We all love spending time together as a family during the school holiday period. It’s a time to rest, relax and travel without the daily routine of school drop off and pick up. But, it’s normal to get on each other’s nerves when you’re not used to spending quite so much time together.
Here are some ways to make sure you keep it together during the school break:
Utilise holiday care programs
Even if you don’t need to work over the school holidays, you can still utilise holiday care programs for your child. Not only does it give you a bit of space from each other, but it also gives your child a chance to be social and active with their friends. Even if it’s only for a day or two it can make a real difference to your relationship.
Structure your days (just a little)
Having a structure to your days can really help things run more smoothly (especially if they are still quite young). You don’t need to be too rigid about it. Have activities in the morning and quiet time after lunch. Or spend the day out and have afternoons at home engaged in your own activities. Creating a simple calendar with your plans written on it creates a visual tool for keeping organised too. It can help your child to know what to expect and can stop them nagging about being bored.
Plan for down time
You’re obviously planning activities, outings and holidays to keep everyone entertained during the break, but have you planned some down time too? Make sure you have days where there’s nothing on so everyone can relax, have a bit of time to themselves and reset before the next adventure begins.
Playdates and catch-ups with friends
Without the structure of school your child might be missing their friends. Plan some playdates and catch-ups throughout the break so they can meet their need to be social. It can also give you some time-out if your child is old enough to be dropped off at a friend’s house and picked up later. You can return the favour on another day.
Set rules around screen time
Your screen time rules might relax for school holidays, but you should still have some clear guidelines on its use. Setting rules stop siblings fighting over devices and also gives your child some balance to their day. Set a time limit or require some outside time before the device comes out.
School holidays can be stressful when you’re spending so much time together. Create some structure to your day, utilise holiday care programs and catch-up with friends to make sure everyone has a relaxing and fulfilling holiday time.
