go to sleep again when we are tired – and that to me is a perfect analogy for the holidays.
I’ll leave you with that and hope that you can all, wherever you are, create some “Savary Time” during your holidays.
Partnering You
PS. Next week I am starting a new 8 part blog on how we as parents can take time for our lives and honor our self-care. As parents, we have to really make sure that we look after ourselves so we can be the best version of ourselves for our kids. If this resonates with you, don’t miss this opportunity.
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