Tips to make your summer sane-proof and productive
By Dina Halaseh, Educational Psychologist
If you, as a parent, decide to limit your child’s screen time, please don’t feel obliged to come up with alternative activities to boost your child’s abilities and skills. It’s only normal for you to feel the need to help and keep your child busy!
Let me give you two tips to make your summer sane-proof and productive:
1. Let them get bored
We usually tend to jump in when children complain of boredom. We suggest activities, plan events, take them out, play with them and much more.
The reality is that not only is it ok for your child to feel bored, it is actually beneficial too! A child that is bored tends to be more flexible, creative and has the ability to solve problems. This stimulates planning and problem-solving abilities. Additionally, it prepares your child for life by building their tolerance to unpleasant situations.
It’s not always easy, of course, but telling them that you’re excited to see what they will come up with is a great way to spark their creativity and imagination.
A child who is constantly busy will not have time to discover interests, passions, hobbies and skills. By allowing your child to be bored, you are creating the time for your child to focus on something new they can do and how to do it.
2. Freeplay
Having some time during the day where your child is given the freedom and opportunity to play freely is important.
Free play gives kids a chance to discover the world on their own terms, encourages creativity, and allows them to use their imagination. It happens when kids decide on and control their play based on their own interests, creativity and instincts. It is when they are engaging in freely chosen play unsupervised by their parents.
There is no right or wrong way to play, nor any limits to what they can do. It’s just a way to give your child an opportunity to think out of the box.
They may choose to engage in outdoor sports, dress up, or do art projects. Older children can take on longer term tasks like starting a garden or being asked to «invent» something using a variety of Do It Yourself (DIY) materials.
These kinds of assignments help kids develop organisational and planning skills. Your child may even decide to spend time with a book, for a change!
There are no limits to what you can actually let your child do. But feeling bored and choosing their own activity is very important for them! So, sit back and relax as you watch them create and come up with something new!
Free play options to help foster creativity and independence:
Drawing
Colouring
Painting
Cutting
Playing dress-up
Pretend
Gluing using art supplies
Climbing
Swinging
Running about
You can contact Dina Halaseh at [email protected]
